Garden Culture Magazine US 14

9 Foreword 10 Product Spotlights 16 Grow a Monster!

20 Biofortification: A New Method to Combat Malnutrition 24 Bottom’s Up 28 Moisture, Oxygen, and Growing Mediums 33 Larger Results in Pots 36 Make Your Own Soil 40 5 Cool Finds - Fresh Ideas 45 What Grinds My Gears 48 The Fabulous Faeces - Frass 52 Getting to Know Perlite

57 58 62 68 70 76 83 88 94 98 105 106

Who’s Growing What Where Shorties Spring Onions Shorties Money Trumps Environment Crazy Veggies Top 10 Bubbler Tips Coco Isn`t Peat or Soil The pH of Substrates You Otter Care Art Feature Shorties

Everyday we are faced with choices. Our decisions shape who we are and what we become. Some are small, like what shirt to put on. Others are big, like deciding to have children, go to university or what substrate to use in your indoor garden.

In this edition, we take a deeper look at what your plants are growing in and what it means for you and your garden.

Beginning with the fundamentals, Evan Folds discusses the building blocks of soil in the article Make Your Own Soil.

Stephen Brookes looks at the differences between coco and peat mixes, and in Getting to Know Perlite, Christopher Bond explores this popular mix ingredient. Learn more about the choice of substrates and their appropriate watering techniques, the pH of the media itself, and frass, the fabulous faeces.

Whether creating, maintaining, and feeding gardens indoors or out, it requires an understanding of the symbiotic relationship between the soil and the plant. Filling a pot with an organic potting mix and feeding it with whatever certified fertilizer can work very well, but dig a little deeper, and you will discover the billions of little helpers that will work almost for nothing. The proper use of bacteria and fungi are vital to maximizing natural inputs like compost, worm castings, guano, and meals.

Changing from a soil-based organic medium to an inert substrate or vice versa isn’t difficult, but understanding how to use them properly can make all the difference to your plants.

To grow organic or not to grow organic, that is the question: Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer poor harvests and outrageous fortune, or arm yourself with knowledge to avoid a sea of troubles.

Eric

AgroLED® has several advantages over traditional sources including lower energy consumption, longer life, improved ® durability, smaller size, and faster switching. Ideal for all phases of plant growth. AgroLED grow light models can be customized to emit only specific wavelengths of light for plant growth and flowering. Outdoor conditions are mimicked with varying color, temperatures, and spectral outputs.

The durable aluminum housing, heat sinking, and active cooling all ensure proper thermal management for longevity of the LED’s. There’s also a two-channel control for independent veg and flower cycle or you can combine both channels for plant growth from start-to-finish. Includes the industry’s first 7-foot Convertible Smart Volt™ power cord featuring 120 and 240 volt plugs.

Visit: www.SunlightSupply.com.

Premium OMRI & CDFA certified organic potting soil blend that is People & Pet Safe®, and contains no GMOs. Pot of Gold uses finely selected OIM inputs that help prized plants thrive - reaching their fullest potential. Pot of Gold is pH balanced and contains perlite for excellent drainage with any container garden – indoor or out.

Pot Of Gold potting soil is great for seeds, transplants, houseplants, or in a compost tea.

Sustainably grow high quality plants. Locate Dr. Earth® organic soils, fertilizers, and controls at your local garden store or nursery.

Visit:DrEarth.com

Botanicare is expanding its tray selection with the newly introduced, commercial duty, 4x8 pallet rack tray. This tray is easy to set up and designed to fit standard 42” wide x 96” long pallet racking or shelving. The Botanicare pallet rack tray is the ideal solution for vertical propagation/growing, allowing growers to take advantage of overhead space and reduce the cultivation footprint by at least 50%.

It can accommodate up to sixteen 10” x 20” prop flats. Made in the USA. For more information: contact Customer Service at 877-753-0404 or visit www.botanicare.com.

and ecoUGro is a range of high quality coconut substrates - peat-free, biodegradable, flowering, all friendly. Designed to help achieve best results with rooting, growing, and to ensure process substrates are submitted to a rigorous control in the production ent, high quality. UGro is made from coir obtained and packed in a salt-free environm and ns pathoge of washed with fresh water to ensure low EC levels and the absence premium other impurities. Smaller coco particles are not included, another reason this product has excellent water retention and airing properties.

