Even though we have eliminated the soil, plants still require a place for their root systems to develop. A hydroponic media is an inert substance that can provide some support for the root system that has no nutrient value. Almost any inert substance can be used. A few examples include sand, gravel, vermiculite, perlite, LECA (lightweight expanded clay aggregate) and rockwool.

Answer: Limestone and sea shells are both composed of Calcium Carbonate, which will react with Phosphorus in your nutrient solution and precipitate out as insoluble Calcium Phosphate, which is not freely available to your plants. Thus, using limestone or sea shells as a medium is not a good idea. If you think you have some limestone in your medium, here is how to test for it.

hello, my class is learning about hydroponics. Like how they work and stuff like that.Right now we are growing lettuces the hydroponic way.the way we are doing it is we have a container with stones with our lettuces in it we the lettuces up the top and the roots hiding under the stones and another container with the water and when we put them together the roots dangle in the water and we have a straw to blow bubbles.

A medium is someone who has learned how to communicate with those who have passed into the world of spirit.

Ron, I want to do a hydroponic study with my school. Could the 11 plant system work in a classroom or do we need to build a greenhouse? Do you know of anyone willing to donate a system to my school--Calvary Baptist School, New Orleans, La.

how often do you feed plants in a hydroponic system.how long should the pump be on and off in a flood and drain system. Can I cultivate honeydew melon by hydroponic system.I have lot of land and growing honydew melon. So kindly advice me as above system.

I am impressed with your web-page and knowledge of hydroponics. I am just a beginner and am learning a great deal from hydroponics online. My e-mail address is weirdweviewong@yahoo.com I am wondering whether I can still purchase a pump and other hydroponic hardware thru your website??? Please advise... thanks. I am very interested in aeroponics too... Sincerely, Steve

Hydroponics is simply gardening without soil. Soilless growing medias such as perlite/peat-lite or perlite/vermiculite or other combined mixes, have little of the nutrients that the plant would normally leach from the soil. In this respect, nutrient for the plant has to be added in water-soluble form. Hydroponic fertilizer is added to the water containing the minerals that the plant needs to sustain growth.

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A Spirit Medium is a person who communicates to spirits telepathically in the super subconscious mind by hearing, feeling and seeing visual impressions, symbols, and scenes from the spirit world aka: Heaven. A medium is able to receive and connect with higher frequencies or energies that our loved ones in spirit vibrate on. Maureen says the messages come in her own voice but are the thoughts and impressions of your loved one in spirit.

Nutrients are needed by the hydroponic plants in order to grow and promote production. Basic nutrients consist of the following:

I have been surfing the net for about 5 years and this is the first site I have ever seen that was this informational without having to pay for something. If I ran a web site that allowed me to put up your banner I would. I am Building my own Hydroponic system just because I found this site. 20 minutes ago I had no Idea I would be gardening this summer but now I am. Plus if i build one good enough, my friends said they would by it off me for their controversial growing plants.

Do you have any information on expected crop yields for hydroponic production of veggies? Jaco, Bloemfontein, South Africa Dear fellow hydroponic fans We have a hydroponic barley shed which has been operational for 12months. No problems till now, suddenly we have some sort of snowy white growth attacking the sprouted seeds. Any ideas what it is? How to treat it? We are at present shutting down for a week to completely clean out the nutrient tank and dripper pipes(system).

I was wondering how long should veging take for hydroponic systems. To make myself clear it's grown on 6 by 8 tables with water pump up and then drains down. If possible can I skip the veging stage and start blomming. Ron,I have a queston. I am new at hydroponic's growing. I am starting with a 7 plant water garden, and am going to try and start out with growing tomatoes. I was wondering how long should i let the timer go before it turns off? Thank You. S. Just another quick question.

