The most successful and productive indoor gardeners all have one thing in common—they love cuttings! Talk to any serious grower and you'll hear the same story. Consistently high quality and regular crops depend on a steady flow of healthy, vigorous cuttings. So it makes sense to give cuttings the best start in life possible. Too often when we visit indoor gardens we find trays of neglected cuttings, just managing to survive, relegated to a shelf in a dusty corner of the veg room. That just ain't right! Merely keeping cuttings alive is not the aim of the game. Think of it like this ... if we cause our new recruits undue stress when they are still young, fresh and fragile, it's the botanical equivalent of dropping our babies down the stairs! Ouch! Even if they survive, they could be traumatized for the rest of their lives!

Our main man Hydroguy is back with the next installment of his guide to finding your way around a grow store. This time he’s casting his critical eye over bloom boosters and stimulants. This is going to be interesting reading! As always, Hydroguy is not shy about expressing his opinions – and who are we to cramp his style?

Javan Kerby Bernakevitch, a permaculture designer and teacher-in-training, introduces us to the principles and practice of permanent (agri)culture.

Mycorrhizae experts Mike Amaranthus and Josh Eagan give us the low-down on how mycorrhizal fungi behave in a non-soil environment, and how hydroponic growers can use this special root fungus to improve plant quality and yields.

Something doesn’t quite add up about genetically modified (GM) foods. Governments and supreme courts have sanctioned the patenting of life itself. The planet’s food supply is becoming increasingly dominated by fewer and fewer players. What can we do?

If there’s one grower’s gripe we hear lots about at Urban Garden HQ it’s Powdery Mildew. So we asked our heavyweight in the pest control department, Zorro Torro, to lend some expert advice on what this nasty stuff is, what damage it causes your plants, and, most importantly, how to beat the crap out of it!