Visit UgroCoco.com to find the mix suitable for your growing needs.

Growing organically is an aspiration that many of us can relate to. The allures and charm of being in harmony with your environm ent and achieving yields of unparalleled quali ty is something few could argue with. BIOCANN A Bio-Terra Plus has been re-released with this idea firmly in mind. Certified by OMR I and the Control Unions as a substrate 100% suitable for growing organically.

BIOCANNA Bio-Terra Plus only cont ains fertilisers from plant-based sources, mean ing it is 100% vegan; completely free from animal based inputs! As well as benefiting from an enhanced beneficial biology, its exception al physical structure means you will find the highest levels of aeration and drainage from a certified organic potting mix. On top of a reduced susceptibility to pests, such as fungus gnats, there is no finer substrate on the market suitable for organic growing.

The iSUNLIGHT T5 LED (Part #901447) is a 5,500°K T5 HO replacement LED lamp, a superior choice for propagation and veg cycles of your plants. An intelligent LED specifically designed to work with your existing T5 HO fluorescent fixture that produces over 5,100 lumens and consumes only 41 watts of power.

Now available at Rambridge ? Then take a look at the newest development Thinking of growing organic with a maximum growth rate and 100% success ogy, the new growing medium Eazy Plug is truly from Holland. Originating from the Dutch center of cultivation technol s to exactly the right air-to-water ratio. unique. It comes with predetermined EC and pH levels, and self regulate for pots or sleeves, thus offering huge hair root Due to its strongly bonded organic components, there is no necessit y and uniform moisture distribution, Eazy Plug can structures due to the air pruning effect. With its superb water uptake unlimited shelf life. The Eazy Plug system offers be supplied dried, offering a clean, lightweight growing medium with an a full cycle solution containing plugs, blocks, and pyramids.

To see the system in action,

visit www.eazyplug.nl/ea zy-plug-system/

Now you can run two different timing schedules from the same timer.

The Apollo 18 has two separate timing schedules and can operate two different appliances simultaneously. This precision digital timer features up to 8 total timing schedules.

Easy-to-use, built Titan-reliable, and affordably priced, this is a must-have product for indoor gardeners.

The sturdy enclosure resists dust, rust, and moisture in the often-damp garden environment. The Apollo 18 is the perfect timing solution to operate cloning machines, CO2 systems, pumps, fans, or other 120 volt appliances. 15 amps/60 Hz. MSRP - $19.95.

At Vermicrop Organics, inputs are taken very seriously. Consistency and quality are the cornerstones to 8 years of success. All materials are quarantined and tested - both in house and at accredited independent testing labs across the US. Once approved, each individual component is given a lot number that corresponds to the batch code on every finished product.

Try some in your garden today and see the difference!

VermiSoil, Vermifire, and Vermipro premium potting soils, all from professional grade organic materials, created and tested by a team of industry leaders.

For more quality products, visit Vermicrop.com

What is a Bell Pepper?

One of the most popular vegetables grown throughout the world in backyard gardens, the easy to grow bell pepper is native to Central and North America. Gardeners were once limited to green and red pepper crops, but now there is now a much wider variety of peppers to choose from with different colors, and even different shapes. Peppers like hot weather, and are easily damaged from the cold. Frost is fatal.

How to Propagate Propagation is an art, so I’ll explain how we propagated our

To avoid the risk of algae forming on the top of the coir, after the initial watering, we did not water the seedlings directly over the top. A new technique we used was to place a layer of vermiculite in the base of the propagator. This provided capillary action for the roots, and encouraged the emerging seedlings to search for moisture.

Seedlings need lots of light. To avoid tall, weak plants, we used the T5 Sunblaster for the initial stages of propagation. As the pepper roots filled the pots, we transplanted into larger ones.

Larger pots will allow the roots to develop better and offer a more stable plant.

