My hydroponic Tomatoes ect.

[keybrdkid]

Looking good man.

Your smaller containers look very neat.

How are the older tomato plants fairing?

What's the average temperature in house right now?

My house is at 60 from 730am to 530pm.. 70 after that until 930 PM.

The grow tent is actually humid and very warm so the plants are thriving.

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My house is naturally on the warmer side, since I live in South Florida, and my family apparently doesn't believe in keeping the air temperature below 78F XD. LOL. 
 
My older tomato plants are doing well.... outside. I transplanted them all outside because they looked to be developing bumps all over the stem and looked a bit sickly. Probably my fault, but they seemed to have taken well in the transition. One of the store bought plants even has a tomato growing. Now the question is: how soon do the whiteflies destroy them. I might be able to stall that a bit with a craft mixture of Diamond Nectar and Armor Si. Armor Si is supposed to increase a plants resistance to stress and what not. I had a knowledgeable farmer tell me that the only way to really combat them is the taboo way- with Imidacloprid. Which I was hoping to avoid using, since mixing pesticides in the proper concentration has never been my strong point. And Imidacloprid has a 45 day waiting period from application to useable fruit. Any fruit before that should be thrown out. 
 
The indoor units now house my peppers and the pumpkins. I also have a variety of flowers in seed trays I intend to plant in the yard. 
 
I'm in conversation with a technician at General Hydroponics to see if he can advise on his products and how I am mixing them versus what he recommends. 

 

[AvidLiving]

That's really interesting.

Glad to hear everything is surviving! High of 35• today and 60 inside.. I actually surprised myself thinking I can grow inside and it worked.



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[keybrdkid]

That's really interesting.

Glad to hear everything is surviving! High of 35• today and 60 inside.. I actually surprised myself thinking I can grow inside and it worked.



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Thanks! Hope your growing is going well too. Your tomatoes look fantastic. If only mine were so successful... lol.
 
Here are some Sweet Pea Flowers and Morning glory flowers and Moon flowers sprouting in the sandwich containers. Will be planted in yard. Although I'm tempted to grow some in my DWC's for lols.
 

 

[keybrdkid]

looking for suggestions on how to combat root rot in DWC hydroponics that won't cost me an arm and a leg (upwards of 50$ a quart...).
 
 

 

[AvidLiving]

looking for suggestions on how to combat root rot in DWC hydroponics that won't cost me an arm and a leg (upwards of 50$ a quart...).
 
 

Are you using anything like hydrogaurd for now?

I had root rot issues and looked at all different types of methods. Hydrogaurd is simple and makes my roots very white.

Also.. make sure there is at least an inch to the netcup for space.. don't let those bubbles hit the cup.. I aim to ensure the rockwool is dry and the roots are wet.

I don't start dwc on new plants until the roots shoot out the bottom.

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[keybrdkid]

Are you using anything like hydrogaurd for now?

I had root rot issues and looked at all different types of methods. Hydrogaurd is simple and makes my roots very white.

Also.. make sure there is at least an inch to the netcup for space.. don't let those bubbles hit the cup.. I aim to ensure the rockwool is dry and the roots are wet.

I don't start dwc on new plants until the roots shoot out the bottom.

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I'm not sure what I have is root rot, but I can come up with no other explanation that answers so much. The roots I have now appear white and healthy. But I'm not sure they are telling me the whole story. Could be a humidity issue like I said. 
 
I will look into a small quantity of Hydroguard. See if that helps. I am seeing inward Leaf curl and leaf drooping.

 

[AvidLiving]

Good luck.

I wish I knew the answer. I would have leaf curl upward and the root system would turn limp brown and die. I found out my water level was too high and I spaced out the water to the cup. It still happened but less often.

I did a lot of research on this and found a few products. Hydrogaurd has a good following and it is a bacteria blend. Its 2 MLS per gallon per week. .

Hygrozyme touted even better results by breaking down the roots and letting them rebuild more new white roots. Hygrozyme is much more expensive.



