Hydroponic enthusiasts (hobby/personal growers)

[rfari]

I have a fully grown tree that I have to cut down as well
Roots will potentially compromise my septic system, so yeah, I rather give the sapling away than kill two trees

hard lucky bai MG. i woulda take it but i don't think my parent will appreciate bring more stuff in the backyard

yuh doh give away dem thing so bai^^..yuh doh realise yuh does hardly see that and tangerine in the market..
on another note..I see men selling chenette ahready..and by the lb to inno..

fellas and dem is rell sickos yes. and is not to say they hadda buy fertiliser for it

[shake d livin wake d dead]

I have a fully grown tree that I have to cut down as well
Roots will potentially compromise my septic system, so yeah, I rather give the sapling away than kill two trees

hard lucky bai MG. i woulda take it but i don't think my parent will appreciate bring more stuff in the backyard

yuh doh give away dem thing so bai^^..yuh doh realise yuh does hardly see that and tangerine in the market..
on another note..I see men selling chenette ahready..and by the lb to inno..

fellas and dem is rell sickos yes. and is not to say they hadda buy fertiliser for it

yuh understand hoss.I sure the men I see selling prolly raid ah man tree in he backyard...seriously

[MG Man]

lol nah man
plenty of those trees in the country
My inlaws have a few up in an estate in Poole, but nobody have time to keep it clean so most of the trees overgrown...at least the school kids get some free when mandarine in season

but anyways, the sapling free to anyone who want it, otherwise it might not be there next time I pass with the whacker (I forgot it was there and level it twice...tough lil bugger)

[InDeForest]

I have a few of those hole saw bits in smaller sizes that I got from Peakes in cocorite, they seem to have the entire range of sizes up to about 4", the brand is Morse. They work really well generally, but I imagine you really have to take time with the PVC to avoid snagging and cracking it. Pilot bit + patience.

[rfari]

I have a few of those hole saw bits in smaller sizes that I got from Peakes in cocorite, they seem to have the entire range of sizes up to about 4", the brand is Morse. They work really well generally, but I imagine you really have to take time with the PVC to avoid snagging and cracking it. Pilot bit + patience.

Yup. Safety glasses are a must. What size system you looking at?

[Chimera]

feel daz wha i need.

[shake d livin wake d dead]

Bhagwansinghs^
but real high tech things for the hydroponics systems dred..

[bluesteel29]

still no 1 locally selling electronic ph\ec\tds testers?

[rfari]

still none that i know of. order the stuff online; most likely it would work out to be cheaper

[InDeForest]

I have an elevated concrete planter, covered by a blacknet, its about 3x20feet, a foot deep, and its got problems with drainage, so no good for any quality growth. I am going to get all the soil removed from it and thinking to put about five 20ft lengths of the 4" pvc inside there, and run the piping and sump nearby. It really seems like the perfect setup already in place.
I am not a natural greenthumb at all so i don't fight up in the garden, but the desire to do homegrown veggies and herbs etc. is there. If i buss on a hydroponic system things really bad...

[InDeForest]

Naive question, would the ph testers be the same kit people use to test their swimming pool chlorinated water?

[bluesteel29]

Naive question, would the ph testers be the same kit people use to test their swimming pool chlorinated water?

Yes..its more economical to purchase an electronic 1 tho

[shake d livin wake d dead]

I have an elevated concrete planter, covered by a blacknet, its about 3x20feet, a foot deep, and its got problems with drainage, so no good for any quality growth. I am going to get all the soil removed from it and thinking to put about five 20ft lengths of the 4" pvc inside there, and run the piping and sump nearby. It really seems like the perfect setup already in place.
I am not a natural greenthumb at all so i don't fight up in the garden, but the desire to do homegrown veggies and herbs etc. is there. If i buss on a hydroponic system things really bad...

easiest and cheapest way of backyard farming is the grow-box method..my 2cent..

[rfari]

^^yup. shakes is right. i would recommend the growbox as well. remove the soil, scrub tub with some bleach and hydrogen peroxide and put 50% plastic bottle (lower layer), 25% gravel (middle layer), 25% sharp sand (upper layer). bear in mind that it would be an open hydro system (nutrients aren't recycled). you can use this technique to develop ur greenthumb. if you interested in using a recycled system using 4" PVC, i would recommend building a simple stand to support it.

[shake d livin wake d dead]

^^yup. shakes is right. i would recommend the growbox as well. remove the soil, scrub tub with some bleach and hydrogen peroxide and put 50% plastic bottle (lower layer), 25% gravel (middle layer), 25% sharp sand (upper layer). bear in mind that it would be an open hydro system (nutrients aren't recycled). you can use this technique to develop ur greenthumb. if you interested in using a recycled system using 4" PVC, i would recommend building a simple stand to support it.

nice mixture here.
this is what I do..about 50 or so concrete blocks (smallest size) bottom layer I use sharp sand,then I use some nice top soil on top that,followed by manure mixed with top soil...then ah ready tuh plant.. I also use the spaces in the blocks to plant chive,celery,etc..

[rfari]

Shakes, in a setup like the one you described, would it just be water added to the plants or fertiliser has to added to the water then fed to plants?

[shake d livin wake d dead]

fertiliser has to be mixed with water to feed plants..I usually use a spray can..

