Urban Garden Magazine

Aquaponics Explained: Plant Nutrient Management in Aquaponics

By Urban Garden Magazine ⋅ January 19, 2011 ⋅ 3 comments

When I first stumbled upon aquaponics in early 2009 it was while I was still running product development, and by extension the plant laboratory, for AeroGrow International. While I am not a scientist by education (my undergraduate degree is in Agricultural Economics) I learned a tremendous amount about hydroponic nutrients in my various plant research [...]

Q & A – Water Culture

By Urban Garden Magazine ⋅ November 17, 2010 ⋅ 2 comments

One aspect of hydroponics that receives much attention from growers of all abilities is deep water culture aka DWC. Everest quizzes water culture expert, Daniel Wilson from Current Culture H2O, and discovers some great tips on running these productive hydroponic systems.
Of all the hydroponic growing media you can use water is cheap and the easiest [...]

Calibrating and Caring for your pH Meter

By Urban Garden Magazine ⋅ July 12, 2010 ⋅ 3 comments

Healthy plant growth depends on properly synthesizing the perfect environment for your fruits, veggies and decorative plants. And just as correcting the pH level in soil or water can help a plant thrive, an incorrect pH level can lead to disease or potential death.

Tomatoes in Rockwool

By Urban Garden Magazine ⋅ April 13, 2010 ⋅ One comment

Rockwool is a mainstay of commercial hydroponic growers – and for good reason. It takes up a minimal footprint and, when used correctly, yields like crazy. We asked Dr Lynette Morgan, a world authority on hydroponic vegetable production, to give us some expert advice on growing tomatoes in rockwool. There’s LOTS to be learned here as Dr Morgan takes us through how to develop irrigation strategies for your particular growing environment.

Recirculation Basics – Part 2

By Urban Garden Magazine ⋅ December 17, 2009 ⋅ 4 comments

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.

Recirculation Basics – Part 1

By Urban Garden Magazine ⋅ November 10, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment

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.

Crop Killers

By Everest ⋅ November 10, 2009 ⋅ 6 comments

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.

How to Beat Powdery Mildew

By Urban Garden Magazine ⋅ August 6, 2009 ⋅ 5 comments

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!

Pimp Your Soil

By Urban Garden Magazine ⋅ June 5, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment

Check out our quick guide to soil amendments and find out how to fine-tune your soil to vastly improve the quality (and quantity) of your crops.

Maximizing the Nutrient Environment – Part 1

By Urban Garden Magazine ⋅ April 1, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment

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.