Hydroponics: Growing Media 101 

+Gloria Tellez (Glo) thanks Gloria. Always happy to answer any questions you may have too. I like to keep my videos short because I'm quite an impatient person so my vids reflect that. Lol.

I didn’t know you could do that. Knowledge is power!

Thanks

x2 all the way - aint nobody got time for slow Utube

dude for real

I usually watch videos at 2x, most RU-vid videos are painfully slow😁

hi everyone ,if anyone else needs to find out about how to build an inexpensive aquaponics system try Proutklarton Surviving Instruction Plan (should be on google have a look ) ? Ive heard some amazing things about it and my neighbor got cool success with it.

Billy . Myers Thanks for the feedback! I value your time.

+dkroen17 Thanks Dkroen.

And again and again and again.

+Medically Fit it's coming! :)

+Oscar Luna thanks -- yes I should make a few diary vids.

+Everest Fernandez (Just4Growers) do it, I'll clone the project and report my results.

+herus schafron Only too glad to help. Obrigado por assistir meu amigo!

+Agr414 damn cations catch me out every time! Thanks Agr. Glad you enjoy my vids. Hope you're subbed :)

After a quick google search, the Kratky method has nothing to do with solid mediums/substrates at all. Its just a type of hydroponics.

+cameron Gibbs Thanks Cameron. You Aussies are a smart bunch for sure. Feel free to post your website address so that I and others can check them out.

Tomato will grow excellently in 100% coir, outdoors in pots, using hydro fertiliser. A few herbs won't as it holds too much moisture, but I guess Tomato grow so fast in warm weather it's not a problem. It's great in a mix with compost and perlite. My water is pH 8 so no limestone required.

Andrew Bristow Thanks Andrew. You can put an inline filter in the drain for each bucket. Or are you referring to the spaghetti (feeder) line clogging? In any case this system while productive is not without maintenance overheads. You’re just gonna have to keep an eye on it.

So your just setting your smartpots in a tub and over watering? I'm thinking thats a bad idea. The nice thing of hydro is that whatever you do to the water will instantly be absorbed by the plant. With soil it will absorb nutrients and hold them for long time periods.

Thank you brother!

It's still hydroponic no matter what system you use...Floranova veg OR bloom will do both veg and bloom...I do however use cal-mag and multizyme with my mix...base nutes at about 450-500ppm, then add your cal-mag and multizyme all the way through, ph 5.5-6.3...when your plant are big and drinking alot, this can sometimes raise the ppm quite a bit and lower the ph as well, sometimes below 5...top off with a weak nutes (200-300ppm) and ph at 6.0-6.3...I never feed to the recommended dose, I always feed at a 3rd strength...less is more imho...good luck I grow both DWC and coco...

Nutrient or water hardness precipitate

+alex gonzalez For a "soil-like" experience, try coco coir. For ease of irrigation (i.e. just switch on a dripper ring and let it drip 24/7) try hydroton clay balls.

I use rockwool but its only to provide a moisture reserve until the rootmass is large enough to be supported solely by the mist/fog.

Atom izer Hey Atomizer - big fan of yours on the forums, have learned so much - any advice/tips on how you do/don't do this? I've actually been trying to plan out in my mind how I'm going to do so; I was going to essentially replace cloning neoprene collars with rockwool collars (probably with a poly-film moisture and light-blocking cutout on top?), but I figured I'd cut down each rockwool cube into a flatter disc or smaller shape, but I'm not sure how much of the stem to leave exposed or leave buried in the rockwool, in terms of initial and continuing exposure to the ultrasonic fog I'm creating/pumping in gently. You think the rock wall should be as minimal as possible? Vertical cylinder or column? A flat horizontal disc or section of the cube/plug? Do I want the section of the stem that I intend to throw out roots to be completely exposed to air/fog? Or just partially??

I use cultilene brand mini rockwool cubes (croutons) in the netpot. The trick is to split the roots into 2 distinct zones, those in the netpot and those outside the netpot.The rockwool supplies the plant with nutes/water initially. The roots exiting the netpot will adapt to the mist/fog environment as they grow into it. When you have enough aero roots to support the plant solely on the fog/mist, the rockwool has served its purpose and can be allowed to dry out. (nice dry stem, no algae etc) If you overwet the roots outside the netpot, they wont adapt to the fog. If you dont provide the plant with water/nutes, it cant grow any kind of roots and will likely keel over. Dont be tempted to use hydroton in place of the rockwool cos it doesnt hold enough moisture for this application. Aero roots grow very fast so it doesnt take long for the rockwool / suspended roots to switch roles as the primary water/nute provider.

Wow - that's exactly what i need to know... And some great insight for me on early root adaptation from RW to fog, plus verifying my hunch on the RW vs hydroton - THANKS. So the fog (mist in your case, unless you're still doing the ultrasonic fog for cloning!) doesn't penetrate/wet the rockwool, THROUGH the net pot, either initially OR (if applicable) continuing after cubes dry out/net pot fills? ...If you think the weight/pressure/speed of the fog I'll be gravity- and (low speed!) fan-feeding into the rooting chamber probably WON'T permeate the rockwool layer, and that that rockwool layer will be totally dry (at least on top), then that's a load off my mind in terms of more or less sealing the sites from venting TOO much humidity (for the sake of algae as well as soaking the air to excess).

Waaaaaaahhhhhh????? I've been using ultrasonic foggers for a really long time with excellent results. You got to run them on a short cycle timer. Why do people try to run them 24/7? Sorry about your luck. If you're getting low fog output you should buy foggers from a good company because the $2 amazon foggers are junk and not even worth it.

Thanks for your question, Anon. The singular form is "growing medium"; the plural form is "growing media".

+Soil_biota.guru permaWarrior Time flies eh!?

Hi Sagar!

Please check the English subtitles - they were manually inputted not auto generated

Maybe its me, but I like this fast talking. You absorb more information, wasting less time.

How do you absorb anything that you're unable to understand? Not everyone is the same 🤦 Either way, the information is very helpful.

You can control the speed of youtube videos for reason

play at 0.75 speed

+md288888 That’s my gig. :)

Thanks for the feedback.

+lowandbehold Just keeping you on your toes amigo.

Yes.

John Pearson Thanks for your feedback John. I genuinely appreciate it. I should also point out that RU-vid provides viewers with various pacing tools, namely: the playback speed (click little spanner icon and select X0.75 or X0.5 playback speed, and the pause button ⏸. Good luck with your garden.

Thanks for your feedback. I will try to take it easy.