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General Frequently Asked Gardening Questions
Q: How do I move it to the Hydroton
in my Ebb And Grow system?
A: Find the answers on our
Transplanting Seedlings into Ebb & Flow
Hydroponics System page.
Q: ?'s about Ebb + Flow System -
1.) Where do you put the seed ? is there a grow plug ? -
2.) How often do you cycle fill and drain ? - 3.) How high in grow
bucket does water go ?
A: Find the answers on our
Growing
Seedlings with an Ebb & Flow System page.
Q: What's the difference between
electronic (digital) and magnetic ballasts?
A: There are differences between a
magnetic and an electronic ballast. The advantages of using electronic
ballasts include:
Less heat output
Quieter operation
10 to 15% less electrical usage
Brighter burning bulb
Burns both HPS (Sodium) and MH (Halide) bulbs
The disadvantages are: possible
shorter ballast life expectancy, higher bulb failure rate because of the
brighter burn (higher wattage to the bulb). The magnetic ballasts have been
around for a long time, and they are very dependable, but all of the
advantages to using an electronic ballast are pretty big advantages.
Q: How long do I use a dome over my
plant cuttings?
A: Find the answer on our
Using Domes with Plant Cuttings page.
Q: I am a bit confused. If I
want to apply Bat Guano as a fertilizer, should I do it during the total
growing period or at specific times? Also, there are a zillion
organic fertilizers, should I just throw a dart at the board and get
one? They all sound about the same...
A: Find the
answer on our Growing with Bat Guano page.
Q: ... running CO2, plus have CAN
66 Combo (8-inch CAN fan, filter, flange) that I was considering venting
to the atmosphere... while pulling outside fresh air through... via a
duct... But I don't want to loose all my CO2, but again, the poor little
things so hot all cooped up in there with that stuff, even though they
love it.
A: Find the
answer on our Heat in your Grow Room - How to deal
with it page.
Q: My friend has a orange tree, Can
I cut a branch off and use a cloning gel, will that work?
A: If you're going to take a cutting
and have it root, it's got to be less than about 6" in length. So,
you're probably only going to be able to take a small end of a branches
new growth.
There is another method, called "air layering" that bonsai tree
enthusiasts use, where you strip some bark (about 2" all the way around)
from around a branch, then put cloning gel onto the stripped off layer.
Then you quickly pack pre-moistened growing medium (coconut hull fiber,
or peat, or ?) around the area, then wrap with saran wrap or something
that will contain the moisture. You shouldn't wrap too tightly, because
oxygen is needed inside of the saran wrap, as well as continued
moisture. Then you make a small hole in the top of the saran wrap, and
another in the bottom for drainage. Then, over a 2-4 week period, you
keep the growing medium in the saran wrap consistently moist. When you
water through the hole in the top, some water should be able to come
through the hole on the bottom, and the growing medium should never
completely dry out. The branch should root in the saran wrap, and you'll
be able to cut the branch off just below the newly rooted area. This
will give you the entire branch, rooted and ready to plant. It's a
touchy process, and there are no absolute guarantee's of success, but if
it works, you'll have a nice little tree. I think you can choose a
branch up to about 3' long for this process.
I've never done this, so take my instructions loosely, and do some
research on your end before you go forward with any air layering
experiment.
Q: I have been using GE Lucalox
600w bulbs with a purple Lumatek digital ballast. These work great, but
I'm looking for a new bulb and want to order from you. Can you recommend
a HPS bulb that you carry for the Lumatek 600w digital, please? From
what I've read, this can be tricky, and I want to be certain of a good
match.
A: Most of the older 600 watt lamps
on the market weren't made to withstand the higher output of an
electronic ballast, but we've got several new bulbs that are designed
specifically for electronic (digital) ballast's. Here are some:
600w Lumatek
High-Par Output HPS Lamps,
600w Agrosun Red
HPS, and our new true metal halide
600w Digilux Digital
bulb.
If you've got an electronic ballast, and you've been running one of the
older 600 watt lamps (like Hortilux or Sunmaster Super HPS), you may
benefit from a change to one of these higher output lamps that is
actually designed to work with your electronic ballast. (updated
8-16-10)
Q: What is the shelf life of the
Maxicrop liquid products, bat guano, and the FoxFarm liquid products?