The next stage was choosing between soil, and a gravity fed hydroponic system. Ian Neale chose to grow peppers last year in the soil, and we opted for the gravity fed system with a 60/40 blend of coir and hydrocorn medium.

What Is a Growing Medium?

seeds. The seeds were sent over from a grower in France, Mehdi Daho, who currently holds the World Record weighing 621.07g (1.36 lbs).

The pepper seeds were started off in February in a heated propagator at 75°F (24°C). We used a coir based product, and planted the seeds in pots about 3 inches in size. The seeds were placed about 1/4-inch deep in moistened, lightweight mix. This provided a level of humidity within the propagator for the germination to take place. The seeds germinated in about 7-10 days. We then thinned the plants to one per pot after the first true leaf had appeared. The seedlings had a bottom heat of 65°F (18°C). This promoted better and faster germination.

The growing medium is as important as the propagation. Last year was our first time working with a different substrate after traditionally using peat based products. We did a lot of research. The choice is very important, because your plants are dependent on a relatively small volume of growing medium. Unlike growing in garden soil, the roots of plants grown in restricted pots cannot grow around obstacles, or mine the soil far and wide for nutrients and water.

In hydroponics, the growing medium takes the place of the soil. Not to provide nutrients, but so the roots can support the plant’s weight and hold it upright. It also protects them from light and dryness. Hydroponic growing media is simply a soilless material that is generally porous, so it can hold the moisture and oxygen that the root system requires to grow.

Non-porous materials can be used as well, but watering cycles would need to be more frequent, so the roots don’t dry out between waterings.

While there is no single “best” growing media for all situations, some work better than others in different systems. With any hydroponic system, and/or any type of growing media, the goal is still the same. You just need the roots to be moist, not soggy and saturated, because the roots will suffocate from lack of oxygen. That situation can easily lead to roots dying, and various root diseases.

In February, whilst visiting our family in Leiden, we had the opportunity to visit the Gold Label production facility. It was very interesting to learn that their substrates are not free of nutrients as we believed. Instead, they add a secret boost into the coir to give the plants a head start at initial propagation stages. Jamie had a great visit, and picked up many tips from Paul and Dennis at Gold Label.

The 60/40 blend that we used in the gravity fed system was made up of “coco coir,” a fiber from the outer husk of coconuts.

We added perlite and vermiculite to our growing medium.

Peppers are self-pollinators. Sometimes bees or other insects will cross pollinate them with other plants. Because of this, keep hot and sweet peppers far apart. It will not affect the current crop, but if you keep the seeds, it will show up in the genetics the following year.

Controlling the plants from pests was another challenge.

Regular spraying of SB Plant Invigorator was key to healthy plants. Several insects like to feast on pepper plants including spider mites. Fortunately, it’s not a frequent problem, and can easily be cured with an organic insecticide or dust.

In addition to the threat of pest attack, we also had to keep an eye out for common bell pepper diseases. This crop can be prone to anthracnose, blossom end rot, bacterial spot, early blight, and verticillium wilt - given the right circumstances.

Vermiculite is a silicate mineral that like perlite. As a growing media, vermiculite is quite similar to perlite except that it has a relatively high cation-exchange capacity, meaning it can hold nutrients for later use.

Growing the Bell Pepper On Last year was our very first time growing bell peppers, so it was a steep learning curve for us. This crop generally takes 70-90 days to mature. Determining when to harvest your bell peppers depends upon the type of pepper you are looking for. Most bell peppers are green when they are immature.

The ripening process happens quickly, so for us it was a big challenge.

You can encourage new growth, and a continuous production of fruit, by regularly harvesting the bushes. The plants will continue to produce until the weather gets too cold. We, however, just needed to pollinate one pepper on the plant and grow it large.

What we learned was that compared to growing in soil, growing hydroponically was more of a science. The correct nutrient formulation was the key to maximizing the growth and development of the peppers. At the start of the vegetative growth phase, the pepper plants needed lower levels of phosphorous and potassium, but increased levels of nitrogen. We increased the phosphorous and potassium as soon the flowers started appearing. In addition, we used new nano technology products within our feeding structure which provided some excellent results for plant health.

