Hydroponics/Aquaponics

[dude2014]

My post of Tuesday 16.8.2016 second to last line. The flower pot is a container. Also have anyone seen a grow box with PVC panels for sides?
I must also mention Centeno again or Ministry of Food Production. The Farmers' Training Center is right there.
Google it, you can check Agro Shops, Newspapers and will find training schedules for a host of Agri Courses at various location.
At Centeno, Penal, Craignish (Princes Town), Chase Village, .............

Google-ing is nice. Nothing compares to doing it for real. I did learn a lot 'de hard way'.

Have a nice day ALL.

[Vaca Verde Farms Limited]

Hello,

I'm new to trinituner here. I represent my company, Vaca Verde Farms, and we specialize in Hydroponic and Aquaponic Systems as well as the basic supplies such as fertilizers and disposables. Our team consists of a certified Chemical Engineer and Agronomist , both of whom have had multiple experiences in building and growing, both through hydroponic and aquaponic systems, including our very own aquaponic system. Please see our Facebook page, for both what we carry, prices and click the about button to get our contact information.

Please note we carry the " MASTERBLEND" range of fertilizers , including the most popular 4-18-38 tomato formula.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100013145141476


I am happy to see interest here, we are all about proving that Trinidad can become self sustaining through food production!!!!

I will be happy to help anyone, so please feel free to ask me anything!!!!

[Trinifisher]

Good to know!!

Sent from my SM-G7102 using TriniTuner mobile app

[Vaca Verde Farms Limited]

Here some links for you all, I will update as I continue to add products to my listing

Hydroponic Fertilizers
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=680967

Ziegler Fish Food
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=680963

[dude2014]

Happy to see a new supplier in the Hydroponics arena. Though I see Tomatoes fertiliser blends, I am interested in nutes for lettuce.
Currently I am doing some preparatory works on an area that is earmarked for commercial lettuce production.

With regards to the aquaponics I am interested in a table top version for my daughter. She loves Science and I know it will be good for her.
Mostly I would be doing all the fussing.

Will be contacting you to make further enquiries

Hope the Agri Programme Monday 101.7 FM Radio Heritage at 6.00pm is on 22.8 2016. Does not matter what the topic is.

[Vaca Verde Farms Limited]

Happy to see a new supplier in the Hydroponics arena. Though I see Tomatoes fertiliser blends, I am interested in nutes for lettuce.
Currently I am doing some preparatory works on an area that is earmarked for commercial lettuce production.

With regards to the aquaponics I am interested in a table top version for my daughter. She loves Science and I know it will be good for her.
Mostly I would be doing all the fussing.

Will be contacting you to make further enquiries

Hope the Agri Programme Monday 101.7 FM Radio Heritage at 6.00pm is on 22.8 2016. Does not matter what the topic is.

Thanks for your interest, but this is a common misconception with regards to nutrients. Many people will tell you that one plant's needs are different from the other, while this is true with certain elements (ec/ppm,pH, temperature, potassium) the majority of it is used by a plant in the same fashion. Nitrogen is mainly used for vegetative growth, phosphorus for rooting and potassium for flowering and fruiting. The reality is simple, the plant requires balanced nutrition based on estimated nutrient uptake (yes, even in this modern time, we only have an average).

This misconception has led to one believing that there are specific formulations for specific crops, when they can all be grown well with balanced solution. There are issues when one nutrient is higher than the other, for example phosphorus , calcium and potassium tend to get in each other's way when one or more is dominant. A large problem is usually potassium and calcium both in a constant battle to be used, but that's only because one is not balanced, and this does not necessarily mean equal parts.

On the other hand, all plants require the macro, micro and trace nutrients. Once the formulation is balanced, the plant will uptake what it needs,when it needs, usually at different stages.The main thing is that they use what they need, when they need it. Once your fertilizer formulation is well balanced, it will not matter if you grow lettuce or tomatoes or pepper, the same formulation will work for all with each plant taking whats necessary only. This is your goal, you want the plant to have full freedom to use whatever it needs.

Our formulated system works out to 20-18-38, and we simply adjust the nutrient strength (PPM or EC ) based on the plant. For example let's look at what we use on our farm-( please note this is based on our fertilizer ,from master blend and can vary heavily based on others)

Tomatoes, sweet peppers, piementos, hot peppers, cucumber (or any heavy fruiting crop)
We use 2.3 grams of 4-18-38 and Calcium Nitrate with 1.15 grams of Magnesium Sulfate to each gallon of water.
We Start at an EC of 1.5 and gradually increase to as much as 4.5 based on the plant.

