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Sunflowerocity — Sun, 11 May 2008 18:42:02 GMT

Sea of Green Hydrophonics

Sunflowerocity — Sun, 11 May 2008 11:03:15 GMT

Hydroponics continues to make its way into the mainstream, and with this popularity hydroponics specific retailers are finding their way into towns and cities across the country. Fortunately for those who are not lucky enough to have a hydroponics store nearby there are a wide variety of online resources for equipment, supplies and information, but for those with access to these new retail stores they offer community, support and advice as well as a variety of products to choose from.

This article presents an advice filled interview with Justin C. one of the owners of Sea of Green, a growing hydroponics retailer founded in 1992, with two stores in the Phoenix Arizona area and one in Tucson.

Question: What are some of the most commonly asked questions you get about hydroponics for the home gardener?

Answer: “How does hydroponics work” is probably the most common question. It seems like such a strange and misunderstood concept to many people. Hydroponics means growing plants without dirt, all the food for the plants is in the water instead. People think it is a really complicated process, but if you can measure out teaspoons you can probably figure out hydroponics. In Arizona there is also a buzz about wanting to know if you can do hydroponics outside. The answer is yes, however hydroponics is often about control to get optimum growth and so doing hydro outside just takes a little more consideration.

Question: What are the biggest advantages of hydroponics for the greenhouse gardener?

Answer: The biggest advantages are more plants in a much smaller space, ability for total environmental control, no need for toxic pesticides, and speed of growth.

Question: What are some of your favorite hydroponics systems at various price breaks (low, medium and high) and why do you like these systems?

Answer: Bucket systems are the lowest cost and often the most successful units for anyone interested in trying something like a single pepper plant or an assortment of herbs. This system generally consists of a five gallon bucket with a pot insert and a drip collar on top that recirculates water 24 hours a day. The system is easy to setup, requires limited maintenance and is relatively inexpensive. A middle range system would be something more automated like an ebb/flow type system on a timer. This system consists of a reservoir that usually sits underneath the tray supporting the plants. Water floods the tray several times a day, per the timer, and then drains back down to the reservoir. This system is more aggressive then a bucket system and give growers a little more flexibility to grow more then one plant. Aeroponics is the most expensive type system where the roots hang in the air with nothing around the roots except the spray of nutrient solution with a high power pump. This is the super charged system, but this system is the least forgiving. I would never recommend it for the novice, but rather for the experienced hydroponics gardener who wants to get twice the yields in about half the time.

Question: What are some of the biggest mistakes home gardeners make with hydroponics?

Answer: Hydroponics is a skill like anything else and sometimes it is necessary to tinker with a system to get it dialed in for the aggressive growth that is possible with hydroponics. Patience is very important and if anyone sticks with it even a few months they can be very successful. It is also a very experimental hobby and no one person has all the answers. Everyone has a situation that is a little different and everyone’s setup is different. Besides small errors like pH, or over nutrient levels, people often rely on simple answers from books that don’t account for a grower’s particular situation. Personal experience is the only way to get it right.

Question: Can you give us a few of your favorite tips for home hydroponics?

Answer: Start simple, but don't overlook all fundamental parts of plant growth including light, CO2, temperatures, etc. Keeping a grow diary helps to keep track what you did right or wrong. Check pH! Especially if using chemical nutrients over organic nutrients. Organic nutrients are easier to use, but chemical nutrients can give faster growth. And be patient!

Question: What do you see in the future of hydroponics for the home gardener?

Answer: It is taking off as a popular form of gardening with more people getting into it every year. The thing I love the most about this industry is that you are constantly learning new things and the innovations never cease. For the home gardener it is a relatively new concept, maybe 50 years old, or so. But the expansion of the industry is reducing the cost and simplifying the methods so that even novice gardeners will succeed with hydroponics. The growers who come to us at the store are not in one time and that’s it. We build a relationship with our customers and see them coming in every week, year after year, learning from us as we learn from them.