[rfari]

updates since last time.
did some adjustments to the systems. transplanted the chive and the shadon beni and removed most of the gravel in one of the tomato troughs and added washed sharp sand. the plan is to grow tomatoes in this as well. seedlings started for this.



while removing gravel, discovered a slug and i suspect that slugs and not bachac were responsible for the eaten leaves.


so i put a capful of malathion in each reservoir (2 caps for the tomatoes reservoir since i found the slug there) with the intention of killing the slugs then flushing the systems and replenishing nutrients. that was where the trouble started. stayed up until 3am flushing, rinsing, scrubbing, measuring, mixing etc and thought that my plants were fine. woke up the next morning and my tomatoes plants started to look withered checked the EC of the nutrients and it was 3x the usual amount i added (ec meter needed re-calibrating and a recharge ). so i'm not too sure if its the overdose of nutes or the malathion that affected it.



since then the tomatoes have been on the mends. sweet pepper plant producing flowers but they drop off prematurely. made a change to the nutes and will give it a week to see how it goes.


slugs again. and i think the 2 peppers on either side are diseased. suppose to pull them up.


celery and chive doing normel. lettuce and cabbage struggling. made a dedicated system to grow it. still tinkering to create a stable high nitrogen fertiliser for this.



2 bubbler systems made. 1 has 2 hybrid sweet peppers with some shadon beni cuttings and the other has a lily.


side note. this is what was left from the celery and chive that was reaped. picture taken on the 15.01.12. it actually stayed fresher than the seasoning we by at the market.

[shake d livin wake d dead]

celery looking nice.wa went wrong with the tomatoes dey?

[rfari]

celery looking nice.wa went wrong with the tomatoes dey?

Thanks man. That system I trying out something.
With the tomatoes its either
1. The malathion I added to reservoir for the slugs. Tried to clean it but a few days after it was frothing a bit still in the secondary filter. Told my grandmom and she suggested slug bait next time. *facepalm*
2. The overdose it got. It stayed about 8 hours at 6.3 EC. Regular feeding is between 1.8-2.2 for the tomatoes
3. The increased flow (on ur recommendation ). Solution reached above the gravel and was flooding the trough. Read about 'daytime/daylight wilting' in plants. Cause by a bacterium grows around the roots of plants when there is pooling of solution around the roots. I increased the size of the outfall on the trough and used a wire to clear some of the roots blocking the flow of water.
4. Saw lawn cuttings ontop and inside the reservoir. Either lawn man try to f*q me up or it just happened when he was wackering the grass.
5. I'm prolly watching it too much.

[shake d livin wake d dead]

celery looking nice.wa went wrong with the tomatoes dey?

Thanks man. That system I trying out something.
With the tomatoes its either
1. The malathion I added to reservoir for the slugs. Tried to clean it but a few days after it was frothing a bit still in the secondary filter. Told my grandmom and she suggested slug bait next time. *facepalm*
2. The overdose it got. It stayed about 8 hours at 6.3 EC. Regular feeding is between 1.8-2.2 for the tomatoes
3. The increased flow (on ur recommendation ). Solution reached above the gravel and was flooding the trough. Read about 'daytime/daylight wilting' in plants. Cause by a bacterium grows around the roots of plants when there is pooling of solution around the roots. I increased the size of the outfall on the trough and used a wire to clear some of the roots blocking the flow of water.
4. Saw lawn cuttings ontop and inside the reservoir. Either lawn man try to f*q me up or it just happened when he was wackering the grass.
5. I'm prolly watching it too much.

daz d answer dey

[rfari]

[rfari]

went all or broke with the nutes for the tomatoes and they took a turn for the worse. backed out last minute and diluted the solution. running about 0.6EC now. going to take some pics and go by the agri-shop for some advice. pulled up the diseased hot peppers. no root development like i hoped. will post pics later

[shake d livin wake d dead]

no root development? they might give you rhizolex to try next time..

[rfari]

shakes, how does that compare to banrot? i have a pack that i never used from way back. is it something that has to be added just at the seedling stage or throughout the life of the plant?

[shake d livin wake d dead]

it works just as well,I used it a few times, at time of seedling and transplanting as well as a occasional drench throughout the plant's life cycle.usually good for the control of fungi in greenhouses and outdoor use..

[rfari]

Final conclusion with the tomatoes is that the roots were most likely diseased before but after I increased the flow rate, it made the problem worse. Temporary solution is to add banrot after each nute change. Long term would be to use uv light disinfection at the outfall.

All in all, the nutes perfomed better than expected. I'm putting a hold on the nutrient experiments and now focusing on system development (large, standardised systems, system monitoring and control and renewable energy to power the equipment). Will post pics as I go along.

[shake d livin wake d dead]

good luck bro^

[rfari]

fungi and disease hit some of my plants. it was too late to treat the peppers so had to pull them up.




there was no helping the tomatoes. apparently they were all affected by root fungus. have to take this into consideration for next batch.





made some changes to the systems to have a more regulated flow to the plant troughs. move these bubblers to the back. one has chive cuttings and two hybrid sweet peppers and a hot pepper. leaves eaten by a bird. need to get a bb gun soon.



wild lily in the other bubbler. flower bud started to grow. pushing some high potassium nutes in this one.


1/4" drip tubing added to the outflow with spray nozzles at the ends.

started to treat these plants for mites. if its not one things, its another.


latest project.

[shake d livin wake d dead]

pressure for the tomatoes dey bai....last system looking rather interesting though..