We mastered the feeding structure, and produced plants that were over 5 feet in height. What we couldn’t master as well was Mother Nature. Peppers are sensitive to ethylene gas (a gas given off from other fruits and vegetables as they ripen).

The pepper started to ripen when we were in California in early September, so we had t o direct a cool fan a t the fruit to slow down the ripening process.

It worked!

Here is the result: 3

UNICEF, one of the world’s largest children’s charities, states that malnutrition contributes to nearly half of the deaths in children under five, with a colossal three million young lives lost needlessly each year. By 2025, the World Health Organisation (WHO) aim to reduce stunted growth by 40% in children under 5, reduce low birth weight by 30%, and reduce childhood wasting to less than 5%.

But how are they going to achieve this?

Over the years, a number of strategies have been adopted, from education of small farmers in developing countries to supplementation of the essential missing vitamins and minerals. Recently, there has been a number of key scientific breakthroughs, which have helped to increase the nutritional value of infrequently available food.

Biofortification intends to replace the need for processed mineral supplements

One such technique is biofortification, a method based on increasing the nutritional content of the plant itself, before processing. This can be achieved by selective plant breeding, genetic engineering, or fertilization. It can also be used for the encouragement of beneficial metabolite production within plants. These metabolites include sulforaphane, phenolic acid, and seleno-amino acids, all of which are chemotherapeutic compounds used to combat cancer (Abdulah et al. 2009), a topic that deserves it’s own article.

Traditional methods of combating malnutrition include supplements and fortifications of food. So, what is the difference? Supplements are given in addition to food, like what you would buy from the chemist or supermarket. Fortification, however, is the addition of the required vitamin or mineral to food during processing and before consumption. The WHO (not the band!), and the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) refers to fortification as the addition of the vitamins and minerals to improve the nutritional quality of the food, regardless of whether they are present, or absent, in the food before processing.

Enrichment is a little different. Defined as the addition of lost minerals during processing and storage, it is common practise in dairy products, such as milk, and bread. Biofortification is a

new approach, and intended to replace the need for processed mineral supplements in the form of tablets or liquid, along with reducing the need for food fortification. The idea is to encourage the plants to produce and provide the recommended daily intake (RDI) level that human or livestock require.

Deficiency in microelements, such as iron and zinc is estimated to affect three billion people worldwide, with poverty being one of the biggest causes of malnutrition. Biofortification is an effective way to combat deficiencies in humans and animals in areas of the world where the soil is low in a particular element. In turn, this can help reduce the incidents of preventable diseases, such as myopathy, anaemia, rickets, and cretinism (Table 1).

Developing countries tend to have a diet made up mainly of grain and milled cereal, which has a low bioavailable mineral content. (Christou and Twyman 2004). This means that the minerals that are in the food, are unfortunately not easily absorbed by the consumer, leading to deficiencies, and eventually malnutrition. The most common mineral deficiencies include calcium, zinc, selenium, and iron. Their absence results in a number of diseases, and stunted development in children (Gรณmez-Galera et al. 2010).

Programs around the world are targeting the poor rural farming populations on in large areas such as Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean (Table 2).

Their primary targets are pregnant women and children under two, with the WHO and UNICEF estimating that two billion people could be cured of iron deficiency-induced anaemia.

Using methods such as biofortification, WHO aims to reduce anaemia in women of reproductive age by 50% by 2025.

Plants such as rice, beans, wheat, barley, and sweet potatoes have been targeted for iron and zinc biofortification, whilst crops like wheat and broccoli are targeted for selenium biofortification.

The latter is not for the correction of deficiencies within humans, but for the production of chemotherapeutic (anticancer) compounds that selenium forms within the broccoli.

More examples can be found in Table 2.

Methods of biofortification include genetic engineering, fertilization, plant breeding, and soil management. Each of the methods have their advantages and disadvantages; environmentally, economically, and ethically. The method adopted needs to be sustainable, be beneficial to health, and carry the least amount of risk. The more traditional methods, such as plant breeding and soil management, are more environmentally friendly, however, they tend to be more labour intensive, and have a longer time scale for effect.

