Thanks to Ben, I’ve just posted a contributing article to Hydroponics Tuesday. I’ve written about different nutes, etc. in my article. Find it here:
http://www.hydroponicstuesday.com/Blog/posts/554/Maximum-Yield-Expo-Writeup
Onward to new opportunities. July 25, 2008
It honestly hasn’t been a long time, folks. But, here I am, and after oh-so-little time exploring this endeavor, I’m going to an expo about it! I’ll be starting the trip at 3 a.m., it’s a 360 mile journey. I’ll be home by monday, and I’ll have a lot to report. I’m taking a lot of pictures, taking a lot of notes, and taking a lot of enthusiasm.
Until next time!
General Hydroponics WATERFARM® Product Review July 21, 2008
The Waterfarm is a drip hydroponic system designed for personal use. It’s small size, energy efficiency, and low price make it a great choice for a small-time home-grower. It’s simple, square design makes it possible to pack many systems side-by-side in a small space. It uses a drip ring to irrigate plants. It’s suitable for small to large plants, ranging from small leaf vegetables to heavy producers like tomatoes.
It’s roughly 10″ x “10 x 15″. It retails for about $50. Some assembly is required.
The complete system includes:
• 4-gallon reservoir
• 2-gallon growing chamber
• Pumping column
• Column support tube
• Drip ring
• 1/2″ grommet
• Drain level tube
• Elite® 800 air pump
• 9L Hydroton
• 3-part Flora Kit
I’ve recently obtained a sample Waterfarm for review. I’m so far pleased with the results.
The system is packaged in a small, tight fitting box. All of its components are packed inside the reservoir and growing chamber.
Lightweight expanded clay aggregate, or Hydroton is a growing media used in hydroponics.
The Waterfarm includes about 9 L. of Hydroton, just enough to fill the growing chamber up to the drip ring.
Because it’s shipped in a bag, it grinds together and makes a sort of sand.
It’s best if the Hydroton is washed off.
These are the components that make up the Waterfarm. The assembly guide and the instruction manual shown here are very informative. The assembly instructions are elegant and understandable.
The system gets you started by including a three-part nutrient lineup. They each have charts on the back listing nutrient amounts per gal./100 l. for each stage in a plant’s life cycle.
FloraMicro contains 5 % Nitrogen, 1% Potash, 5% Calcium.
FloraGro contains 2% Nitrogen, 1% Phosphate, 6% Potash.
FloraBloom contains 5% Phosphate, 4% Potash, 1.5% Magnesium, 1% Sulfur.
It takes a little over 2 gal. to meet the fill line in the water-level indicator. The pump running to the drip ring works most efficiently when the reservoir is at its 2 gallon capacity.
The finished product.
I do, however, have two suggestions for what could be packaged in with the Waterfarm.
A seed starting media would do wonders for starting up the system immediately. They’d hardly cost anything, and GH could use their brand of starter plugs. It would be helpful to somebody who has no seed starter otherwise.
A pH Adjustment solution and Liquid pH tester would be a great addition to the package. Control of pH is important for vigorous plant growth. Different plants like different pH. They should have include enough pH solution to adjust the first few gallons.
I’m pleased with the Waterfarm’s design and it’s simplicity. Next: Functionality.
The nutrients that are included are easy to use and of high quality. Seemingly no fallout whatsoever occurs.
The drip ring is a nice, simple irrigation method. Keeping plants around the ring will give them a nice amount of water. However, if you move a plant to the center, be prepared to adjust the ring/hydroton to get a sufficient flow to the plant and it’s roots. I set my ring to a 45-degree angle to shoot the water from the first two holes. It works quite well and evenly coats the area around the plant, shown below.
Overall, I’m very pleased with the Waterfarm. It’s obvious that a fair amount of attention to detail went in to the design. The system’s performance and function are simple, but very efficient and affective.
If you’ve got $50 to spend and you’re looking for a great, reliable, easy to use system, I have the utmost faith in the Waterfarm. I highly recommend this system.
2008 San Francisco Indoor Gardening Expo July 19, 2008
I just can’t wait. With the show coming in one week, I’m a bit nervous. Will I make it to San Francisco with my tomato? I wont know until I try. I’ve just replaced the nutes, bringing the strength up to 1 tsp./gal, for mild general purpose. I’ve also moved on to the next step – I’ve moved the healthiest tomato to the center of the system. It’s constantly soaked in nutrient rich water.. And it’s already 2″ tall and 3″ wide.
Cellulose, makes up much of a plant, and helps to stiffen/strengthen the plant itself, mainly in the stem. It is similar to starch, and a plant produces it to protect it’s self from wind, snapping branches, etc. I’ve been running a fan on the strongest tomato 24/7 for a week straight. This has caused the stem to stiffen up, and even show some robust, stalky growth.
After pulling out the tomatoes to move the best to the center, I see that the roots long and plentiful.
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As for the show, I’m luckily going to be attending on both days. The first day, or ‘industry day’ is the day when the expo is closed to the public. Thanks to Cary Senders, Adriana Gutierrez, and the rest of the STG team, I’m going to be attending the Industry Day. On this day, everything is on a much more professional level, and you can try free samples of nutes/products. It’s great. I’m looking forward to meeting different people and experiencing different, new technology.
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General Hydroponics WATERFARM® Product Review (Part II) July 15, 2008
The long awaited second half of my Waterfarm Review is here!
The first part of the review was about the setup and appearance. This.. Is about performance.
I’ve found that the whole setup of the Waterfarm is satisfactory, at the very least. I’ll start from here:
It’s pretty user friendly. I find that a drip irrigation system is one of the most simple types of irrigation. The drip ring has a pretty good spread, both dripping and just slightly spraying at the same time. Even with my plants slightly far away from the direct drip, it keeps them quite saturated.