A: All of these would last better if
stored under favorable conditions, but according to the manufacturer,
Maxicrop has no real shelf life if stored correctly, bat guano is the
same, although it's more sensitive to moisture and humidity, and the
Foxfarm products have about a 4 year shelf life. Foxfarm achieves their
shelf life by adjusting the pH to a very acid, which won't allow bad
bacteria or fungus to grow.
Correct storage is simply to not expose
them to any extreme conditions. Freezing is bad, direct light is bad,
and heat is bad. For the bat guano, a big sealing storage container will
help to keep it dry for long term storage.
Q: When you site shows an item
that states "shipping applies" does that mean i will have to pay
shipping even if the total purchase is over $250?
A: Only on those items that say's
"shipping applies" would you have to pay the shipping charge, everything
else will be free shipping if the total is $250 or more. We used to
offer the free shipping on everything, but some of the items we sell are
so heavy that the shipping cost is more than our profit on the item
we're selling. Just for example, a 50 liter bag of hydroton cost's us
$19 per bag to ship from Michigan to Pennsylvania. We don't even make
half of that shipping cost on a bag of hydroton, so we have no choice
but to charge the actual shipping cost. We don't add anything for
packaging, or handling, and we've got good volume discounted shipping
rates, and we've got good prices, so even with shipping added, it's a
good deal. It was either that, or we'd have to stop offering the heavy
items on our site. If you'd like a shipping quote on anything in
particular, just contact us.
Q: I use Hydroton expanded clay
pellets in my ebb and flow system and have a question regarding its
re-use. I soak and rinse with a mild bleach solution but removing
all of the fine root mass is painstakingly time consuming. How
necessary is it to remove 100% of the finer roots? Certainly the
root ball and vast majority of the roots are removed, it's the last 10%
of organic material that is so hard to remove. Am I doing my
garden a disservice by not getting everything removed?
A: By getting 90% of the roots out of the Hydroton, you are doing
better than most people probably do.
If you wanted to go one step further, you
could start out your next group of plants with one of the "zyme" type
products for the first week or two. There are several of them
available, and their function is to eat up all non-living soft organic
matter, which would effectively clean up the Hydroton.
As a side bonus, when you use one of these
zyme products at the beginning of the cycle, you will achieve faster
root production on the new plants. The only drawback to these
products is that they are expensive, but if you only use it at the
beginning, the cost isn't too bad. All of that being said, I don't
think you'll experience any terrible problems with such a small amount
of leftover root pieces in the hydroton anyway after you use the bleach.
If you've got any interest in the "zymes", here are some links:
Hesi PowerZyme
Hygrozyme
Humboldt ProZyme
Q: Is it possible to use a metal halide bulb
in the hps fixture? I am wanting to veg w/ a metal halide bulb and then
change to the hps bulb during flowering. Good idea, or no?
A: They make conversion bulbs that would
burn as a halide in your HPS fixture. The bulbs are a little more
expensive, but they do work well. You can
check them out here.
But, you can use a metal halide bulb in your HPS fixture if you want to.
The difference between a MH and an HPS bulb is that the MH has a firing
unit built right into the bulb. The firing unit is what 'ignites'
the gas in the lamp when you turn it on. The HPS bulbs don't have
a firing unit in the bulb, so they have to have one built into the HPS
ballast. So, if you put an MH into an HPS fixture, there are two
firing units, the one in the bulb, and the one in the ballast.
These will both fire whenever the fixture turns on. If you tried
to do it the other way around (HPS bulb in an MH ballast) it wouldn't
work at all because there would be no firing unit. I don't think
it hurts the ballast at all, but it may burn the bulb out quicker than
usual from the double firing. The ballast manufacturers recommend
the conversion bulbs to be the best approach. Hope this
helps more than confuses!
Q: I do not have a green thumb but I enjoy
plants. I tend to 30 houseplants at our office. We have several peace
lilies, pothos, philodendrons, spider plant, wandering jew, jade,
lipstick plant, sago palm etc. they are all just ok. Some have
a little black winged bug so I have used insecticide soap but still have
some yellow and brown leaves. They just aren't at their best. I so
much want to have strong beautiful green healthy plants. What do you
recommend to use? Foliar fertilization or soil or root feeding?
