This blog is a family-friendly discussion on organic gardening which includes hydroponics, aeroponics and aquaponics.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Organic, Hydroponic Gardening Blog for HydroVeggies: Cherry Tomatoes with a Twist!
Organic, Hydroponic Gardening Blog for HydroVeggies: Cherry Tomatoes with a Twist!: "3/14/11 minutes after transplant Some of the most common vegetables grown using hydroponics is tomatoes. So of course we are growing our ..."
Cherry Tomatoes with a Twist!
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| 3/14/11 minutes after transplant |
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| 3/18/11 Nutrient Overdose :-( |
Soon after the drama of transplanting and putting up a trellis, we found that they immediately went into shock, or so I thought. It was actually a case of too much love. I gave my prize tomato a HUGE dose of nutrients which was meant for my 10 gallon DWC.
This means I super charged my tomatoes
with 10 times the amount of nutrients it should have had. Now it was time for emergency treatment. We gave the tomatoes a quick bath in distilled water, treated it with hormones to jump start the recovery process and put back into it’s container. Since I didn’t want to contaminate my tomatoes by using the same twigs, I replaced them with fresh twigs from the cherry orchards.
Guess what? We now have cherry trees growing with our tomatoes! That’s right the cherry tree twigs have bloomed and now leaves are growing. So we have cherries
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| 3/26/11 Cherry leaves |
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| 3/26/11 Tomatoes and Cherries |
Here's a Great Hydroponic Project for Kids
Hydroponics Made Easy
There are a number of different systems you can purchase to do hydroponics, but what if you just want to check it out with just one or two small things before you pay money for a kit? You can start your hydroponic garden with regular household items then transplant them to a more permanent destination. Let me show you what I mean.
As you go to the grocery store and buy food in plastic containers, many of them can be used to start your own hydroponic garden. In this example I am using the plastic container that was used for a bunt cake from the store bakery.
STEP 1 After enjoying the treat, clean the container using mild dish soap.
STEP 2 Punch a few holes into the bottom of the tray. (Kids need to have an adult assist with this step)
STEP 3 The top of what used to be our cake container now becomes the bottom and should now be filled with the water and nutrient solution. The water solution should be high enough to cover the last ¼ inch of the black tray once it is place on the top. Parents should assist with measuring the nutrient solution. You can start with any organic plant food.
STEP 4 Place the black tray with the holes on top of the bowl with the nutrient solution and add some medium to cover the bottom. The medium can be tiny pebbles which have been cleaned very well or you can purchase a small bag of hydroton (clay like pebbles commonly used in hydroponics) You can even used broken pieces of clay flower pots you may already have around the house. (Kids be sure to have your parents help break the clay flower pots). In this example I am using hydroton.
STEP 5 This picture shows a sample of a 1x1 GroDan rockwool plug most often used in hydroponics. Since this is about using items common to most households, use a few cotton balls to lay on top of the medium you used in step 4. The only reason why we need this is to keep the seeds from dropping down through the medium and going into the water and nutrient solution.
STEP 6 Place your seeds on the cotton and put a tiny piece of cotton over the seeds to keep them in place.
STEP 7 Lastly, put plastic wrap very loosely over the top of the tray to hold in the moisture and humidity until the plant begins to sprout.
The seeds I have planted here are basil so I would expect to see sprouts in about 7 – 14 days. Be sure to place your garden in a well lit window sill or under a florescent desk light for about 7 hours per day.
Live, Learn and Grow, Organically!
There are a number of different systems you can purchase to do hydroponics, but what if you just want to check it out with just one or two small things before you pay money for a kit? You can start your hydroponic garden with regular household items then transplant them to a more permanent destination. Let me show you what I mean.
As you go to the grocery store and buy food in plastic containers, many of them can be used to start your own hydroponic garden. In this example I am using the plastic container that was used for a bunt cake from the store bakery.
STEP 5 This picture shows a sample of a 1x1 GroDan rockwool plug most often used in hydroponics. Since this is about using items common to most households, use a few cotton balls to lay on top of the medium you used in step 4. The only reason why we need this is to keep the seeds from dropping down through the medium and going into the water and nutrient solution.
The seeds I have planted here are basil so I would expect to see sprouts in about 7 – 14 days. Be sure to place your garden in a well lit window sill or under a florescent desk light for about 7 hours per day.
Remember this little garden is a temporary home. You should change the water and nutrient solution weekly and cover the clear, bowl with something to keep the light out because light in the water and nutrient solution will cause algae to grow. In my case, I found an empty ceramic pot to set my garden into. Once your plant gets to be about 3 -4 inches, you will want to put it into a more permanent hydroponic pot or transplant it into some nice organic soil. Enjoy!
Once you see how much fun it can be to grow your own vegetables you will want to purchase supplies to expand your garden. We are here to help at http://www.hydroveggies.com.Live, Learn and Grow, Organically!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
So What Is Up With Our Zucchini?
So What Is Up With Our Zucchini?
Figure 1 Zucchini in bloom 2/7/11
Figure 2 Zucchini in trouble? 2/20/11
We have been working hard on trying to keep our zucchini happy and from the first pic (figure 1) you can see that it is well on its way to producing fruit. Yesterday I went out to check on the garden and found the zucchini seems to look great on the surface, at least until I started moving things around to attempt to put a trellis in place. Then I noticed the stem seems to be hollowing out. So where do I turn but to the gardening forums on the internet. This is what I found. I keep the leaves trimmed so the zucchini so it does not over take the entire garden. There are still several blossoms in the works. I’ll keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best. I may have given the zucchini too much love in the nutrients.