Genetic engineering offers the most precise method, though it does have ethical issues with the unknown long-term effects difficult to predict, and the high cost for development. Fertilization offers the quickest and most effective results. However, leaching into rivers, the poisoning of wildlife, along with sustainability of the resources, all remain as challenges. The delivery method of the fertilizer is key in the reduction of the pollution created, and the availability to the plant. Hydroponics can help combat these issues, and is a very effective approach to biofortification, as it allows precise dosing of the key element of interest.

Biofortification, in whatever form, is definitely a step in the right direction for combating world hunger and childhood malnutrition.

The question is, at what long-term cost? 3

Choosing the right growing medium according to the specifics of any system is imperative and the water delivery method plays a key role in this. For instance, a bottom fed system distributes the water to the plant by wicking it up. The substrate will need to be able to diffuse water evenly throughout the container, but still maintain a healthy oxygen ratio.

The physical and chemical attributes of the growing medium, not only its capillarity capacity to wick up the water, or store oxygen but also how evenly it diffuses the nutrient solution throughout, should be important considerations.

OFTEN, THE BOTTOM HALF WILL HAVE LITTLE TO NO AIR

things, like carbon to nitrogen ratios. Time to start answering questions like: “will the beneficial organisms continue to thrive,” or “will the medium suddenly become very inviting for decomposers like springtails or gnats?”

The Physical Side Denser mediums are better at making the water reach the upper portion of the container than very porous ones, but that comes with a less than ideal reality.

Dense mediums greatly limit the air content capacity.

Often, the bottom half will have little to no air, and stay permanently saturated with water. Few roots will grow, leading to potential problems, like root rot and other pathogenic outbreaks.

On the lighter side, with very porous substrates, the solution might not diffuse evenly in the container, some portion may always stay dry, without any roots in it - a flat out waste of growing medium.

Of course, taking into account the duration for which the growing medium will be used is pretty vital. Are we harvesting lettuce every five weeks, or tending tomato vines for the next two years? Over time does the chemistry of the growing medium itself stay the same?

Does pH change? Peat based mixes that rely on pH control through liming additives, which over time get taken up or leach out in the runoff, will slowly but surely fall back to its natural acidic state.

How does it react when continually saturated?

Organic-based substrates can break down quite quickly when the circumstances are wrong. Such a breakdown can change the air/water ratio faster than the crop will accept.

Does it dissolve? Let’s take a look at coco. When soaked for long enough, coco coir naturally releases various minerals into the solution; mainly potassium and sodium. Plants can deal with a bit of extra potassium, but in the long run, high amounts can lead to problems, mainly nutrient deficiencies. Not ideal for recirculating systems like NFT.

As the medium starts “composting,” there will also be changes in biological activity, along with more complex

There are, however, a few tricks to deal with this problem in a bottom feeding system. It’s best to hand water

Chemical Properties

from the top for the first couple of weeks, when the plants are small. This encourages root development and lowers the total amount of time the coco stays saturated. Once the roots have established themselves, it is time to turn the valve on and begin bottom feeding.

Allowing the coco to almost dry out, a couple of times during the plant’s life, also encourages root development. Another tip is to use a very porous substrate like expanded clay or perlite to line the bottom inch or two, reducing issues associated with long term coco saturation.

as possible, when watering from the top, allowing for sufficient runoff to flush away build up.

In a bottom only watering system, excess mineral salts are pushed up to the top, to the drier layer. Fresh and balanced nutrients are continually being provided from the bottom. Top feeding will push all those salts back into the bottom of the pot. If you do feel the need, remove the plant from the system and flush with tons of water until the runoff is at desired levels.

Let the plant almost dry out before moving it back into the system.

COCO FIBRES ALSO BECOME SMALLER

Over time coco fibres become smaller and will eventually impact the air/water ratio. Amending with clay pebbles and/or perlite is a good way to reduce this effect.

