Hydroponic enthusiasts (hobby/personal growers)

[rollingstock]

^ i on sheit eh...........

or maybe not

[shake d livin wake d dead]

Hi all,
I am in the process of building a small hydroponic set up,but I also want to try the bato bucket system,does anyone know where I might get hydroton and the coconut fiber used in hydroponics here in Trinidad.
Thanks
Sharon

you could get the bato buckets in Bhagwansingh's or in any leading hardware, hydroton in undercover (San Juan) the big plant shop in Aranguez(most likely) or you could go check Caribbean Chemicals..as for the coconut fiber I'm unsure about that...if you want the husk you could get in abundance up Mayaro side..

btw...excellent decision for using hydroton..

[rfari]

shakes, how much do they sell the hydroton for?

[bluesteel29]

Hi all,
I am in the process of building a small hydroponic set up,but I also want to try the bato bucket system,does anyone know where I might get hydroton and the coconut fiber used in hydroponics here in Trinidad.
Thanks
Sharon

you can get 10 compressed coco coir disks for $9 @ peakes
buy a good amount cause u gonna need to flush it to get rid of unwanted salts and flushing takes away alot of the medium.

[shake d livin wake d dead]

shakes, how much do they sell the hydroton for?

boy to tell you the truth,I not sure about the prices these days,it has been a while since I used it.smallest bag was around $100-$120

[Sharon_S]

Thanks for the reply,I already got a bag of the lettuce formula from Tracmac and the calcium nitrate.
Tomorrow I am going and put together this system http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhAferKRXh4.
First attempt would be lettuce it is supposed to be the easiest thing to grow.
I am also going to try a tomato formula in the bato bucket setup but in a few weeks time.
Tracmac had a ph ec meter but it is 1500.00 so for the first attempt I might not need it,I will just use a pool kit to measure the ph and just change the formula after two weeks since I wont have a meter to measure the nutrients.

RS, ohh goaaar ease meh up nah de boss.

Hi all,
I am in the process of building a small hydroponic set up,but I also want to try the bato bucket system,does anyone know where I might get hydroton and the coconut fiber used in hydroponics here in Trinidad.
Thanks
Sharon

i'm not really sure were u can get those items but you can try

Tracmac Engineering Ltd.
Corner Biljah Road & Uriah Butler Highway, Chaguanas, Trinidad. W.I.
Phone: +1 868 665 5555

they sell hydro nutes but the prices kinda high IMO. ordering from ebay maybe the best option.
do u have the setup already? what u intend to grow?

[Sharon_S]

Thanks I will check them out tomorrow and let everyone know if I was successful in finding the hydroton.

Hi all,
I am in the process of building a small hydroponic set up,but I also want to try the bato bucket system,does anyone know where I might get hydroton and the coconut fiber used in hydroponics here in Trinidad.
Thanks
Sharon

you could get the bato buckets in Bhagwansingh's or in any leading hardware, hydroton in undercover (San Juan) the big plant shop in Aranguez(most likely) or you could go check Caribbean Chemicals..as for the coconut fiber I'm unsure about that...if you want the husk you could get in abundance up Mayaro side..

btw...excellent decision for using hydroton..

[Sharon_S]

Thanks for sure I will check Peakes tomorrow,since I have down to St,James to get some hose for the system I am building.

Hi all,
I am in the process of building a small hydroponic set up,but I also want to try the bato bucket system,does anyone know where I might get hydroton and the coconut fiber used in hydroponics here in Trinidad.
Thanks
Sharon

you can get 10 compressed coco coir disks for $9 @ peakes
buy a good amount cause u gonna need to flush it to get rid of unwanted salts and flushing takes away alot of the medium.

[rfari]

great stuff Sharon_S! post some pics on ur progress. as for the ph/ec meter u can buy it on ebay

http://www.ebay.com/itm/pH-C-F-RH-EC-CF ... 857wt_1112
comes from hong kong so it takes a while

[rfari]

Caribbean chemicals has a booth by maturita garden supplies (neville). All products on display and some good pamphlet information.

[Sharon_S]

An update regarding the hydroton.

I checked probably the whole of Trinidad including a guy who brings it in he said he does not have any in stock and he has no idea what the price will be when he brings it in some time later in the month,so I guess that leaves one alternative,which is I will have to bring it in for myself and while I am at it I will bring in some oasis rootcubes.

I did manage to get the coco fibre at Peakes and irrigation tubing.
I have already bought the pvc fittings and have cut out the holes as soon as I have put the system together hopefully by weekend,I will post a photo.

I can't believe my lettuce has already germinated on the third day after sowing in the trays.