Lettuce,tat-soy, bok choi, pak choi, kale, swiss chard (or any heavy vegetative plant)
We us 2 grams of 4-18-38 and Calcium Nitrate with 1 gram of Magnesium Sulfate to each gallon of water
We start at EC 1.2 and maintain this rate throughout the cycle.

Seedlings and Cuttings (ALL)
We use 1 gram 4-18-38 to .8 grams Calcium Nitrate with .5 grams of Magnesium Sulfate to each gallon of water.
We start at EC .6 and gradually increase to 1.2 at the sign of the first true leaves (remains here for green leafy) and then increase in gradual 1 week steps of EC 1 until we arrive at the desired nutrient strength for our particular plant as this allows the plant to gradually become adapted to high concentrations and avoid plant shock and stress.

So, the simple answer is a balanced fertilizer will work for any crop, the secret is it's strength/concentration in EC or PPM.

As for the Masterblend 20-18-38 combination, it contains every last possible nutrient and element to grow a plant in a 100% soil less inert material.We have customers doing flowers (lavender,tulip and roses), cucumbers, tomatoes,ochro, peppers, lettuce and a great many other crops using this base with our recommended EC/PPM concentration for that plant.

I hope this clears your questions, please feel free to ask more...
Thanks

[dude2014]

Yeah guys I missed the Programme on Radio Heritage.
As for the fertiliser update, this is welcome and probably answers a lot of previous questions.
I now know where to get some top class hydroponics nutrients. Looking forward to try same in my NFT system.

What would Vaca Verde recommend to be a suitable, economical, soilless inert material?
The Dutch has a preference for Coco Coir. Locally we have grown somewhat attached to Peat moss based material.

Due to the introduction of new brands with starter fertilisers, what effect will this have on seedling production?
Have had my fair share of excitement with things going wrong when you cannot get what you have been using.

[Vaca Verde Farms Limited]

Yeah guys I missed the Programme on Radio Heritage.
As for the fertiliser update, this is welcome and probably answers a lot of previous questions.
I now know where to get some top class hydroponics nutrients. Looking forward to try same in my NFT system.

What would Vaca Verde recommend to be a suitable, economical, soilless inert material?
The Dutch has a preference for Coco Coir. Locally we have grown somewhat attached to Peat moss based material.

Due to the introduction of new brands with starter fertilizers, what effect will this have on seedling production?
Have had my fair share of excitement with things going wrong when you cannot get what you have been using.

OK, we personally use different mediums-

Oasis Horticubes XL for most seedlings
Rockwool Large Delta Cubes (3x3) for larger crops like tomatoes and peppers
Hydroton for growbeds and some crops that we need extra support like in our deep culture buckets for our pimentos
Biostrate bio matts for fodder, microgreens, wheat grass etc
Perlite for our dutch buckets

We recommend using the same fertilizers from start to finish , just reduce your EC to 1/2 that of the regular concentration. This will allow you plants to avoid the "shock" and stunt or retard growth. Keep feeding what your plants know, and try not to change for the life cycle of that crop.

[dude2014]

I have been trying to got info on oasis cubes. When short crops like lettuce and patchoi is harvested, the cubes remain.
I am not sure if they can be composted.
Also can they be used again for the same crops or filled in a bato/dutch bucket to plant another crop?

[Vaca Verde Farms Limited]

I have been trying to got info on oasis cubes. When short crops like lettuce and patchoi is harvested, the cubes remain.
I am not sure if they can be composted.
Also can they be used again for the same crops or filled in a bato/dutch bucket to plant another crop?

Hello,

Thank you for your questions, I will try to answer them as best as I can.

Question 1-
The cubes are considered "spent" and are usually sold with the plant with all of it's roots intact as a way to help keep it fresh for a considerable amount of time as compared to removing the root system (usually 3-5days longer). The other advantage is that people can now place the purchased plant into their gardens and continue growing as the plant is still very much alive and well if they choose to or simply keep it growing for a limited time on their kitchen counters in basic tap water before decay starts , or as the local term is said "melts". This practice ensures a healthy plant at all times, even up to as fresh as you can eat it, it's the same as eating out of your own backyard garden.

Question 2-
The cubes cannot be composted directly in a backyard compost heap due to it's inorganic nature of being a type of foam. On the other hand, the roots can and should be removed and taken to a composting heap while the cube to the trash. Oasis cubes can be broken down and recycled by commercial operators in many different forms, but the process cannot be completed by the general person.