I’m pleased with the reservoir and pump. I’m really happy that the system will keep the plants aerated enough to let you leave the pump on 24/7. I did find that the reservoir required a bit over 2 gal. to get it to the required limit, which leaves a bit of inaccuracy present when measuring.
I’d have to say that the best thing about the waterfarm is it’s simplicity. With a simplistic design, simplistic functions, and easy to use 3 part nutrients included with the package, a new user to hydroponics can jump right in without a lot of know how, but a seasoned grower will still feel comfortable with it.
The Waterfarm comes with all you need to get started, minus a growing medium and seeds. It’s relatively easy to hook up, functions well, and is something you can look at as reliable.
Form and function are simple. Easy to use, easy to love, I’m going to back up my ending statement from Part I by saying that whether you’re just looking to get into the wonderful word of hydroponics, or know damn near everything about it, this is a great system to have. I’d like to thank Jesse Pennington at GenHydro for this wonderful system, Matt for his information and help when I had no IDEA what I was doing, and Ben for all his help with the upcoming expo.
'maters
Hydroponics- Set up! July 11, 2008
I’ve set my tomato seedlings in my waterfarm now, and they have a fan and light on them. Success!
Hydroponics Update! July 4, 2008
After a long wait, I have an update on my hydroponic progress.
I’ve just received the needed variable to get everything going-
Sure To Grow™
For those who don’t know, Sure to Grow is company dealing in a special seed starting/sprouting media, using food contact-grade polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyethylene (PE), the same stuff you’ll find in Clamshell packing and beverage containers.
” STG products are inert, sterile, pH neutral, and harbor no harmful pathogens; they do not need to be pretreated like Perlite, Rockwool, and Coir.”
If you wish to see more about their product, visit http://suretogrow.com/
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Me and my dad spent a few hours yesterday making a setup to hold my waterfarm/anything else. We’ll soon be equipping it with pandafilm to save lumens, but for now it’s fine.
It’s made of recycled lumber, and features a peg system for adjusting the lighting.
I’m germinating tomatoes then choosing the best for the Maximum Yield Indoor Gardening Expo.
I’m going to be growing a sample tomato for the Sure to Grow booth.
Expect to see more hydroponics-related posts in the future. It’s been a big wait, but the chain has been broken!
Swallowtail Garden Seeds review May 23, 2008
Find their site here.
I ordered all three strawberries on the page 3 days ago. As stated in the shipping info, they were set to arrive in 3 days. They did. I came home from school today to find a medium sized, puffy orange envelope sitting on my desk. I opened the orange envelope. I found a white envelope. I opened it. I found 3 seed packets and the shipping information. The packets had germination info and a description of my plant. I opened the packets. I found a miniature plastic-bag. Inside that I found a small white envelope. Inside the envelope were my seeds.
And inside the seeds? Everything required to make an extremely complex living thing which is different than any other seed of the same variety, from the same plant, taken from the exact same fruit.
From the start, just the package made me think. That’s a very good thing.
The people at Swallowtail Garden seeds have provided me with a pleasant overall experience. Their prices/delivery rates are, at the very least, quite reasonable, their selection is much more than fair, and the service I’ve been provided through email and the haste of my delivery have made this a simple, incredibly buyer-friendly experience for me. If you’re looking for good delivery, customer service, price, and a wide array of products for your next seed purchase, I highly reccomend Swallowtail Garden Seeds.
Hydroponic choices May 22, 2008
Well, as you may have read in a previous post, the items I’m choosing to grow in my Waterfarm right now are the tiny tim tomato, toy choi, early hybrid spinach, and 3 varieties of everbearing strawberry. Here are some pictures of them all:
http://www.tomatogrowers.com/2003/small/Tiny-Tim—N15911.jpg
This one is rather big, but a good example nonetheless.
http://origin.kaboodle.com/reviews/tomato-tiny-tim
This is a good example of a small one. This is what I hope to achieve in my Waterfarm.
http://www.growing-tomatoes-made-easy.com/grow-tomatoes-indoors-in-winter.html
http://www.burpee.com/product/vegetables/cabbage/chinese+cabbage+toy+choi+hybrid+-+packet+%28200+seeds%29.do
http://www.burpee.com/product/vegetables/spinach/spinach+early+prolific+hybrid+-+%281+packet%29.do
And the strawberry varieties are:
http://www.swallowtailgardenseeds.com/veggies/strawberry_alpine.html
VG203 ALEXANDRIA ALPINE STRAWBERRY SEEDS
http://suffolkherbs.com/kolist/1/VEGETABLES/V-S/STRAWBERRY/0/V351.htm
VG301 YELLOW WONDER ALPINE STRAWBERRY SEEDS
http://www.latimes.com/features/printedition/food/la-fo-kitchengardener13feb13,0,6137784.story
http://www.amazon.com/tag/fruit%20plants%20hirts%20gardens
VG204 FRESCA STAWBERRY SEEDS
If anybody has an feedback on my choice of varieties or would like to recommend a different variety, feel free to post a comment.
It’ll be the tomato near the back in the middle, bok choi and spinach in front of it, and strawberries in 3 corners.
P.S. Some garden pics.
The flytrap is in full bloom now!
This is what happens when the wind carries away your radish seeds:
The tomato is almost ripe.
General Hydroponics WATERFARM® Product Review (Part I) May 17, 2008
When I came home to find that my Waterfarm had arrived, I was ecstatic.
After reading the labels on the front, I sliced through the packaging to find the box stuffed to the brim with parts and manuals. I was first met by a large bag of hydroton, or the hydroponic growing media. It had some dusty clay particles in it, but I rinsed them off.