Hopefully the trend towards more local hydroponics retail outlets will continue and this may even push the traditional garden centers to include more resources for indoor, greenhouse and hydroponics gardening.

Dr. Christopher Kline
www.sunflowerocity.com

How to use Coffee Grounds in your Garden

Sunflowerocity — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 11:43:11 GMT

Many people don’t know this, but all those coffee grounds from Starbucks are provided to gardeners free for the asking. Most Starbucks stores have a bucket where they place the garden grounds somewhere in the store. If not or if the bucket is empty they are generally more than happy to fill up some bags for anyone who asks. Starbucks discusses their garden grounds program at http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/compost.asp and gives information and tips on using the grounds in the garden.

Difficulty: Easy

Steps

Step One

Understand the Garden Nutrients in Coffee Grounds?
Starbucks reports that most of the acidity is removed in the brewing process, leaving used grounds with an average PH of 6.9 and a carbon-nitrogen ration of 20-1. Starbucks commissioned a study in 1995 conducted by the University of Washington College of Forest Resources to better understand the make up of organic matter in coffee grounds and found the following:

Primary Nutrients
Secondary Nutrients

Nitrogen 1.45%
Phosphorus ND ug/g
Potassium 1204 ug/g Calcium 389 ug/g
Magnesium 448 ug/g
Sulfur high ug/g
Notes:

ND = indicates sample is below detection limit
ug/g = microgram / gram

Step Two

Know the Benefits?
• They smell great!
• They are a source of nitrogen that is widely available year round in all parts of the country.
• They are easily stored for days in a closed plastic bag. But are best used within two weeks.
• Coffee-ground mulch can help reduce the ravages of slugs and snails if placed around the perimeter of the garden.
• They are a great food for worm farming. Worms love coffee grounds and turn them into great castings for the garden. Make sure to feed them with other items and place them in a corner of the bin rather than spreading them. The worms will find them in the corner and process them at their own pace.
• Particularly where the soil is very alkaline and/or very dense clay coffee grounds do wonders as a soil amendment because they can lower the soil pH over time.
• They are available in large quantities for free from Starbucks!

Step Three

How to Use Coffee Grounds In The Garden
• For a great source of slow-release nitrogen, dig coffee grounds into the soil around plants and water in well. They are particularly great for mulching acid loving plants like rhododendrons and azalea. A rate of 10 pounds (dry weight) per 1000 square feet would be conservative and not have a drastic impact on soil pH.
• Coffee grounds are a great accelerator for compost to increase nitrogen balance. Consider coffee grounds "green" material similar to grass clipping. One of the great things about composting coffee grounds is that the microbes that do the composting will turn the coffee from acidic to a neutral pH. So coffee grounds do not make compost acidic. The Environmental Protection Agency suggests adding no more than 25 percent volume coffee grounds. Adding this 25% to fall leaves or other brown matter will make great compost in a minimum of time. An added benefit is that grounds absorb and hold moisture which is critical to the compost pile.
• Make Coffee tea from grounds for a gentle, fast-acting liquid fertilizer. Use about a half-pound of wet grounds in a five-gallon bucket of water. Place the grounds in an old pair of panty hose or sock and let the bucket sit covered for about two weeks before using. This tea can be used when watering or better yet, as a foliar spray.
• Some people mix grounds into soil for houseplants, but it may be better to avoid using coffee grounds directly with potted houseplants, not only because of the potential for fungal growth but also potential buildup of soluble salts. A better approach is to compost the grounds first with the addition of brown matter for a few weeks and then use the compost as a dressing or soil additive for house plants.
• Encircle the base of the plant with a coffee and eggshell barrier to repel pests.
With the number of Starbucks stores increasing all the time it is not hard to find one or more on the way to work and stop in each day, not only for a great cup of coffee, but for a bunch of free grounds that will do miracles in the garden.

Dr. Christopher J. Kline

www.sunflowerocity.com