keep it up 
it shows us how we can do it
it shows us how we can do it 
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hydroponic My latest dwc hydroponic setup
- Thread starter hot stuff
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That kind of stuff is mostly used by guys with good cash crops who can afford it.But with hydroponics you can use sand, straw, gravel and a host of other mediums. Gravel used to be the medium of choice for lots of people-whose cash crops were tomatoes, peppers and greens.
Really? OK? I paid $30 for a giant bag of the stuff. It's a lot cheaper than using pea gravel.
Also did you say you were using miracle grow? You do realize that Miracle Grow is a soil fertilizer right? You really need to use Hydro Fertilizer. General Hydroponics is about the cheapest on the market and works very well. You can by a Gallon of Micro, and a Gallon of Bloom for about 25 bucks, and that will last you at least two seasons.
The problem with miracle grow is that they lack micro nutrients that your plant needs. I understand the need to do things on the cheap, but there is cheap and correct.
Also.. I believe you screwed yourself by using dixie party cups. You can get the same size hydroponic net cups for about thirty cents each, and would have saved you a bunch of time.
Other than that.. good job and welcome to the addictive, expensive hobby.
I paid $70 for 12 tons of pea gravel. I paid $3.50 for 100 plastic cups. And I do believe I said was getting some better stuff from Hydro Gardens. Any thanks for the comments.
Oh ok.. I paid like twelve bucks for a tiny bag of pea gravel.. I guess I got robbed.. LOL As far as the cups go.. I was more referring to the labor involved in drilling all of the holes. But all that matters is that you are happy.. Who cares what anyone else thinks.. LOL
hot stuff, you're a dare devil!
i have bucket loads of pea gravel but have considered it too hard, heavy and non moisture adherence to use it. Seriously, the city uses pea gravel to spread in the winter to assist in driving in our winter, icy, road conditions. and every spring they have a schedule to pick up the gravel but before they do, i run out with my kids and scoop it up and store it in garbage pails. of course, i have to throughly wash it, as sometimes it is mixed with salt to assist with th melting of ice. but at -20C salt or no salt, ice isn't going to mealt.
i was at a big box store today and they had hydroton, $34.99 for 50 litres. that is just a little to steep for my pocket book.
right now, i just have my plants in rockwool, then cover the basket with a cardboard cutout, to keep the air off the roots.
i am interested in how you make out with the pea gravel............ never mind, i will just go out and grab a handful in the morning, wash it off and give it a try.
you're an animal!
i have bucket loads of pea gravel but have considered it too hard, heavy and non moisture adherence to use it. Seriously, the city uses pea gravel to spread in the winter to assist in driving in our winter, icy, road conditions. and every spring they have a schedule to pick up the gravel but before they do, i run out with my kids and scoop it up and store it in garbage pails. of course, i have to throughly wash it, as sometimes it is mixed with salt to assist with th melting of ice. but at -20C salt or no salt, ice isn't going to mealt.
i was at a big box store today and they had hydroton, $34.99 for 50 litres. that is just a little to steep for my pocket book.
right now, i just have my plants in rockwool, then cover the basket with a cardboard cutout, to keep the air off the roots.
i am interested in how you make out with the pea gravel............ never mind, i will just go out and grab a handful in the morning, wash it off and give it a try.
you're an animal!
Pea gravel works fine.. I've used it in the past.. Just make sure that you clean it with bleach and water to kill any microorganisms that may be present. Technically you should also soak it in PH balanced water for 24 hours prior to use as well, but most people skip that step which is fine. It will eventually balance out anyway.
Just a guess from the pictures but I say about 2 min tops for all the holes to be done as they can be stacked together and the hot soldering iron poked through several if not all the cups at once for each hole. No drilling needed.lol....
I get pea gravel that isn't mixed with anything except whatever was in the creek bottom. Although I get "clean" pea gravel which means it was somewhat washed and sifted to get rid of a lot of small particulates.
Here's a picture of my larger outdoor hydroponic garden which uses pea gravel:
Nice looking set up! I pretty much have the exact thing going myself. How do you like that air stone? I have the same one in my system, not too happy with it, although it could be the air pump as well. NOt really sure how to gauge if there is enough "bubbling" happening or not. Any updated pics?
Does rain dilute the mix or screw it up? I wanna give it a go, but it rains every day here in the summer, 3:15 you can set your watch to it.
To tell you the truth the outdoor one leaks like a sieve and I have to refill the barrels everyday. I just put plain well water in them and every couple of weeks I throw in some nutes. I guess the nukes must attach themselves to the gravel real well because putting in fresh water everyday hasn't hurt them any. After these plants die, I'm going to try putting some fine cement in the inside edges of the boxes to see if I can seal them up better.
Not enough to matter. On mine anyway I add fresh water to the reservoir everyday until I have added the same amount of water that the reservoir holds. Usually about 3-4 days (I only use a 5 gallon bucket for my reservoir) So they get fresh nutrients twice a week anyway. The rain isn't going to dilute it in such a way that a rain barrel would; since a rain barrel collects all of the runoff from your roof. This will only collect what is actually coming down and only what goes in through the holes in the top.
If you are really worried about it you can keep a towel on top of your reservoir where the water would be able to get it.
nice plants!Not too much. I grew my outdoor garden in a hydroponic setup using pea gravel and it worked just fine.
Well I made a lil bubbler bucket yesterday, i had the stuff layin around. I put a 3 in Datil I had in the new grow chamber just tweakin it for the grow next year. I washed all the soil off it, and planted it in hydroton. Looks good this morn, no wilting or anything. we'll see. i have no intention of buying meters and such, so i will be flying by the seat of my pants.
sweet thread. love the outdoor garden especially, gives me lots of ideas! Going to have to check out your other threads now.
I do have to ask about a pic on the 1st page. Did you use a soldering iron to melt holes in those plastic cups, or am I crazy?
Yes, it was a soldering iron. It works perfectly. Just breath in the other direction.