Compact. Self contained. Inexpensive. Easy to set up. Virtually no growth media required. No need to dial in complex irrigation schedules. Total control over a hyper-oxygenated, thriving root zone. Our main man with a high yielding plan, Everest Fernandez, takes a first look at NFT Gro-Tanks and shares some of his hands-on experience.
Daniel Wilson invites us to rethink what gardening in earth vs. gardening in water really means to the sustainability of indoor gardening.
Equipped with quality hoses, Curtis rebuilds his chiller system and is left with a completely sealed, cool growing environment!
Is your back aching from lugging endless sacks of soil, coco or other growth media in and out of your indoor garden? Then check out our latest blueprint, aptly named “The Water Room.” The idea is to grow monster tomato plants directly in a nutrient solution using a cutting-edge, modular Deep Water Culture (DWC) system called The Under Current™. But the liquid theme doesn’t end there. Water is also used to cool the garden using an ingenious chiller-based system created by Hydro Innovations.
Last issue, Michael Christian discussed the fundamental fluid of a recirculating hydroponic system… water. Without pure clean water (low EC), we are going to be scratching our heads when it comes to troubleshooting problems when they occur. This time, we look at water analysis, maintaining nutrient balance and strategies for managing pH in a recirculating system.
Curtis reviews Hydro Innovations’ 1/2 HP ChillKing water chiller and 6″ IceBox reflector-cooler.
Michael Christian, an expert consultant to the commercial hydroponics industry, shares his insights into recirculating nutrients effectively to achieve high performance plant growth while conserving water and nutrients.
The Top 10 Mistakes That Drag Your Yields Down: Everest shares some time-honored heuristics to help beginner growers increase the productivity of their indoor gardens.
Once you’ve introduced beneficials, how do you keep them there? Richard Gellert explains some key steps to maintaining a healthy microbial population in a variety of different scenarios.
Nutrient guru Lawrence Brooke of General Hydroponics takes us through some of the critical factors that have a direct bearing on the effectiveness of our nutrients.
© 2009 Urban Garden Magazine