Garbage Removal Automatic watering systems save growers lots of time and greatly simplifies the task, as plants pretty much drink what they need, when they need it. Time saved does not mean vacation time.

In a normal top to bottom watering, new nutrient solution pushes the old out of the container, better known as the runoff. It contains the unused and unusable salts. More frequent watering will lead to a “cleaner” root zone. When salts do build up in the container, plants have a harder time “pumping” in water. The plant is able to take only the nutrients it wants to some degree, but if salts are always high, the plant will intake more than it needs. There might be lower than expected crop quality in the end. So, as often

Air Replacement An often overlooked benefit from having water coming from the top is that while the old nutrient solution is being pushed out, so is the air! As water saturates the growing medium, it pushes the gas content out of the macro pores. This is why you often see bubbles coming to the top of the soil when watering. As the water leaves the macro pores, a vacuum is created, and fresh air packed with oxygen is sucked in! So, the roots can “breathe,” and the beneficial micro life is helped to thrive.

If you are using a bottom watering system, and absolutely feel your plants need more air, a pump directing fresh air to the plant’s root area can be added, such as the one offered by Autopot.

Automated gravity fed bottom watering systems make advanced indoor gardening a lot easier, but knowing a couple key tricks will make the difference between good and great. 3

Plant roots need access to both moisture and oxygen (at least generalized, hypothetical ones like the ones talked about in this article do).

Water is taken up by root hairs, and is transported through the plant to the leaves by passages known as the xylem to the stomata (small openings on the undersides of leaves, surrounded by guard cells that can open and close). Because the water forms a continuous chain of water molecules, as water is evaporated through the stomata, it creates a tugging force at the root tips to draw in more water.

If there is not enough moisture at the root hairs to replace the moisture that is lost through transpiration, the plant will first attempt to conserve water by closing the guard cells of the stomata. It will first wilt, caused by the chains of water shrinking, but it can recover if moisture is added.

“Terminal wilt” can happen if too many of the water chains through the xylem have been broken.

One approach is to raise the amount of moisture in the air, high enough to provide sufficient moisture for the plant to grow. Even at the highest level of natural humidity, it still isn’t moist enough. To increase the available moisture, water can be sprayed into the air surrounding the roots, a tactic known as aeroponics. Aeroponics is frequently used in rooting cuttings both because they can be simple to make as a do-it-yourself project, and because they give an excellent view of rooting progress.

A shortcoming of this method is that the moisture must be continuously (or nearly) pumped into the air, or it will fall away from the roots. It also is not very fault tolerant, as plants tend to wilt quickly if the system loses power.

A solution to guarantee that enough moisture is present is to fill all or part of the container holding the roots with water. This method is more fault tolerant than pure aeroponics since the roots remain in contact with water, even in the event of a power outage.

However, this presents the other side of the situation, roots also need oxygen. While it is true that during lighted hours (and only during lighted hours) plants use

photosynthesic processes to absorb carbon dioxide (through the stomata), release oxygen (also through the stomata) in the process of making sugar, plants also require oxygen and release carbon dioxide for the mirror process of collecting the energy from the sugars known as respiration.

The amount of oxygen plants give off during the lighted hours by photosynthesis far exceeds the amount of oxygen used for respiration. Overall, plants are considered to take in carbon dioxide and generate oxygen, even if respiration is the reverse.

The reason the oxygen is so important to the root system is that since there are no leaves on the roots (and no light for photosynthesis even if there were), it doesn’t benefit as much from the oxygen released by the stomata. The roots must absorb their oxygen for respiration from what they are in direct contact with. If the roots are in direct contact with water, then oxygen gas trapped in the water (known as dissolved oxygen) is the source.

Water exposed to air will absorb a certain amount of oxygen along the surface. Aeration roots above the waterline may also be a source of oxygen. While these sources by themselves are not ideal, and usually not sufficient for vigorous growth, they are often enough for

cuttings to root when placed in a glass of water on a windowsill in traditional houseplant cuttings fashion.

To improve the amount of oxygen available to the roots, air pumps can be used to release additional air (with oxygen) into the water. This type of system is known as deep water culture (DWC). To contrast; aeroponics sprays water into air, and DWCs pump air into water.