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[keybrdkid]

Time to change the nutrient solution. I conferred with a Technician at General Hydroponics by email, and he told me that the best way to add the nutrients to the solution is in order of heaviest element first-so as to not cause nutrient lockout. So this time the order was: Armor Si, Calimagic, FloraMicro, Flora Bloom, Flora Grow, and the Diamond Nectar last. Armor Si is a PAIN to pH balance. But the tech told me to balance it first in plain water and then add everything else which worked out fine. I was suprised the Armor Si was so basic. It practically jumped off the scale. It took me 68 drops of pH down to ph neutralize 2 teaspoons of Armor Si.
 
  I also ordered some Hydroguard, but it hasn't arrived yet. Purely as a preventative measure, I dropped the nutrient line about a 1/2 inch or more below the bottom of the net cups and let the roots dangle down into the solution. I might need more light in the long run. But using the hydroponic DWC units as a plant starter for transplant outside might be a good compromise with me. I have been able to start seeds that would have otherwise not grown with the DWCs. Now the question is how the plant will handle being outside in the elements fighting powdery mold and bugs on their own..
 
I started some strawberries and passion fruit vines today in rockwool. We'll see if they germinate. I haven't had high hopes for the strawberries due to many failed dirt attempts. But strawberries do grow well in florida so fingers crossed.
 

 
 
Also, as Han solo would say: "If you wanted to be around when I made a mistake, this could be it." Giant Pumpkins lol. #space problems.
 

 
 

 

[AvidLiving]

Looks great! Are you planting strawberry bare roots or by seed?

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[keybrdkid]

Looks great! Are you planting strawberry bare roots or by seed?

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Seed. I found some at the store. I know that I might have more success with more expensive seeds or actually rooted plants. But I wanted to see if I could generate some life in them. 

 

[AvidLiving]

Good luck! I never had luck with strawberry seeds but you have better climate.

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[keybrdkid]

 still seeing that inward leaf curl, but plants getting larger. maybe a lack of light or pythium? I'm tempted to try 35% H202 bath, but I'll stick with hydroguard for now.
 

 
roots healthy or no?
 

 
 

 

[AvidLiving]

Roots look good. A little dyed from the solution?

Hydrogaurd works. What are those above?

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[keybrdkid]

Roots look good. A little dyed from the solution?

Hydrogaurd works. What are those above?

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They are Aji Melocoton and Devil's Brain. 
 
I transplanted them outside yesterday. I hope they make it. The leaves were starting to look a little shriveled so I took a chance and moved them. The previous plants I have transplanted outside have all done well, but the peppers might be the exception. Maybe they don't like transplant shock. If they pull through they were just about to start flowering. 
 
On a good note, I've actually managed to sprout some strawberry plants! And a passion fruit vine. So when the strawberries get bigger they will be next in the hydro system. 

 

[AndyW]

Maybe I'm mistaken since I have no personal experience, but I thought it was best to not have clear containers for hydro because of algae? Your plants seem to be doing fine so far but I've read/seen videos of people who are super adamant about spray painting or taping their clear containers to make them more opaque.

 

[keybrdkid]

Maybe I'm mistaken since I have no personal experience, but I thought it was best to not have clear containers for hydro because of algae? Your plants seem to be doing fine so far but I've read/seen videos of people who are super adamant about spray painting or taping their clear containers to make them more opaque.

 
 Well I haven't had real issues with algae...yet. I get some residue of some kind in the clear tubes, but I changed the solution weekly also. I used to use black tubes for that reason, but I ran out and got lazy and didnt order more since I could buy clear tubing for dirt cheap at Wal Mart.
 
It is indeed possible that my plants were simply not in the DWC systems long enough to really have a problem with algae. What I was doing for a while was growing the plants initially from seed to about a month or two in and then transplanting them outside. Moving outside seemed to greatly improve their disposition. I don't think my indoor lights are strong enough yet to fully grow the plants I want. But they seem fine as far as strength for seedlings and early growth.