Question 3-
We don't recommend reusing these cubes as they can contain and store concentrated nutrient salts that can cause a very strong imbalance in your nutrient formulation causing false deficiency symptoms due to the reactions between calcium, potassium and magnesium which would leave you in another predicament trying to figure out what has happened. They can also transfer any bacteria or diseases that may have been present in the previous crop and there's the possibility that one crop may not show symptoms but another may be devastated. This is not considered a reusable media because of it's fragile design. This is one of our most followed rules, the rule of Sanitized Production.

I hope this answers your questions,
Vaca Verde Farms

[dude2014]

Thanks for the information Vaca Verde.
Need to do some more googling/reading.
Sometimes it is impossible to get info on the net.

I was thinking that the spent cubes can be drenched in humic acid to prevent locking up of nutrients and placed under grown trees to boost the tree's performance.
Not all customers want a cube attached to their lettuce.

[Vaca Verde Farms Limited]

Thanks for the information Vaca Verde.
Need to do some more googling/reading.
Sometimes it is impossible to get info on the net.

I was thinking that the spent cubes can be drenched in humic acid to prevent locking up of nutrients and placed under grown trees to boost the tree's performance.
Not all customers want a cube attached to their lettuce.

Yes I agree, but the accumulated salt content will become very concentrated, and while this may be ok for mature plants, it may cause issues with new ones. Using humic acid is very useful in a case like this, and the addition of fulvic acid will also help boost the plants nutrient intake. I can see this working as a supplemental nutrient system for mature plants as a matter of recycling used products , well atleast the nutrients absorbed but in the end, the cube will still disintegrate with time, so the question is, how long?

Customers are not enlightened enough to understand why. It's our job to inform them about why we leave them on. On the flip-side, many restaurants and food outlets will prefer no roots because they used their products out within 1 week or less, usually 1-2 days.

[Vaca Verde Farms Limited]

Hello again tuners who are reading this thread. I have been receiving numerous questions on my email account and Facebook messenger about the economics of hydroponic growing. To avoid all of these continuous questions, here's our most commonly asked questions by consumers and the answers we provide -

Question 1
Can I grow multiple crops in one system using one reservoir ?

The answer is no. Even though we provide one simple and easy to use nutrient base, different plant types will take different nutrients up at different intervals based on their needs. This has lead to mono-cropping to ensure a high quality product consistency and ease of nutrient monitoring. This also allows for no transfer of diseases and bacteria that while my not affect one plant, can adversely affect the other. It's just the most simple way to be preventative of many many issues that can arise out of a system. There is no problem with younger crops and older crops of the same varieties being grown together. Here's my example, you can have 10 different types of lettuce in the same system ranging from 2 week old seedlings, all the way up to mature plants that are ready to harvest. This is because all lettuce crops tend to take very similar nutrients up at the same time, creating a balanced withdrawal of nutrients in your system and thus it becomes easy to monitor and predict solution composition at addition times.

Question 2-
What are the most suitable crops for hydroponics?

While there are many many suitable crops, their productivity is greatly enhanced by the systems that are most suitable to them. Large fruiting crops are best suited for "dutch buckets" systems, while most green leafy vegetables and herbs can be grown in "nutrient film technique" (but no limited to) with great success. It all depends on what you want to grow, as we have seen entire orchards being done in large 100 gallon buckets with great success in Florida. The short answer is most if not all plants can be grown here, but with the exception of large fruit trees like a Mango.

Question 3-
Is hydroponics a viable business idea?

Yes it is once done on a large enough scale as with any other farming methods. The initial capital is high and may take a few months of produce to become repaid. As with any business, you have an investment that is long term, no business becomes honestly successful overnight.

Question 4-
Is there much work involved?

Yes and no. For the backyard hobbyist , the work can range from 1 hour daily on normal days, all the way up to 8 hours on harvesting and replanting days. On large scale farms, it's a standard 8 hour day as your business may be doing a weekly or even daily harvest, you will be re-seeding, replanting and harvesting each and every day until you have ascertained a system large enough to provide automatic nutrient control, and workers for harvesting and re-planting. This is the point where your work day becomes much less, but at your cost.

Question 5-
What would be considered a commercial farm?

A commercial farm is when you have attained a consistent clientele that can take products weekly or daily usually upwards of $5000 TTD per day in net profit return. This usually means a 2 acre plot and a lot of constant work and maintenance, more suitable for hired workers and automated control systems.