[shake d livin wake d dead]

they don't take long....only sucky thing is...to much rain these days..they would need a nice mixture of sunlight and water now..

[rfari]

there's some hydroton on ebay. i wonder what is raptor's price for it.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R4 ... Categories

[rfari]

contrast in patchoi size more noticeable.

[Sharon_S]

An update regarding the hydroton.

I checked probably the whole of Trinidad including a guy who brings it in he said he does not have any in stock and he has no idea what the price will be when he brings it in some time later in the month,so I guess that leaves one alternative,which is I will have to bring it in for myself and while I am at it I will bring in some oasis rootcubes.

I did manage to get the coco fibre at Peakes and irrigation tubing.
I have already bought the pvc fittings and have cut out the holes as soon as I have put the system together hopefully by weekend,I will post a photo.

I can't believe my lettuce has already germinated on the third day after sowing in the trays.

An update I am now waiting on some hydroton that I ordered on line,my nephew and I put together a hydroponic/aeroponic system well the aeroponic part is waiting on some spray misters.I will put in the air stone today.We transplanted the zucchini yesterday,so far so good,I used cocopeat in the styrotex cups and I put some material around the pump so it does not get clogged as there are a whole bunch of holes in the cups.
This was an orange container I bought in Peakes and I spray painted it black.
These will be transplanted when they get a little bigger to a bucket system I am building.




First set of seedlings,zucchini,lettuce,sweet basil in the two end trays 2 week old seedlings,middle tray one week old lettuce.


This system is ready to put together,only thing holding us back right now ,is that I have to build a covering for the system.I had to wait for one of my nephews to be in a good mood to weld the stands,now I have to catch him again to weld a green house type structure which I have to figure out how to build.



I ordered the meters from amazon and some other stuff .

[shake d livin wake d dead]

still trying to figure out why some plants growing faster than others....were they all planted the same time? but all in all everything looking real good..I wonder if I have patience for this hydroponics thing jed

[Chimera]

ras what size pipe that is? 2 inch?

my project nuh going anywhere right now

i jus planning and planning

[shake d livin wake d dead]

[quote="ABA Trading LTD"]ras what size pipe that is? 2 inch?

my project nuh going anywhere right now

i jus planning and planning [/quote

small thing

[rfari]

@Sharon_S, setup coming along nicely. the black colour may not be suitable as the solution temperature may get a bit high and cause nutrient lockout. if its shaded then you're ok.

@ABA, tht's not me homie . u have to start your stuff soon man. 1 hour a day. i prefer to work at nights when the outdoors are cool

[Sharon_S]

@Sharon_S, setup coming along nicely. the black colour may not be suitable as the solution temperature may get a bit high and cause nutrient lockout. if its shaded then you're ok.

@ABA, tht's not me homie . u have to start your stuff soon man. 1 hour a day. i prefer to work at nights when the outdoors are cool

Thanks.
Yuh right about the heat,I coulld have made tea with the nutrient this evening when I checked it,tomorrow I will try and put something around the container,in the mean time I ordered some Sunblocker™ Foil Bubble Film .

[Sharon_S]

still trying to figure out why some plants growing faster than others....were they all planted the same time? but all in all everything looking real good..I wonder if I have patience for this hydroponics thing jed

The zucchini looking like it is a big breed plant I suppose that it is why it is so big compared to the others.

[bluesteel29]

thats the coco coir from peakes or coco chips?

what you running in the rez?...why the need for feeding tubes if your using aero/dwc?

[Sharon_S]

thats the coco coir from peakes or coco chips?

what you running in the rez?...why the need for feeding tubes if your using aero/dwc?

Coco peat chips from Peakes.
Using HydroVeg lettuce formula which I got from Tracmac Agricenter.
The reason for the aeroponic setup is because I can take out the cups put in neoprene inserts and use the system as a cloner.

[geodude]

i is ah farmer now yo,
got registered and everything
so i planning to build a 1/2 acre shade house and do grow boxes, where i intend to plant celery, however iam currently waiting on some hot pepper plants that i ordered, the intention is to plant the crop of peppers normally and while this is growing set up the shade house structure around it,
i have never planted before, my moms, has a idea cause of her kitchen gardens but i am just gonna rely on the input of the persons form the agroshop and ppl around the area that plant, however i realise that you guys have a lot of info and experience with crops and identifying issues, therefore i will be checking the thread very often and posting any probs or success with the hope that some of you knowledgeable ppl might assist if needed. I know this is a hydo thread but i hoping that you guys will give meh ah bligh.