 

[keybrdkid]

Haven't updated in a while, but I'm going to transition this thread temporarily to "Outdoor Soil Gardening / Hydroponic transitioning" since I transplanted most of my indoor hydroponic plants outside when I noticed they were not looking healthy. And I'm happy to say that about %90-100 of the plants have survived the transition well. The tomatoes have produced a fruit and are flowering, and the pumpkins are setting fruit now.
 
Giant pumpkins

 
Trellising up my tomato plants
 

 
more tomato plants tied up, hiding among my bananas. 
 

 
darn white flies... but my pepper plants actually did survive the transplant. Initially I thought they wouldn't. peppers are not known to like being transplanted from what I hear.
 

 
various vining flower mix, including moon flowers, morning glories, and sweet pea. Might have to trells this soon. The morning glories are flowering.
 

 
Banana Row. Varieties include Praying Hands, Pitogo, Goldfinger, Thousand Fingers, African Rhinohorn, Blue Java "Ice Cream", and Raja Puri. Tomatoes: White Wonder and Cherokee Purple. Peppers: Devil's Brain and Aji Melocoton. Dragonfruit: Pink and purple i think...  Hurricane Irma knocked my fence over and we haven't repaired it yet. Hence the braces. lol. 
 

 
dragon fruit. got a bit hacked by a weedeater thanks to a careless family member. But they are still alive.
 

 
Store bought Ozark Beauty Strawberries. We'll see how they go and if they survive.
 

 

 

[AvidLiving]

Looking good man. You have a ton of things growing out back. Do the bananas fruit much? Also, do you have a hydroponic update and do you have pictures of the fruit/flowers? My Cherokee purple wasnt pollinated enough to set fruit but it was also 40 * in my basement.

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[keybrdkid]

Looking good man. You have a ton of things growing out back. Do the bananas fruit much? Also, do you have a hydroponic update and do you have pictures of the fruit/flowers? My Cherokee purple wasnt pollinated enough to set fruit but it was also 40 * in my basement.

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it seems you solved your own problem. I see you took the plant outside and it set fruit.  interesting. I might have to experiment with that.
 
At the moment I have nothing in my hydroponic units. I have little grow space left outside, so anything I transplanted I would have to keep in hydro buckets full time, which I'm not sure would work. I'm going to maybe try a kratky. I think worms are going to be a problem... they love standing water here. hence my hesitation to start an outdoor system. unless i can keep the water moving so the bugs wont lay eggs in it..
 
Armor Si is definitely looking like a very good non-pesticide solution to whiteflies. Still need more data over time though. And bananas generally fruit once a year. Mine haven't been getting the attention they needed until more recently. I might have to cut a few smaller shoots back in order to coax the bananas into flowering. After that its a matter of how much fertilizer and nutrients they have gotten so as to whether they set fruit or not I think. Thankfully we dont have banana weevils here (they have those in Hawai'i,) but we do have certain banana bacterias that will do heavy damage to plants if let unchecked. I need to watch for them.
 
---
 
I also found Public Enemy #2 on my tomato plant this morning. Tobacco Hornworm I think. Time to get out the BT Caterpillar control... .
 

 
Also here is a picture of my carnevale di venezia morning glory, which are now flowering. 
 

 
I'm attempting to train the morning glories on a net trellis. There are also moonflowers hidden here, but they haven't starting blooming yet. When they do they will be massive.
 

 

[keybrdkid]

added about 150 worms and 30 Canadian night crawlers to my garden today to help replenish my worm population. I think our lawn treatments over time and some construction work we had done may have killed our worms. So i'll let these colonize to see how it goes. Time to get the Purina worm chow. lol.
 

 
female pumpkin flowers weren't opening (I suspect lack of sunlight as the root cause,) so I ripped the vines out and planet 7 more strawberry plants (Quinault.) So that brings my total strawberry plant quantity to 10. I have three ozark beauty strawberry plants too. Might buy some bare-root "jewels" to see if they take. Also started some more morning glory plants to help fill out my vining trellis.