They both have the same goal of supplying the roots with both oxygen and water, they just use different strategies to accomplish it.

Aeroponics and DWCs are considered to be “true hydroponics,” since they don’t include a growing medium other than the air and water.

Placing a grow medium in the container with the roots has benefits. Two important ones are that it can give the roots something to anchor the plant to, and it can hold moisture suspended longer than an aeroponic system, without requiring the submerged roots of a DWC. The material the grow medium is made from has an impact on the proportions of air and water it supplies to the roots, and under what conditions. Perlite and pumice, for example, are very airy, and have a lot of surface area for moisture to adhere to, but requires frequent watering.

Rockwool on the other hand, holds water better, but requires less watering as it is more prone to becoming waterlogged. Materials like coco coir are a compromise between the extremes, and peat-based soilless mixes are frequently composed of different materials with varying water to air holding capabilities.

Particle size plays a critical role in how well a medium will hold water or air. Large particles leave large spaces when piled together, and have less surface area. This lends itself to holding lots of air, but requires frequent watering. Clay pebbles are a good example of this. Small particles leave smaller spaces, but have a larger surface area. This shifts the balance to better water holding, but less available air, requiring a more conservative watering schedule.

The material itself also plays a role in determining capacities. Coco coir can absorb water, so can clay, but the fused glass type materials can’t.

All growing mediums and strategies supply the roots with both air and moisture in one way or another. Fortunately, plants are flexible as to exactly how these needs are met.

Whether a gardener prefers a light medium watered often, a more absorbent medium watered less often or nothing but air and water, each can have productive gardens with proper technique. 3

“Can I get deep water culture results, growing in a medium in the same amount of time?” I get asked this question all of the time.

The answer to getting bigger yields is to maximize the roots potential to that of the pot and the medium it needs to grow in to get the desired results. It is helpful to understand how and why the water/nutrient solution reaches the root system and enters the plant, in order to take advantage of this process. It is also important to understand the hydrotropism effect of the plant’s roots.

In this article, we will not be looking at the type of pot, oxygen, heat levels, or the nutrient regime. We are purely going to look at getting the most out of the root system by repotting at the right time, and utilizing the repotting process as a chance to apply more of the beneficial mycorrhizae directly to the roots.

Stripping things back to basics, a 20L pot can potentially contain 20 litres’ worth of roots. If done right! Which it isn’t 9 times out of 10.

MAXIMIZE THE ROOTS POTENTIAL TO THAT OF THE POT AND THE MEDIUM

If you want a bigger yielding plant then you’re going to need a bigger pot… well, a bigger root system, to be more precise.

And that point makes the difference. It’s no good having a huge pot with a small root system.

By repotting at the right time, using a good quality mycorrhizae at every stage possible, and staggering the size of the pots gradually as your plant grows, you will maximize the potential size of the root system whatever size the pot is.

To grow a large plant, say in a 50L pot, you wouldn’t transplant from a 3L pot straight into a 50L pot. You would need to

maximize the roots in the 3L pot first, then move up to a 10L pot, and allow the the roots to grow to their fullest potential. Repeat the process in a 30L pot making sure that it is almost root bound before making the final transfer into a 50L pot. Doing it this way, and using a fresh dose of mycorrhizae at each stage, will also give you a huge mass of friendly bacteria, covering the entire root system.

The other key to increasing the growth rate of your plant’s root system is to top feed the medium evenly.Top feeding at the right rate will make a big difference, as gravity will help distribute the feeding solution down through the whole of the pot, and encourage root growth. Most plant feed solutions are full of nutrients, which are heavy, much heavier than the water they are mixed into. When bottom feeding the plant from the base and letting the medium act as a wick system to move the solution around the plants root system, it is much harder for the solution to work against gravity. Add into the mix that nutrients are heavier than the water that they are diluted into - it’s an uphill battle.

Top feeding is a very easy way to make your solution quickly available for the roots to take up as a whole, evenly. Top feeding will also ensure that the root mass is as thick and equally dense all the way through the container.

