Q:  What packing material do you use? I want to order an organic product and want to make sure it is not contaminated. I'm a big supporter of recycling.

A:  Your organic products are protected from contamination (within our packaging) because we use only green CFC-free Styrofoam packing peanuts. You can even use these ecological-safe packing peanuts as a stand-alone growing medium for orchids. Or they can be recycled as a perlite replacement if you crunch them up and mix them with soil. Or use them whole in the bottom of pots for drainage.

Q:  I have an outdoor garden that seems to have voles or moles burrowing in it can you recommend how to stop this problem?

A:  The mole or vole problem that your garden has is most likely due to a plentiful supply of grubs in the soil. If they don't have food, the moles will move on. So, based on that, getting rid of the grubs is the more immediate issue. For a natural approach, we've got a product called "milky spore" that is an innoculant for your garden/lawn. You apply the milky spore for 3 or 4 years in the spring and fall and then you'll have achieved many years of control without having to reapply for 7 to 10 years. I've heard many variations on the number of applications, and years of control, but at any rate, it ends up being taken care of for a long time.

Q:  What's the difference between warm/cool bulb?

A.  If you think of it in street light terms, the white ones are cool (metal halide) and the orange ones are warm (high pressure sodium). Plants are very spectrum sensitive, and pick up on different parts of the light than our eyes can see.

To a plant, the cool white lights simulate the brighter, whiter sunlight of spring and early summer, which is better for vegetative growth (more compact leaf and stem development).

The warm orange bulbs are more like mid-summer to fall sunlight, and actually cause the plants to 'want' to produce their fruit, flowers, or vegetables.

When you're growing indoors, by starting out with the cool/white light, then changing to the warm/orange light, you'll get a healthier, stronger, more productive plant.

Q:  How long should I flood the ebb tray for, plus how many times per day?

A:  There is no exact answer to this question, because everyone's setup and environment are so different from one another, but here are some general guidelines. First, it completely depends on what kind of growing medium you're using and your environmental conditions. If you're using Hydroton rocks in containers, and your room temp is around 70 degrees, I'd go 4 to 6 times a day, at 15 minutes per watering, spread out around the clock (maybe not as frequently when the lights are off, but they still need water at night too). If you've got high humidity in the area, you won't need this many waterings. If your temp is higher than 70, you may need more. If you're using CO2, or add CO2 down the road, they'll need more frequent watering then too. If you're using rockwool, you'll probably only need one or two 15 minute waterings per day, and only once every few days at first. Rockwool holds a ton of water, and usually people overwater it at first. If you are using rockwool, you'd want the blocks to start drying out a bit (not completely bone dry) before re-watering. This will force an aggressive rootsystem which will benefit the plant later on. Just don't be afraid to try different watering cycles. You can still over or under water in hydroponics just like you can in soil, but if you really watch the plants (foliage and roots), they'll let you know if they need more or less water. Figuring all of this out will eventually earn you your hydroponics green thumb!

Q:  Are the Air Cooled Cylinders / HPS 600W ballast, meant for just HPS, or are they convertible to MH?

A:  The only 600 watt MH you can get is a conversion bulb, and it's shape is different from standard MH bulbs. It's shaped more like the long skinny HPS bulbs, so it'll fit into the CoolTubes without a problem. The Sunmaster 600 MH Conversion bulb is the best one on the market now. The output from that bulb is a respectable 600 watts of quality MH light.

Q:  Your opinion on the need for CO2?

A:  CO2 is huge. It's number 3 in the level of "important things to a plant", and that's before fertilizer. Achieving and maintaining the natural levels of CO2 that are in the oxygen around us is the most important thing. Adding more beyond that will speed up the growth of a plant incredibly. The oxygen around us contains about 300 parts per million, but if you increase to about 1500ppm, the plants will go crazy.

Q:  I was wondering on which light system I should get. HPS or MH... It will be used for Flowering plants...  Some say HPS make plants grow lanky but promote flowering as MH is from start to finish. Does the HPS require a secondary light source?

A:  I'll have to start by saying that it is advantageous to use both MH, and HPS throughout the lifecycle of the flowering plant. Starting with the MH will achieve a healthier, stockier plant, more able to deal with the weight of it's eventual flowers. Then, changing to the HPS will "fool" the plant into thinking that the season is progressing, causing a jump in natural hormones that forces the fruiting/flowering of the plant to take place more aggressively. That being said, if you just use the HPS throughout, you will probably achieve the same flower size or vegetable weight, but with lankier plants more in need of outside weight support. If you used just the MH throughout, the flowers would be smaller and more compact, but the overall weight of any vegetables would suffer slightly.

