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+--- Thread: Growing Media For Hydroponics? (/showthread.php?tid=8395)
Growing Media For Hydroponics? - myomy - 01-19-2011
What affordable options for a hydroponic planting media are there here and what do people recommend?
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RE: Growing Media For Hydroponics? - pslamont - 01-19-2011
I use simple peatmoss for my lettuce; works fine.
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RE: Growing Media For Hydroponics? - lostboystoy - 01-19-2011
Depends on your set up. Are you using a pump , timer, separate tank for fertalizer ? If so garden exchange in Hilo can set you up, or you can simply use cinder , they carry the clay pellets , lava,a gel medium can't remeber the name of it. You can also check pahoa feed.
Coconut husk works well too.
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RE: Growing Media For Hydroponics? - Kaufarmer - 01-19-2011
I grow leaf lettuce in old milk jugs of solution, no media required. (I wrap the jugs in either dark cloth or silver foil.) this is a real simple way for me to grow clean lettuce with total control of excluding slugs.
I had a person give me a hugh bale of perlite, so I use that to grow assorted greens in. Mini bok choy does especially well in it. I suppose i could grow other veggies in it, but I have no need. My concern is having fresh greens that I can eat raw without fear of slug contamination.
The strawberries grow right in the solution, no support media. They grow thru holes drilled in recycled PVC pipe (wrapped in silver foil, although it may not really be necessary) and I use wadded up screening to hold the plants in place and keep mosquitos out. I tried the raft system for lettuce but I had too much trouble controlling mosquitos, so I gave that up. I once grew a tomato plant in a trash can full of solution. The plant was anchored to a hole drilled in the lid, and again wadded screening mesh was used to exclude mosquitos. It worked, but once I got my garden going I no longer needed to do that to get tomatoes.
I use hydroponics to grow things I want to keep slug free.....and away from marauding turkeys.
RE: Growing Media For Hydroponics? - myomy - 01-26-2011
For those that use peat-moss, do you find the ph is low and use sodium bicarb / baking soda / other to get the ph higher? I have some lettuce in peat with a ph of about 6 and it doesn't seem to be doing as well as it should. I'm thinking it might need to be modified.
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Please don't pee on my leg and then try to tell me that it is raining.
RE: Growing Media For Hydroponics? - Kaufarmer - 01-26-2011
Are you using a hydroponic fertilizer? Or are you using something like Miracle Grow or Peters? I find that is makes a difference when using a hydroponic set up. Since I only use a nutrient solution for lettuce, I don't have experience with peat moss as a medium. Anyone else ever use peat moss?
...Su Ba
RE: Growing Media For Hydroponics? - myomy - 01-26-2011
I use a good quality hydroponic fertilizer, not Miracle Grow. A Digital PPM meter shows about 950 PPM.
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Please don't pee on my leg and then try to tell me that it is raining.