I'll post more as I can, but for now these are the main ones I get asked commonly

You all can feel free to ask questions, don't be shy!!!

[Trinifisher]

Thanks for the info bro!!

[dude2014]

My thanks added. Glad to see things are growing as it relates to interest in hydroponics locally.
Dont forget Aquaponics/Aquaculture tuners .....
I can say this much, I am glad I have not been waiting on the Ministry of Agriculture.
Dont get me wrong.
Trinitario Cocoa And Buffalypso was developed locally by some dedicated individuals.

It is our time to shine and do our part to reduce the food import bill.
Just imagine ......... a five billion dollar import of food, whether raw or processed.
I am putting my stake on some of that action, locally of course

[Vaca Verde Farms Limited]

Yes I agree, I would like to see trinidad taking down the costs of our importation bill to that of what is needed rather than what we can grow locally

slowly but surly we can, but we need people to produce more locally and support locally also, it's time to cut the chinese imports on food for things that can be grown here, the most important being the waste that they call tilapia

for the people who are into aquaculture, there are many other species that can be viably grown here, and we are working on a feed import system from some high quality manufacturers at very reasonable prices

little by little we can get there

[dude2014]

To progress we need belief in what we want to do.
Ask someone and they say 'boy ....'. What Does that mean?
I gotten so much of that I dont ask (not even some of the Professionals).
Where belief is weak, then reinforcement is necessary.
World Food Day is coming up and there are going to be a few events that can yield ideas.
This is on 16th october 2016. Assist by posting events with dates locations etc. THANKS

Have done some seedling giveaways on this date at work.
Persons have started to do their own container gardens, growbeds, growboxes because of this

IMAGINE THAT ......... You can be part of this revolution.

I support local farmers, being one also, even though there are issues with water quality, pesticides, etc.
Growbox is my thing. That is probably a next thread or new topic. Can someone advise?

Interested in some of the other fish species that can be grown.

[vin123]

Hi Good Morning Tuners.

I require some advice please.

So I would like to get into the Hydroponics. I am looking at doing a NFT System.

So my concern is I am in the process of fencing my property and I am wondering if I should load the concrete blocks.
I am contemplating doing the wall in either 4" or 6" concrete blocks.

If the walls aren't loaded would I be able to place the channels for the NFT on the wall or would the blocks be required to be filled also would the 4" or 6" be better.

much thanks

[dude2014]

Hi Good Morning Tuners.

I require some advice please.

So I would like to get into the Hydroponics. I am looking at doing a NFT System.

So my concern is I am in the process of fencing my property and I am wondering if I should load the concrete blocks.
I am contemplating doing the wall in either 4" or 6" concrete blocks.

If the walls aren't loaded would I be able to place the channels for the NFT on the wall or would the blocks be required to be filled also would the 4" or 6" be better.

much thanks

NFT System of hydroponics requires a channel and the weight of the channel together with nutrient solution and full grown plants has to be taken into account. If one end of the channel is resting on the wall or off a bracket with a support member, it is not necessary once the perimeter wall has an adequate foundation as most of the weight will be supported along the length and the supports for the said purpose.

Alternatively, if you are doing a vertical system, attached to the wall then the 4" can be loaded to give additional structural soundness provided the perimeter wall is designed to take the load. Depending on the orientation of the wall, sunlight which is a critical factor can see the plants receiving light for part of the day for a north south direction. For a east to west direction, as the earth revolves and its tilt along the axis will see some plants being denied sunlight at varying times of the year.

I have a chain link wire fence and has laid out the system 4 feet from same so I can move around the system freely. This space will allow me to utilise the wire for vine crops such as seim, bodi, carrille, etc.

By now I hope you realise that it is more than the wall as it entails other factors. Google the sun orientation during different times of the year to get a sense of what is going to happen and then plan your system. Meanwhile you can complete your wall with the above guidelines and if you still need to use the wall then go for it ...........

[hong kong phooey]

Thanks for the information Vaca Verde.
Need to do some more googling/reading.
Sometimes it is impossible to get info on the net.

I was thinking that the spent cubes can be drenched in humic acid to prevent locking up of nutrients and placed under grown trees to boost the tree's performance.
Not all customers want a cube attached to their lettuce.