Many of the systems that we've got available are able to make use of both the MH and HPS bulbs within the same system. These have become the popular choice in the last several years, and they usually don't cost much if any more than a devoted HPS system will.

Q:  I am looking for my first hydroponic system and have narrowed my choices down to either the starter package 1 or 2 although I am open to suggestions. What are the pros and cons of each system for the novice grower and is the additional cost for system #2 "worth it" for the novice grower. I will be growing plants for personal use only...mainly tomatoes or similar plants.

A:  Considering the quality of the components in both of the packages that you mentioned, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend either. The  additional kick that your plants would get out of the 250 watt light  in the #2 package will make you some seriously happy plants compared to the compact fluorescent in the other package, but either will work well. As far as the hydroponics systems, you'll get some versatility with the Megagarden over the Emily's Garden because the Megagarden is basically a 2'x2' tray that you can move the plants around in. That allows you to grow 15 small plants or 1 big one, or any number in between. The Emily's works just as good as the Mega, but you lose that versatility. Again, I think both are good packages for anyone, so you can't really make a bad choice. If you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask.
Find Starter Package 1   Find Starter Package 2

Q: Will the Fantech Variable Speed Fan Control work with an Active-Air/squirrel cage fan?

A: Should work just fine!

Q:  I have a hood over my grill indoors and I need a fan to pull the smoke and heat out the roof in an 8" duct. Will the Can Fan 8-inch 737-CFM Can Fan pull the smoke out through the vent in the roof?

A:  Yes it will. The only problem I can foresee is keeping the fan from lifting an occasional steak off the grill as these things are pretty powerful. It would be a pretty fancy way to give the neighborhood dogs and cats a treat. There are variable speed switches available, made specifically for fans that are used for that purpose.

Q:  I think I have fungus gnats or some type of small fly - they seems to lay eggs in the soil and when I move the dirt the adults fly away and I sometimes see little clear worms in the soil. They seem to be destroying the roots and the leafs turn yellow. I have tried foggers and sprays but nothing works. Any ideas?

A:  The bug is most likely called "thrips", and it's a new variety in the U.S. Just like our new ladybugs, and the japanese beetles, we're basically getting new bugs from all over the world, and these little thrips are probably as bad or even worse than spidermites for indoor gardeners! The good news is that it should be an easy fix.

Thrips go through three stages of life. The first is in the soil as little worms eating the roots. They can't be killed by sprays at this stage because they're sheltered deep in the soil.

The second stage of a thrips life cycle is as a fast crawling bug that is so small they're almost impossible to see. They look kind of like an 1/8th inch long silverfish, and at this stage, they suck the juice out of the bottoms of the leaves, and the newest most delicate growth on the plant. Sprays aren't very effective on them at this stage due to the fact that the thrips can hide in that new growth at the top of the plant.

The last stage of the thrips life is as a flying bug. They look almost exactly like a fungus gnat and they're the same little guys that are buzzing around your head outside in the summer. They don't do any real damage at this stage, but they lay eggs, perpetuating the problem.

What we've got as a fix is called "Mosquito Dunks". They're made for standing water situations, and are a bacterial inoculant. They're perfect for eliminating thrips because this particular bacteria eats anything in a larval stage, so by soaking a dunk in water, then using that water to thoroughly water your plants, you can with just a few applications rid yourself of the thrips. The dunks are held together with a paper fiber that won't break down, so you'd probably want to put a dunk or two into a nylon sock, then soak that in water for several days to allow the bacteria to come to life before using about half of that water to water your plants. Then you can fill the bucket back up with water (leaving the same dunks in the water), and start a cycle of doing this to water your plants. It may take a couple weeks, but you'll eventually win.

If you're gardening using hydroponics, place an appropriate portion of a Mosquito Dunk into a nylon sock (helps prevent solid debris) and drop into reservoir. If your infestation is overwhelming, after 24 hours, knead the Dunk slightly to help intensify bacteria saturation - this will shorten the lifespan of the Dunk.   Find Mosquito Dunks here

Q:  I am interested in growing tomatoes, peppers, herbs and spices in a small room in my basement.  What is recommended for this?  I’ve only just heard of indoor gardening

A:  Indoor gardening is gaining in popularity, and the availability of indoor gardening equipment has really come a long way in the last few years. I'd be glad to walk you through some of the basics. The entire premise of indoor gardening is based on creating an outdoor atmosphere (or as close as you can) in the space that you decide to use. The area doesn't have to be anything special, but you should consider the year-round temperature of the area, and the fact that by adding the garden there will be water, and some low-level humidity in the space. Depending on how much you like the hobby, and how elaborate you decide to make your garden area, these factors can be easily controlled, and will most likely improve the atmosphere of the surrounding areas.