Ron, I have just discovered your site, and I am finding it very useful, I am a bit of a back yard inventor and I have an idea for building a hydroponic setup using styro-foam can you tell me if there is any problem with this material being used in hydroponics, If not I would like to build a proto type and try it out, Thanks and keep up the good work, Thanks Chris Yes you can use Styrofoam packing peanuts also known as ghost turds or just about any inert porous material that can hold oxygen.

Feed them the correct nutrients, Keep them at the correct temperature, adjust the pH every day, protect them from predators and play heavy metal music at the highest volume you can turn your stereo to. They like that.

yea i built the 11 plant hydroponic system and im going to get a pump right and ive seen pics of a tube coming out of a container does that connect to the 1/2 inch hose connecter does that bring water up back to flow or is that to give to oxygen to the roots ,sorry but im new to this Ron, Trialbozz here from Victoria BC. I've been reading your discussion board and must say it has answered many questions I have had. I noticed you have shied away from questions regarding aquariums.

I have started a hydroponic tomato garden. The plants have been in it about 18 days and have really been looking good. I have noticed in the past few days that the better boy's leaves have curled up. The others are doing well though. Also, there is a brownish looking residue in the tubes and some of the roots have this brownish look to them now. The roots used to look white when they first started to grow.

The timer turns the pump on. The pump sitting in the nutrient solution reservoir pumps the solution up the hose to the garden to supply the plant roots with food. The plant roots will use as much nutrient as it needs and the rest is returned back to the reservoir for the next feeding. Determined by your timer setting. About every 15 minutes. The overflow pipe keeps the water from rising to high in the cups. This is the ebb and flow or flood and drain hydroponic system. I am a first time grower.

High, I'm a newbie at hydroponic gardening and I need to know how I can produce a successful crop with in 3 to 4 months with minimal risk. I live in a isolated town of about 100 people and need to make some extra cash to enjoy life and of coarse stay high can anyone help me? my e-mail for this purpose is: First see what can be grown in your area then you will know if you will need a greenhouse. I grow tomatoes under shade cloth here in Florida to extend the growing season when it gets hot.

There are many brands of organic hydroponic nutrient on the market today. These nutrients are a bit more difficult to manage than 'regular' hydroponic nutrients, and they can cause problems if not managed correctly. Although you can use them, they do take a greater degree of skill and care to manage and can cause problems if not used correctly. Regular hydropnic nutrients contain mineral elements (such as nitrogen, calcium, etc.) that are immediately available to the plant.

How much you need to water depends on three things: the type of plants you're growing, the size of the plants, and the type of medium you're using. The first thing to decide is if your grow medium retains or repells water. You'll want your medium to dry out somewhat between waterings, so if you are using a medium that holds a lot of water, you'll need to water less frequently.

Cappilary matting is an inactive sheet of growing medium which retains and distributes water evenly thoughout its area. It is often used with potted, soil plants as a way to bring water to plant roots without watering each plant. The capillary action of the mat and potting soil draws moisture up to plant roots for a constant supply. Plants draw only on as much water as they need.

Simply put, hydroponic gardening is a method of growing plants, without soil, by providing food and water directly to the roots of the plant. By doing so, we eliminate the need for the root system to look for food and water, so the energy normally used by the plant to search for food is used for faster upward growth and fruit production. Since we don't have competing root systems, we can grow significantly more plants using hydroponics in a given area than those grown in soil.

There are several types of hydroponic systems, but they all accomplish the same thing, bringing the food and water to the roots of the plants. The most popular hobby hydroponic methods are Passive, Ebb and Flow, NFT or Nutrient Film Technique, and Aeroponics. In a passive system, plants sit directly in the nutrient solution and the nutrient solution is oxygenated with an aquarium air bubbler so that the roots don't rot. This is the simplest form of hydroponic gardening.

Once you get your system up and running, it will pretty much take care of itself except for some simple maintenance. Once weekly up to 4 or 5 times per month, you will "top off" your hydroponic system. This means that you will replace the nutrient solution that your plants have used with additional, solution.