Return to the Container Gardening Forum | Post a Follow-Up
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Stem of container squash split and HELLO!! clip this post email this post what is this?
see most clipped and recent clippings
Posted by agngg 9 (My Page) on
Tue, May 19, 09 at 13:33
Hi!! My name is Grace and I just found this forum a couple weeks ago. I've been lurking and finding some wonderful information! I'm very new to gardening and starting with lots of containers. I've been doing a ton of research and learning a whole lot! So I just wanted to introduce myself.
Now I need help!! lol
I planted 2 Grey Squash plants in these pretty small containers. I started the seeds in little mini plastic pots and transpanted each one into a trough-like container that is 14in long, 7 inches wide and 6 inches deep. I know the size too small but I just wanted to see what would happen.
They did well and grew large, lots of leaves and now lots of buds. I planted them April 2nd, the seed package said Harvest in 45 days but I got male and female flower buds in about that time.
Yesterday I went out to water them and the stem of the bigger plant has split open and spread out. I immediately thought vine borers, since I had been reading on them. I was leaving so I didn't have time to investigate and it was too dark when I got home. So this morning, 3 of the flowers completely opened. There are about 4 little squash/female flowers and several more male flowers. It doesn't look hollowed out, but like it split and stretched out, if that makes sense. I can't find my camera to take a pic right now but at least wanted to put the question out there. I'll post one as soon as I can find it.
It looks like the smaller plant is about to do the same thing...should I cut that stem open to check for bugs?
Also, some of the lower leaves have yellowed and I've cut them off. All of the upper leaves looked fine.
I don't have any wilting either. The only time it has wilt was when the temps reached 92 this weekend but water perked them right up.
Another question I have is...can a stem split from the stress of being in too small of a container? Since it just flowered, should I leave it alone or transplant it now?
Thanks for any advice you can offer, I will upload pics asap!!
RE: Stem of container squash split and HELLO!! clip this post email this post what is this?
see most clipped and recent clippings
• Posted by justaguy2 5 (My Page) on
Tue, May 19, 09 at 14:41
It's not all that uncommon for the stems of curcurbits (squash, pumpkins etc.) to split.
I really am not sure all the causes for this. Some think it too fast of growth, too much water, too much fertilizer (which goes back to the too fast of growth thing), the weight of the vine putting pressure on the stem etc.
What I do know is that cucurbits are remarkable in their ability to suffer this and go on to produce like normal. As long as the stem isn't completely severed in half it will likely live.
Do keep a look out for vine borers, but other than that your plants are likley going to do fine.
DBVGFAZFM8UN
Figure 1 Zucchini in bloom 2/7/11
Figure 2 Zucchini in trouble? 2/20/11
We have been working hard on trying to keep our zucchini happy and from the first pic (figure 1) you can see that it is well on its way to producing fruit. Yesterday I went out to check on the garden and found the zucchini seems to look great on the surface, at least until I started moving things around to attempt to put a trellis in place. Then I noticed the stem seems to be hollowing out. So where do I turn but to the gardening forums on the internet. This is what I found. I keep the leaves trimmed so the zucchini so it does not over take the entire garden. There are still several blossoms in the works. I’ll keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best. I may have given the zucchini too much love in the nutrients.
Return to the Container Gardening Forum | Post a Follow-Up
________________________________________
Stem of container squash split and HELLO!! clip this post email this post what is this?
see most clipped and recent clippings
Posted by agngg 9 (My Page) on
Tue, May 19, 09 at 13:33
Hi!! My name is Grace and I just found this forum a couple weeks ago. I've been lurking and finding some wonderful information! I'm very new to gardening and starting with lots of containers. I've been doing a ton of research and learning a whole lot! So I just wanted to introduce myself.
Now I need help!! lol
I planted 2 Grey Squash plants in these pretty small containers. I started the seeds in little mini plastic pots and transpanted each one into a trough-like container that is 14in long, 7 inches wide and 6 inches deep. I know the size too small but I just wanted to see what would happen.
They did well and grew large, lots of leaves and now lots of buds. I planted them April 2nd, the seed package said Harvest in 45 days but I got male and female flower buds in about that time.
Yesterday I went out to water them and the stem of the bigger plant has split open and spread out. I immediately thought vine borers, since I had been reading on them. I was leaving so I didn't have time to investigate and it was too dark when I got home. So this morning, 3 of the flowers completely opened. There are about 4 little squash/female flowers and several more male flowers. It doesn't look hollowed out, but like it split and stretched out, if that makes sense. I can't find my camera to take a pic right now but at least wanted to put the question out there. I'll post one as soon as I can find it.
It looks like the smaller plant is about to do the same thing...should I cut that stem open to check for bugs?
Also, some of the lower leaves have yellowed and I've cut them off. All of the upper leaves looked fine.
I don't have any wilting either. The only time it has wilt was when the temps reached 92 this weekend but water perked them right up.
Another question I have is...can a stem split from the stress of being in too small of a container? Since it just flowered, should I leave it alone or transplant it now?
Thanks for any advice you can offer, I will upload pics asap!!
RE: Stem of container squash split and HELLO!! clip this post email this post what is this?
see most clipped and recent clippings
• Posted by justaguy2 5 (My Page) on
Tue, May 19, 09 at 14:41
It's not all that uncommon for the stems of curcurbits (squash, pumpkins etc.) to split.
I really am not sure all the causes for this. Some think it too fast of growth, too much water, too much fertilizer (which goes back to the too fast of growth thing), the weight of the vine putting pressure on the stem etc.
What I do know is that cucurbits are remarkable in their ability to suffer this and go on to produce like normal. As long as the stem isn't completely severed in half it will likely live.
Do keep a look out for vine borers, but other than that your plants are likley going to do fine.
DBVGFAZFM8UN
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