How Plants Grow
Some books on hydroponics give the reader a crash course on biology complete with diagrams. I would prefer that you get your own biology text, if you feel it's necessary in order to produce good cucumbers. It seems to make more sense to relate biology directly to hydroponics and the nutrients that make plants grow. Each plant is a natural workshop that builds organic matter in the form of roots, stems, leaves, fruit and seeds. Air and water provide more than ninety-seven per cent of this...
Formula Adjustments
Whether yours is a homemade or a commercial nutrient, there will be times when adjustments are necessary. Formula adjustments are probably the trickiest part of hydroponics, and caution should be used at all times or you could destroy your entire crop in a matter of days. If you are using a well-balanced, commercial nutrient and a correction is necessary due to a deficiency that you can't identify, a foliar spray may be the answer. You can make the spray from a very diluted mix of nutrient and...
Hydroponic Herbs
Not long ago, herbs grew in every garden and were sold by every greengrocer, but all we seem to use today is parsley as a garnish. Whatever happened to fresh chives, tarragon, basil and sage We used to know that herbs were natural flavour secrets that would give a lift to the simplest budget dish or the most complex gourmet creation. Perhaps we have forgotten because we have become accustomed to dried herbs whose flavours and fragrances have been destroyed by processing. One of the real joys of...
Ready Made Nutrients
If you have a very small hydroponic unit, whether homemade or bought, you may not feel that you wish to go to all the bother of making your own nutrients. If this is so, it is quite easy to obtain commercial nutrients in from one to twenty-five pound containers. Ordinarily, the novice hydroponic gardener knows relatively little of chemistry. Using a pre-mixed nutrient is the most straightforward way of assuring that your plants get a balanced diet. There are good hydroponic nutrients on the...
Nutrients
While you are deciding whether to build or buy a home hydroponic unit, it would be a good idea to do a little studying about nutrients. No matter what kind of system you choose, nutrients will be an integral part of your success, because your plants must be constantly supplied with food. Using the formulae given in this chapter, you will be able to mix your own nutrients in either large or small amounts. As in Chapter 2, however, I recommend that the novice begin with a commercially available,...
Companion Planting 1
Plants don't make a sound, and you'd think that their world was all peace and harmony. Not so among plants there are definite friends and enemies. Some plants protect each other from insect infestations, while others provide shade for their friends. Still others just like each other and grow better if they are neighbours. In hydroponics, you will probably be asking two or more plants to grow happily together. Here is the list. Keep the friends and enemies apart. carrot cauliflower corn, sweet...
Selecting Your Seeds
Be sure to ask for seed varieties especially suited for home growing. Commercial seed varieties have been bred for toughness and long shelf life in the supermarket at the expense of fragrance and flavour. You can plant more fragile, and more tasty, vegetable and herb varieties in your hydroponic garden. Because very few seeds have been developed specifically for hydroponics, there are some hints to keep in mind. As an indoor home grower, you are better off with a bush or patio tomato, rather...
Outdoor Hydroponics
Few books on hydroponics deal with the idea of moving a soilless garden outside. To my way of thinking, though, the whole point of hydroponics is to get the best possible year-round results. There is a great temptation for the home grower to lean back and say, Outdoor gardening Who needs it I'm going to keep my garden in the basement all year. No wind, no bugs, no problems. It really isn't necessary to move your garden outdoors in summer, but if you don't, you'll be missing the opportunity to...
What to Plant Outdoors
Tomatoes are the prime choice for outdoor hydroponics. They recapture the flavour long gone from supermarket produce, and the theoretical maximum yield is very high, twenty pounds per vine. In your first season, though, you're doing fine if you get about half that much. A fast growing, medium-sized staking variety produces more and better quality fruit than the larger hybrids. Tomatoes are grown quite close together in hydroponics, four to six inches. A good arrangement in a sixteen by...
Cleaning Your System
Cleanliness is a must around, as well as in the system. Remove dead leaves before they rot, for this is an ideal place for fungus infection. Keep a close watch for red spider and white fly infestations. They are the two greatest insect problems in hydroponics. Insecticides will be discussed in detail later in the next chapter, but if you do use one, make sure it isn't the same brand all the time. Insects build up a resistance to one kind of insecticide very quickly. Also, try a little...
Humidity
Humidity plays an important role in hydroponics, but if you are growing in a house or apartment, you will find that this is the one aspect of climate over which you have relatively little control unless you have a humidifier-dehumidifier. Too much humidity will probably be less of a problem than too little humidity. If your growing area is too dry, you could install an inexpensive humidifier. Because the growing area is usually small and confined, greenhouse hydroponics for the hobbyist makes...
Pruning
When growing indoors, do not allow the top of the plant to get too far away from the root system. Almost every plant will grow larger in hydroponics than in soil, because the plants are getting a full measure of nutrients, air and water. Bush or Tiny Tim tomatoes are the only kinds you should grow indoors, and you should be sure to pinch off the tops when the plants reach a height of about 2-1 2 feet. Cucumbers, on the other hand, should be pinched off after seven sets of leaves. Pinching off...