Hydroponic vegetable gardens

[FarmerPhronc]

I need to drop some blue board with lettuce in it in my AP tank. I'm hoping it'll provide some added shade for the fish and grow some yummy salad goodies at the same time.

My only concern with this would be, Will the fish eat the roots hanging down into the tank?

 

[FarmerPhronc]

Hydroclay; its reusable and a neutral buffer

Tips:
Spend money on a QUALITY ph/ec meter.
Keep PH stable
Don't mess with nutes every day. Watch them respond and respond accordingly; hydro responds faster than soil.
Pest control; make it pest PREVENTION.

And duh, lol...don't forget to change the water as needed, and check ec DAILY.

I've used Hydroclay, aka Leca to successfully grow tomatoes, peppers and cukes, however I've never tried to grow root veggies such as carrots, onions, beets, etc in it. I think its too dense for this and one would be better off using a 60/40 ratio of coco coir and perlite or vermiculite for growing root vegetables.

As far as PH goes, yes you want to monitor it, I check mine once a week, however you don't need to spend money on a ph/ec meter. You can get a PH test kit with up/down solution for $15 to $20 bucks, look at your local hydro store if you have one or do a search on ebay or amazon. I don't have an ec meter either so not sure if checking it makes any difference in the success of my grow.

When it comes to "water" or nutrient solution I use the 50/50 method. Another words, what ever amount of solution you start off with add ph balanced water till you reach 50% of your starting volume. Example: My 2 x 4 lettuce raft I start out with 16 gallons of ph balanced nutrient solution. Once a week when I'm testing the ph I check the nutrient/water level. If I need to add more I just add ph balanced water, not more nutrients. It's the water that evaporates not the nutrients. I've found that I need to add 2 gallons of water every 7 to 10 days. If your using the cut-n-come method to harvest you should get 4 harvest before having to start with a new batch of nutrient solution.

 

[shortgrass]

I thought of something...probably obvious to a seasoned hydro, or soil horticulturist...but maybe not....

We all know NOT TO USE SOFTENED WATER to water plants?... Unless of course, you're monitoring the ph and the salt intakes being handled correctly....

Had numerous friends call panicking, things dying, only to go down the list of normal indications, first question of "do you have soft water" usually drops them

 

[steve102]

Some of the hottest jalapeños yet.

 

[RichnSteph]

Some of the hottest jalapeños yet.

Some good looking plants you have there!

 

[massiveme]

Has anyone tried LED lights?

 

[shortgrass]

Yep. LEDs are great! Low input, high output....you can mix and match the spectrum and lumens by inserting differing bulbs across the board...

I did it once lol....then it was just too much work rewiring the panels and the bulbs and kinda pricey at the time... This was about 10 years ago, and I've been watching all the new technology...amazing, think I want to do it again for seedlings this fall