GROWING MEDIUM 4

Gravel This growing medium has been used for years and works well. Many or the earlier hydroponic systems that were commercially available to the public were gravel based ebb / flow (flood and drain) type systems. Gravel supplies plenty of air to the roots, but doesn’t retain water, which means that the plants roots can dry out quickly if they [ read more ]

Expanded Clay Pellets

This man-made product is often called grow rocks and is an extremely good growing medium. It is made by baking clay in a kiln. The inside of the clay pellets is full of tiny air pockets (much like lava rock) which makes this a light weight medium (some of the pellets even float). The pellets are great for ebb & [ read more ]

GROWING MEDIUM

by Professor Hydro There are probably hundreds of different kinds of growing medium, anything that a plant can grow in is considered a growing medium. There are manmade as well as organic (natural) mediums. Even plain old AIR can be an effective growing environment for roots. I have been asked many times what growing medium is the best. This is [ read more ]

Article 5-5 Low Lives Life In The Soil

Lowlifes: Life in the Soil By Erik Biksa We often work very hard to make sure that our favourite plants are getting what they need in their diets to offer us the yields we desire. Have you ever just stuck a plant in the ground outdoors in the full sun only to return in a few months to find it [ read more ]

Article 5-5 The Dirt on Dirt

The Dirt on Dirt By Randy Johnson Of all the factors involved in growing plants outdoors, soil is the most complex. It has its own ecology, which can be modified, enriched, or destroyed; the treatment it receives can ensure crop success or failure. There is no such thing as universal soil for outdoor gardening. Each variety of plant can grow [ read more ]

Article 5-3 Hydro Culture

Hydro culture: Hydroponics for House Plants By June Angus In North America, public awareness of hydroponics has grown by leaps and bounds over the last 20 years. The same can’t be said, however, for people’s knowledge of hydro culture, the technique for growing decorative plants and tropicals without soil at home or in indoor public spaces. The story is different [ read more ]

Article 4-3 Orchids

Orchid Culture in Perlite by Wally Thomas and Barb Thomas For a long time perlite has been known as a beneficial soil conditioner and as a component of media mixes. Some 15-years-ago at the West of Scotland Research Station, a technique was developed using pure perlite in growing tomatoes (1). The technique used plastic sacs of perlite sitting in and [ read more ]

Article 4-3 Cloudy Reservoir

Greetings and congratulations on a truly dedicated magazine and information base. Keep it up! My question is why does my nutrient solution look cloudy and other times clear? It sometimes clears in a day or two, but not always. I employ a small ebb and flow and use DNF and sm-90. Should I add the sm-90 a few hours after [ read more ]

Article 4-3 Hey You Get Out of The Dirt

Hey You – Get out of the Dirt! By Erik Biksa From region to region, different growing mediums have different levels of popularity. Some of this is based on the availability of a particular substrate, but more often than not different areas have different growing methods. Some of this variability can be attributed to the preferences of local strains and [ read more ]

Getting Started with Hydroponics

Welcome to the fascinating world of hydroponic gardening. The following instructions will guide you through the process of preparing starter cubes, planting seeds or cuttings, as well as mixing and using nutrient solutions. Starter cubes are an easy way to start seeds or cuttings. They are used widely in both hydroponic and soil gardening. Starter cubes are made of an [ read more ]