hydroponics

A place to chat about anything you like, including non-gardening related subjects. Just keep it clean, please!

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paulw60
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well, system is set up, a few lettuce,cauli,cabb in and after three days already seeing growth! pick of set up hopefully attached!
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thought there was light at the end of the tunnel, but it was somebody with a torch bring more work!!
tomhip
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Location: Worcestershire

Hi folks I am a new member I have just registered on this forum and I notice an interest in hydroponics I have been growing with hydroponics for 3 years plus now and can recommend it without doubt it's a great way to grow veg and fruit but with certain limitations and I would suggest you look up the Krakti method its hydroponics in its simplest form (costs very little compared with most systems) and is very successful .
tomhip
Stravaig
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Hi Folks,

(For those who don't know me) I live in Ukraine which has very seasonal produce. That's fair enough, but I often want things that are out of season or can't easily be grown here because of the climate. So I use hydroponics!

My so-called garden is very small as it's entirely based on windowsills in our city centre flat. I have little hydroponic pots with growing lights. Very often the plants outgrow their hydroponic pot and do much better when transplanted into a normal pot and placed in a sunny place, on a south-facing windowsill. It's quite amazing really. The indoor temperature is fine, even if it's snowy outside, and it's very often sunny even in the colder months so maybe it's like a greenhouse. (I'm very much a beginner at gardening, which is why I joined this forum.)

I'm successfully growing land cress, Thai basil, nasturtium and more. Yeah, back in Kent I had an outdoor hydroponics system which I loved - again as a beginner. But it's just wonderful to have such a productive little indoor garden here in Kyiv. Come the bleak mid-winter, I'll be the envy of all my friends. Erm, except that I don't have many friends as I don't get out much. :)
tomhip
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Hi Stravaig,
It's good to watch things grow even on a small scale I think its got some sort of a calming thing about it! and hydroponics is ideal because Leafy salads and veg grow so quickly with very little pest problems if any
Kind regards.
tomhip
Stravaig
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Hi Tom,

Welcome to the forum. I'm also a relative newcomer and have found the people here to be very helpful and encouraging.

You mentioned pests. As well as our large indoor windowsills - we're in an old building and the walls are 22 inches thick - we also have a south-facing balcony. I thought it would be ideal to put a couple of (small) troughs of leafy greens out there in the summer. Oh no, it was a very bad idea. Some kind of pests almost scoffed the lot within hours. I was quite taken aback at this as I don't recall ever seeing a butterfly in this city so where all these plant scoffing critturs came from remains a mystery.

One thing I do know is that I'm never going to put my plants outside again while we live in this flat.

Best regards.
tomhip
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Location: Worcestershire

Hi Stravaig
I do my hydroponic growing in a greenhouse and I still get pests but not to the extent of growing in composts there are no soilborn pest issues but obviously things that fly around can still be a problem at present I am growing calibrace and cabbages and I am still picking the odd caterpillar off them (I do not use pesticides) the results are very good and I am growing these in the Krakti method so simple and effective for leaf vegetables
Best wishes
tomhip
Kristine_M
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Hydroponic growing provides you with exceptional control, ensuring the most robust and productive plant growth. Grow tents can help you manage your plants' ideal growing conditions. It is an essential tool in a modern hydroponic grower's arsenal for ensuring maximum productivity. Many hydroponics wholesale companies design tents with exceptional waterproofing and light-proofing. They also have airtight vents and reflective walls to reflect light energy and heat into the plants https://www.edenhorticulture.co.uk/ is a good hydroponic wholesale distributor in the UK.
paulw60
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Location: pevensey bay ,east sussex

our hydroponics is doing well, still have lettuce, Kale growing, pak choi really taking off, plenty of space for more
thought there was light at the end of the tunnel, but it was somebody with a torch bring more work!!
Decking
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Location: Yorkshire

Good day to all, I’m in my later years and unable to tend a large garden anymore, so I’ve turned to Hydroponics to try and keep my gardening interests going(without the heavy graft usually required).
I have built myself a small system that with little effort could be extended over time. So this is my experimental year.
Is it possible to include a short video clip of my system or provide a link? As I may need feedback.
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oldherbaceous
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Welcome to the forum, Decking….I think you will have to wait until our trusted Moderator, Peter comes along, to see if it’s possible to include a video link!
It would be interesting to see it and how the system performs over the year for you…..
Kind Regards, Old Herbaceous.

There's no fool like an old fool.
Decking
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[youtube]Mini hydroponics[/youtube]
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JohnN
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The Mullard electronics company used to also have a hydroponics division, due, I think, to the interests of one of its directors. The company no longer exists but it's possible there is some literature somewhere published by the company.
And off subject, but just to give you all an April smile, Mullards also made a magnet, shaped like a pork sausage, and called a "Cow Magnet". Nobody ever believes me when I tell them the magnets were sold to feed to cows that grazed in areas where they were likely to swallow bits of barbed wire etc. The magnet, being heavy, would remain in the cow's first stomach and could be removed, complete with attached bits of metal. in a simple operation!
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