Please help!
A: Find the answer
in our Winter Survival Facts page.
Q: I am an experienced vegetable
gardener, on a budget who wants to expand the growing season earlier by
starting my own tomato, eggplant, and pepper plants. I want to
keep it simple and small, but effective for supplementing seedlings
light requirements for 4-6 hours a day. The difference between
fluorescent and HID seems astounding. I would like to put under
lights 4 flats, for 6-8 weeks, then transplant outside. What do
you suggest?
A: My recommendation would be to use
a 4-lamp T5 fixture. We love these things! The light quality
is about twice that of a standard 4-lamp T12 fixture (the old style
fluorescents), and the plants will thank you for it. A mix of half
warm, and half cool bulbs would be best for extended vegetative growth
as you're describing, which points you toward the
New Wave T5-44 fixture on our site.
If you wanted to start now and actually produce some vegetables indoors,
my recommendation would be the HID lights, but for starts, you really
can't beat the T5's.
Q: I have two can lights over a
bay window where I keep orchids in the winter. Would these plants
benefit significantly if I plugged ... lighting compact bulbs in these
cans? How many hours per day would I leave on?
A: The plants would love it. The
only problem is that these bulbs may be too fat for a recessed fixture,
so be sure to check dimensions. The smaller of the compact fluorescent
bulbs we've got is the Pro-Start
105 watt C.F. For duration, I'd recommend 12 to 18 hours a day
unless you've got good natural light as well, then you can use less.
Your orchids will appreciate the additional light, but for aesthetics,
it may be a bit bright for the room if you're going to be hanging out
while they're on. In my own home plant lighting situation, I simply
leave the lights on while I'm gone.
Q: Is it
really necessary to have a can fan attached to the can filter? Can't I
have any fan with the right cfm to either blow thru or pull air thru the
can filter? Are can filters designed to pull air or push air via the
fan?
A: The air
movement (or cfm's) isn't the only important part in matching the fan to
the filter. It's also the 'pressure' of the fan's output. If you were to
run a squirrel-cage type fan on a carbon filter (or an in-line duct fan,
or an axial computer fan), they won't have the same torque as a
centrifugal fan, so the cfm's aren't the same when you restrict the air
movement with the carbon filter. It's hard to get a good match between
different types of fans with the carbon filters but it can be done. It's
just kind of a hit/miss approach to find the correct air movement with a
fan other than the sizes that the manufacturers recommend.
As for the air movement, you can push or pull through the filter, and it
will work just as good either way, but in the long run you want to
pre-filter the air to get all of the dust out before the air enters the
carbon filter. The CAN filters come with a white poly outer pre-filter
to remove all of the dust before it can create dust pockets in the
carbon. If the dust is allowed to enter the filter (without the use of a
pre-filter), it creates pockets of dust that promote bacterial growth,
and this bacterial growth limits the overall life of the carbon. So, a
pre-filter is important either way whether you push or pull through the
filter.
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 mostly 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. To recycle packing peanuts, take them to a
UPS store - many locations take them for recycling.
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: 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 Grow,
and Dyna-Gro 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/organics2.asp?ItemNo=ageoldorganics
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.
Q: What's
the best way to set up a Can-Fan and Can-Filter combo?
A: Find the
answer on our CAN Combo page.
Q: I have 2 ft wide
x 6 ft long x 8 ft deep indoor room. Maximum odor control is my
goal---which can filter do you suggest?
A: Find the
answer on our Growroom Odor Control page.
Q: I've been hearing
that the LED grow lights don't actually perform as advertised. In fact,
(competitor) has stated in an e-mail that they don't plan to ever stock
them as they are far less effective than HIDs. What is your take on LEDs?
I have been looking at the UFO LED grow lights but now am not so sure.
A: Find the
answer on our LED Growlight Facts page.
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: Find the answer
on our Thrip Facts page.
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: Find my lengthy answer
on our Growing Vegetables Indoors page.