Yes I agree, but the accumulated salt content will become very concentrated, and while this may be ok for mature plants, it may cause issues with new ones. Using humic acid is very useful in a case like this, and the addition of fulvic acid will also help boost the plants nutrient intake. I can see this working as a supplemental nutrient system for mature plants as a matter of recycling used products , well atleast the nutrients absorbed but in the end, the cube will still disintegrate with time, so the question is, how long?

Customers are not enlightened enough to understand why. It's our job to inform them about why we leave them on. On the flip-side, many restaurants and food outlets will prefer no roots because they used their products out within 1 week or less, usually 1-2 days.

I went into your facebook page to see what system(pics ) you have for sale but its locked which is kinda disappointing for people like me without a facebook account. I googled your company but found no website.
As a business i believe if you marketing online also the info should be more easily accessible. This is my 2 cents and it my opinion could be total bull crap not even capable of using as manure in your growing systems

[dude2014]

The brother went offline. Had some personnel issues. He was A Power Seller.

Check Nos-specialist. They have some supplies. Somewhere I saw him advising that he has stuff ...........

Depending on what you want to do I can advise. Also some of my post under Farmers Ched may be useful .............

[hong kong phooey]

thanks dude
now watching the date of that last post.
I have set up at my house little brick trough but the constant grass/weed growth is annoying so i was thinking about trying out this hydrophonics for my daughter to mantain.

[nos_specialist]

thanks dude
now watching the date of that last post.
I have set up at my house little brick trough but the constant grass/weed growth is annoying so i was thinking about trying out this hydrophonics for my daughter to mantain.

Hey man good evening, if you need Supplies check out my page on Facebook. Ariaponics

we are currently up at Techagriexpo in UWI displaying our systems, come check us or give me at call at 388-7700 for more information

[dude2014]

thanks dude
now watching the date of that last post.
I have set up at my house little brick trough but the constant grass/weed growth is annoying so i was thinking about trying out this hydrophonics for my daughter to mantain.

The solution to the weeds in your grow box is multiple:
1. Do not let the grass grow and flower, pull out and dispose of as each flowering tip has hundreds of seeds that will germinate and drive you crazy.

2. Once you are satisfied that there is enough nutrients for the plants you can proceed. Install a piece of landscape fabric from Bhagwansingh over the dirt. It comes in 3" and 4" width x 100', so you will have extra to place elsewhere. The benefits are tremendous.

3. You then cover with a hardwood mulch, taking care as there are splinters that can pierce your skin and leave you with sore fingers for days. Just use a box cutter and cut X's for the plants to grow in the ground. Move the mulch back, plant, and re-cover the cleared area. Wala and you good to go. Fertilise and wet as and when required.

4. Sometimes before applying the landscape fabric, a pre-emergent weedicide or referrred to locally as grass seed medecine is applied as directed ( 2tsp/gallon - a 4litre paint bucket).

Take up nos-specialist offer to check him on UWI campus and see the Hydroponic system being demo-ed. While you are there, check the Caribbean Chemicals booth for some pre emergent weedicide advice.

Enough info. If you have questions/concerns you now have two reference persons. Also my daughter sometimes argues with her mom, "Daddy does not do it that way ........... They learn a huge amount from these small projects.

[timelapse]

I have a chop and flip ibc aquaponics systems.I use a u siphon to drain my growbed.Sometimes the siphon refuses to start, then sometimes it refuses to stop.What gives?

[dude2014]

I have a chop and flip ibc aquaponics systems.I use a u siphon to drain my growbed.Sometimes the siphon refuses to start, then sometimes it refuses to stop.What gives?

Check nos-specialist ..........

Also friendly Aquaponics, Hawaii is a site you can check for solutions and ideas ...........

[nos_specialist]

I have a chop and flip ibc aquaponics systems.I use a u siphon to drain my growbed.Sometimes the siphon refuses to start, then sometimes it refuses to stop.What gives?

Give me a call i would be able to help you with that. 388-7700

[ADONI]

I have a chop and flip ibc aquaponics systems.I use a u siphon to drain my growbed.Sometimes the siphon refuses to start, then sometimes it refuses to stop.What gives?

Yuh youtube any videos, saw some a while back on youtube, very detailed.

[timelapse]

Update. I scrap down the whole thing there was some loose gravel lodged it it.I have since put up a gravel barrier using a plastic bottle with slits in it.Works like a charm for now.Thanks for the help guys

[timelapse]

My bronze lettuce growing for about 6 weeks but they very small in size.The seed pack said they were 6 week lettuce.they looking healthy, but i think that some of the leaves at the bottom melting.Anything I could be doing wrong?