Five Best Plants for Hydroponic Growing
If you’re new to hydroponic growing, you might be
wondering what to start producing first. Most growers
will tell you the five best plants are lettuce, spinach, strawberries, bell
peppers, and herbs. Each of the five grow very quickly and are easy to grow
in nutrient solution. It’s best to begin growing hydroponically by starting
out slowly and run a few test crops first to make sure you’ve got handle on
pH levels and the amount of nutrients to use. Lettuce will take about 30 days
to grow with Romaine, Iceburg, and Buttercrunch being excellent choices.
Spinach (including Savoy, Bloomsdale, and Smooth) will be ready in 40 days,
while strawberries (Brighton, Chandler, and Douglass) normally take 60 days.
Bell peppers take the most time, about 90 days until they’re ready. Keep in
mind peppers need about 18 hours of light per day.
— safebrand.com
Sanitation Key to Fighting Tomato Brown Rugos Fruit Virus
A nasty virus inflicting tomatoes (that has spread from Israel to
Europe and North America in the last five years) shows no signs
of stopping. The Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus (ToBRFV)
causes yellow to brown colored wrinkled, necrotic spots on
the fruit. It is seed borne and reportedly can be spread from
plant to plant mechanically during production. Countries
already affected are launching research programs and trials
to try and overcome the virus, while some countries without
the virus have implemented stricter import regulations
on tomato and pepper seeds. Controlling viruses has
never been easy. One of the problems with ToBRFV is
it is highly contagious, and the research to date has not
found the causal agent. However, industry professionals
point out that there are ways to help control the spread of
ToBRFV. Sanitation in all areas is the key they say, especially in
controlled greenhouse environments.
— freshplaza.com
The Most Common Mistake for Hydroponic Newbies
So, you’ve got your new ebb and flow system ready to go and
you’re excited to get growing. If you’re like many other new
hydroponic growers, you’re most likely to forget one thing about
your system: the pH level. And the pH level just happens to be one of
the most important factors in growing healthy plants hydroponically.
For the most part, your plants exist almost entirely thanks to a nutrient
solution. If that solution is too alkaline or too acidic, your plants will
experience nutrient deficiencies or just die. The thing to do is get a
very good pH meter and monitor the level at least once a day. Should
the pH level move in one direction or the other, steps need to be taken
immediately to bring it back to balance (for whatever crop you’re growing).
Other newbie mistakes include buying cheap or improper lighting and
using the wrong type of nutrients.
— Maximum Yield Staff
Maximum Yield
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