I have already brush cut the land, rotovated it and drained it creating beds, they are single plant beds made to hold 1 plant and are 3 feet apart from each other, i have spread goat manure across the entire surface of the beds and then i identified the spot where the plant will be placed, i intend to space the plants 3 feet away from each other so i sprinked lime at 3 feet intervals along the bed where the plants will eventually be placed, i am waiting on the plants is there anything else i should do,

This Info bellow is the sort of thing i am looking for, i have a basic idea of the NPK , (root, shoot, fruit), but as i said i intend to realy on the ppl at the agro shop to advise what is required during the life span of the plant, if you guys think there is anything pertinent that i should know or do, please feel free to let me know

fari dredging the roots: more or less when the seedlings are transplanted what farmers usually do is mix a good medium of rooting nutes and apply it..usually a spray can is used,the nozzle is inserted into the soil and you hold the trigger for a 5 seconds or so and that should be enough.
a good mix of rhizolex/banrot is used together with other chemicals for crickets and so on.some farmers use the option of applying a mixture of miracle grow at this stage..

just to say..this is what I have seen,been around and sometimes did....not all farmers use the same methods...but it is more or less the basic start..

ABA any update on the malt plastic?

[shake d livin wake d dead]

glad to see some1 interested in agriculture..well done yo^^ and I know you said you relying on agro shops, while they may provide info, remember they are profit organisations so they would tell you almost anything to get their products sold...so be careful and do some research before you buy..

[bluesteel29]

thats the coco coir from peakes or coco chips?
what you running in the rez?...why the need for feeding tubes if your using aero/dwc?

Coco peat chips from Peakes.
Using HydroVeg lettuce formula which I got from Tracmac Agricenter.
The reason for the aeroponic setup is because I can take out the cups put in neoprene inserts and use the system as a cloner.

???

...clones can be rooted in perlite and water in a humidity dome very easily...no need to do all that just for clones...but i guess its a learning experience.

with aero depending on the nutes ur using eventually the jets will get clogged so keep in mind ur gonna have to be cleaning em.

honestly the best/effortless way IMO to grow is DWC...simple yet effective...once a week or 2 weeks change out nutes n clean rez n ur good to go,you can also drop a fogger into the setup to create and aero effect...gotten great result with this.

also a couple drops of hydrogen peroxide helps fight bacteria when growing in hydro.

[nervewrecker]

Too much to read, anyways I donno if it was covered or mentioned here but what about fish farming & this hydroponics thing hand in hand.
Fish's releasing nitrates & potassium into the water that the plants use, fish live in water, plants benefit from it, plants benefit from the fish waste, plants bear, fish multiply, win - win situation. Yay, nay, maybe, thoughts?

[shake d livin wake d dead]

Too much to read, anyways I donno if it was covered or mentioned here but what about fish farming & this hydroponics thing hand in hand.
Fish's releasing nitrates & potassium into the water that the plants use, fish live in water, plants benefit from it, plants benefit from the fish waste, plants bear, fish multiply, win - win situation. Yay, nay, maybe, thoughts?

their is a place in waterloo doing this already...real cool systems though...they using talapia I believe and sending the waste into short term crops....real cool systems there

[nervewrecker]

So any of these ganja farme...ummm...I mean hydo enthusiasts in here ever contemplate it? I always believe in getting the most out of a system. Someone had to do a presentation awhile back on talapia & iirc they said it had a market for the meat (I think pricesmart buys locally not so?).
Hydro guys & gals ever thought of getting into this as well? maybe selling some fish meat on tuner too. There is a market for fish on the west coast especially since catches (salt water though) have been poor & the Gulf of Paria heavily polluted we not only get polluted meat but stand the risk of taking in some of the pollutants too (bio accumulation).

[rfari]

Too much to read, anyways I donno if it was covered or mentioned here but what about fish farming & this hydroponics thing hand in hand.
Fish's releasing nitrates & potassium into the water that the plants use, fish live in water, plants benefit from it, plants benefit from the fish waste, plants bear, fish multiply, win - win situation. Yay, nay, maybe, thoughts?

last month i setup a system to mimic a large fish pond. the idea is to convert the ammonia excreted by fish into nitrites then nitrates for plant uptake. i'm using leached horse manure with a biofilter to encourage bacteria growth recirculated by a sump. using air pump to keep aerobic bacteria alive to make the conversions. once all the ammonia converted i'll try it in a simple system. its just like aquaponics but without the fish.

later i'll post pics of progress. my air pump wasn't working for a week and my plants suffered patchoi started to get soft while the pump was sent to re-wind. lesson learnt; ALWAYS HAVE SPARES