Hydroponics Growing System Indoor Garden

[BrianGSDTexoma]

I have my first growth under my belt. I had a 12 pod garden. I started 12 different things to see what happen. The Basil and Dill the only things that took off. I think partly to the size of those plants why the others did not work. I just got a new garden and cleaned up the old one for new start. One of the things that confused me is how to feed. I did switch to a liquid. I was trying to use an EC meter but after a while it always read over 3000. This time going to have to do it different. I think just put two Basil and 1 Dill in one. One of the Basil's I used leaves where to big. I would like to do Thai but cant find any. The other will try an assortment of herbs again. Wish I knew a good site on using these small gardens. Any suggestions are welcome.

 

[normanaj]

Talk to the people who grow weed,they have it down to a science. Up here it's totally legal and there are stores that do nothing but cater to people who grow.

 

[chp]

My little setup is very simple. I just add so many mL of the nutrients to a L of water. It is not fancy, but has been working well for me. I just cut back my cilantro again and transplanted my basil recently. New seeds are planted.

I have grown herbs and greens with pretty good success.

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

My little setup is very simple. I just add so many mL of the nutrients to a L of water. It is not fancy, but has been working well for me. I just cut back my cilantro again and transplanted my basil recently. New seeds are planted.
View attachment 675641
I have grown herbs and greens with pretty good success.

Nice. I just going to have to half to figure out how many ml to add. Going to start checking the ph this time also.

 

[SmokinAl]

We were just gifted one similar to chp and it has marks on the bottle tops so you know exactly how much to add to 1 liter of water. We have started a few plants & they are growing like crazy.
Al

 

[DemonPit]

Talk to the people who grow weed,they have it down to a science. Up here it's totally legal and there are stores that do nothing but cater to people who grow.

Almost 15yrs growing strong here. Hydro is a major PITA. If you mess up on your inputs, all your plants die. Have them in seperate pots and you may not kill everything. Different plant species take different nutrients. So your dill may need xx amount of nutrients, your basil will be totally different. How will you give each plant its specific nutrient input with a hydro setup with only using 1 main nutrient bucket of nutrients?

 

[chopsaw]

Different plant species take different nutrients. So your dill may need xx amount of nutrients, your basil will be totally different. How will you give each plant its specific nutrient input with a hydro setup with only using 1 main nutrient bucket of nutrients?

I use a 6 pod Aero garden harvest . I use the food from them , basically liquid miracle grow , and follow the directions . The system has a timer , alert system for low water , and time to feed . Everything gets the same amount , at the same time . Dill , Basil , Thyme , parsley and others grow fine together for me . I had a jalapeno plant mixed in that went 1 1/2 years before I reset it .

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

I use a 6 pod Aero garden harvest . I use the food from them , basically liquid miracle grow , and follow the directions . The system has a timer , alert system for low water , and time to feed . Everything gets the same amount , at the same time . Dill , Basil , Thyme , parsley and others grow fine together for me . I had a jalapeno plant mixed in that went 1 1/2 years before I reset it .

I was trying to get everything ready today. I figured out my tap water sucks! The EC is 1.200 which is crazy high. The Ph is 8.7 which is also really high. That why I was having such a hard time using EC meter. I get water for my home brew at a dispenser for .25 cents a gallon. The ph is also high but that is an easy fix. I will be using that water. When I fill my hot tub I have to add almost 5 cups of muriatic acid to balance the ph my tap water ph is so high. Also has very high tds. I bought a 16 herb package and it has some purple basil. Also a few things never heard of. You try growing chives? I still trying to figure out what to use and which garden to put them.

 

[chopsaw]

Brian , I start mine with distilled water , then after it gets established I use tap water . If your water is really bad you might have to do something like what you said . I know the Aero garden directions say to use distilled or tap water and spa up or spa down to adjust the PH .
BrianGSDTexoma
Also , if you have some unplanted holes cover them to keep the light out . Helps to keep alge growth in check .

You try growing chives?

I have some pods that you can put your own seeds in . I tried chives in one , but it didn't come up . Gonna try again .
I have Genovesse Basil and Thyme in mine right now . I also have rosemary and sage in pots on the front porch . It all goes crazy . You'll never use it all . I'm drying basil and thyme now , and have several cuttings in jars on the counter .

 

[Fueling Around]

I may try something this winter

...
I would like to do Thai but cant find any. The other will try an assortment of herbs again. …

Did you find any Thai basil seed?
If you’re still wanting drop me a PM and I’ll send a couple of varieties I have in my stock

 

[chopsaw]

I grew pre seeded Thai basil pods last year . I dried most of it . Has a real anise flavor to it . I use it in sausage .

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

I may try something this winter


Did you find any Thai basil seed?
If you’re still wanting drop me a PM and I’ll send a couple of varieties I have in my stoc

Thanks for the offer John but I going to try this purple basil instead. Also doing the Genovesse Basil. I may take you up on it next planting.

 

[chopsaw]

Genovesse Basil.

This is what I cut off mine this morning . I have double this drying , and that again in herb savors and small Mason jars . I need to just start throwing it out .

This is after trimming . I trimmed the Thyme last week down to half the height it is now .
Came back fast . The Basil goes nuts . The thyme is easier to dry , but fresh on beef or whole chickens is where it's at .

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

Update. Using the water from local dispenser been working great. I can use my EC meter now to check nutrients. Excuse my messy table.

 

[SmokinAl]

What ec meter do you have & what are you keeping the nutrient levels at? My plants are burning & can’t seem to figure out if it is too much light or to much nutrients.
Al

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

What ec meter do you have & what are you keeping the nutrient levels at? My plants are burning & can’t seem to figure out if it is too much light or to much nutrients.
Al

I still new at this. EC meter came with one of my kits. It measures total dissolved solids and converts to EC value. I try to keep mine around 1800. There are some youtubes that try to explain this. I was having problems with my tap water which is very high ph and total dissolved solids. Just the plain tap water measured 1200. I started using water from a local dispenser which has good ph and almost 0 EC. Only cost 25 cents a gallon.

 

[nlife]

It's been a few years since I grew in hydro. I mainly grow pepper plants and have used both coco coir and deep water culture. I searched around the internet for hydroponics forums and started going through them. Imagine my surprise when I finally realized that Grass City wasn't a site for lawn and lawn care enthusiasts!

On a serious note though, I think you're on the right track with using water from a local dispenser since that way you start with a more-or-less clean slate. Back when I was growing in both coco coir and then in deep water culture, I had hard water issues and had to do the same. I was getting nutrient lock out due to the high calcium levels in my water.

I think you are a tad high on your nutrient levels. When I was growing Bhut Jolokia and Scotch Bonnet peppers I stuck to 700ppm (or an EC of 1.0) as my upper limit. I found that most weed growers were doing the same. Some claimed they could taste the nutrients at the higher levels, though I can't substantiate this in any way.

Regardless of what you choose, I would suggest you stick to using EC rather than PPM since it can be a bit confusing given that there are three different scales (500, 640, and 700) for PPM. Knowing which scale is used on the feeding chart is key for adding the correct amount of nutrients. It's so much simpler with EC because EC is EC.

PH is also really important in hydro since it affects nutrient uptake. Too high/low you can burn or lock out nutrients from your plants. For my needs in coco and deep water culture, I was targeting 5.7ph since they prefered things slightly acidic.

What ph are you currently running at?