The first, and most important thing to be considered is the lighting. On the low end, you can use fluorescent lamps. Standard T-12 tubes, mixing 'warm white', and 'cool white' achieve a full spectrum output. Usually, 48" tubes are used, and the more you use, the better. There are several drawbacks to using fluorescent tubes. One is that they don't have enough intensity to reach the bottom of plants that achieve a height of 12" or more. Another is that they have to be kept close in order for the plants to use the light that they produce. That makes them perfect for smaller plants such as herbs, lettuce, spinach, and other greens. They also work well for most houseplants. For larger plants, there are new fluorescent bulbs available that are better at penetrating the canopy that your plants are going to make. T-8's are commonly available, are more intense than T-12's, and are available in cool or warm color spectrum also. The best fluorescents currently available are T-5's, and TT-105's. You can check out some of these here.

If your garden area is big enough, HID lights are much more intense, and offer enough light to produce respectable quantities of vegetables indoors. HID lights (high intensity discharge) come in two varieties that are commonly used for indoor gardening; 'metal halide', and 'high pressure sodium'. Everyone is familiar with them as they are used as street lights everywhere. The white ones are the metal halides, and the orange ones are the high pressure sodiums. In an indoor garden area, both can be used for different special purposes. Metal halide lights cause plants to grow very compact. They simulate the brighter light of spring, and are great for vegetative growth. High pressure sodium lights are then implemented in the place of the metal halides, to cause a change in plant chemistry, which will cause them to produce their fruit and flowers. This is what happens in nature as the bright intense spring light kind of fades into the more muted, filtered light of fall. HID lights are available in three different versions: MH, and HPS, and 'switchable' fixtures that are capable of both MH and HPS from one fixture by flipping a switch, and changing from one bulb to the other. They also come in different wattages, and can be custom fit to an area by wattage. Here's a link to a tutorial on our site that will explain more.

Beyond the lighting, in creating the outdoor environment, you should have oscillating fans to 'agitate' the plants. This will both provide them with necessary circulation so that they can perform normal healthy transpiration, and it will strengthen them with the air by moving their leaves and branches.

The garden itself can be either a good quality potting soil, or hydroponics. The choice is entirely up to you. Hydroponics has it's definite advantages, and if you'd like to learn some more about that, here's a link.

Q:  What would you recommend for the biggest yield in my garden?

A:  Chemical! If someone asked me what they'd get the best yield possible with, and still achieve some respectable flavor quality, AND they said that price is no problem, here's my best recommendations (there are 2):

The first is the Ionic line from Hydro-dynamics. Ionic Grow, Ionic Bloom, Fossil Fuel, Greenfuse Grow, and Greenfuse Bloom. On top of all of this, Foxfarm makes a 3-part dry additive (Fox Farm Soluble Tri-Pak) that you'd use throughout your entire fruit development.

The other is the General Hydroponics group of Flora Nova Grow, Flora Nova Bloom, Floralicious Grow, Floralicious Bloom, Floralicious Plus, Diamond Nectar, and Kool Bloom Liquid (just after the plants start to produce) and Dry (as the fruit gets bigger and riper).

With either one of these combinations, if you do foliar feeds, you could use Organa-
Add, or Nitrozime (or go back and forth between the two once or twice a week). Also, I've done some experimenting with Mycorrhizal Fungus in the rootsystem in hydro, and found that it makes a huge difference in the size of the rootsystem which should mean larger fruit. Another additive for hydroponics especially in hot weather is Hygrozyme which can be used throughout with either of the lines.

If you don't want to spend as much as you'd have to on my suggestions, I'd say you could use Dyna-Gro, and Dyna-Bloom, and Age Old Kelp Liquid, and maybe during fruiting, throw in the General Hydroponics Kool Bloom Dry. This would give you some respectable results without spending a fortune.

Q:  If someone were so inept as to measure their nutrients without first shaking the container, would this be of concern at a later date? I'm afraid there is an idiot living in my house.

A:  If someone were to pour out nutrients without shaking it up, it would leave out some of the minerals, and maybe calcium - all of the heavy stuff that falls to the bottom of the bottle. When you get to the bottom, it'll be about as unbalanced in the other direction. I'd use it up anyway, but start shaking it first! Also watch the plants closely for deficiencies.

Q:  We are looking for organic all purpose plant food for our large indoor bamboo. What would you recommend?

A:  My recommendation would be to use the Age Old Organics; http://www.4hydroponics.com/nutrients/ageoldorganics.asp grow formula. It's got sufficient nitrogen to stimulate healthy growth, and if you can adjust your soil ph to a slightly acidic ph of about 6 to 6.5, your bamboo should be very happy