A FRESH DOSE OF MYCORRHIZAE AT EACH STAGE

Bottom fed plants will have a concentration of roots at the base of the pot, an effect called hydrotropism. Though bottom feeding has advantages, I would prefer to have that same concentration of roots consistently through the whole of the pot.

Once your feeding solution has reached the roots and is available for take up, the solution passes across the root cortex into the plant via two different routes; the apoplast path, or the symplast path.

The apoplast pathway is where the solution makes its way through the intercellular spaces between the cell walls. This is the route most of the solution takes through the roots’ cortex, as it offers the path of least resistance. The solution will travel this way until it reaches the endodermis where any movement around the cells is blocked by the “Casparian strip.” This strip forces the solution to pass through the endodermal cells via osmosis.

The symplast path is the second way that the water enters the plant via the roots’ cortex. This is where solution passes through the cells by “osmosis” all the way into the xylem.

By using mycorrhizae, you can increase the amount of beneficial bacteria and nutrients that the plant receives. Most people do

not know that there are two main types of mycorrhizal structures: 1.

2.

Ectomychorrhizae Endomycorrhizae

Ectomychorrhiza has most of its structure on the outside of the plant, and so is found within the soil. Endomycorrhiza, which is a fungi that has most of its individual filaments within the actual plant itself. By using these mycorrhizae products on your plant at every transplant/repotting stage, you are opening two doorways into your plant’s root system - on top of the solution it already receives via the apoplast and symplast paths. Doubling up like this will flood the plant with as much nutrient/solution uptake as possible. This is one of the keys to creating a large and strong root mass.

Out of the methods previously explained, if you were to take a plant and wash all the soil away leaving just the roots, the plant grown using the “staggered pot” method would show twice as much mass and weight to the root system than the plant grown using the “straight to big pot” method. Not only that, it opens up more pathways into the plant’s vascular system.

We all know that the roots are the primary mouths of the plant for nutrients. The more mouths there are and the bigger those mouths are, the more the plant can eat.

My mantra when growing is one of balance, what is below is above. What you can see is just as important as what you can’t see. The roots are the foundations of your plant. Take the time to nurture them and they will give you bigger and better results every time. 3

Soil seems so simple. But anyone that has looked at a sample of good compost tea under a microscope, investigated biodynamic methods, or spent any time pondering the base saturation percentages of the cation exchange capacity knows differently. Good soil cannot be seen with the naked eye, and all soil is not

The spirit of soil is beyond words, even if you try - complex, vulnerable, strong, intelligent, fragile, dynamic, balanced, ephemeral, pervasive, alive, stubborn, diverse, and on and on. The soil wears many hats and has many personalities, and its mysteriousness results in many gardeners purchasing soil in a bag from a garden center. This can work well, but is also wasteful and expensive, particularly for a grower looking to be more sustainable, or turn their hobby into a business.

the same.

With some attention to basics it is a worthy endeavor to make your own soil mix. There is no shortage of recipes out there for creating your own “supersoil.� Many of them are fantastic, others not so much. Of course, the best way to determine the quality of a custom soil mix recipe is to let the plants tell you. But for those who want to minimize their mistakes, we are going to explore some concepts and methods that can step your custom soil mix game up to the next level.

It is not difficult to grow a plant. After all, they want to grow. There is a reason Big Box stores are littered with cheap artificial fertilizers, they work well enough to make people think they are generating good results.

Sort of like fast food... fills you up, but catches up to you later.

The goal of a soil mix is to make it cost less than bagged potting soil, but work better. Above all, keep this in mind - mineral balance and microbial diversity. A little bit of a lot of things in balance is better than a lot of a little.

For instance, all microbes are not the same. More and more growers are using anaerobic strains of microbes in their gardens. Techniques such as making nettle or comfrey tea are fantastic tools in the garden, and bokashi and EM (effective microbes) type products are generally great practice for nutrient cycling and protecting plants from disease, but most of the microbes contained in these inoculants are not native to the soil. The same is true of the photosynthetic microbe products on the market.

Consider manure. It is typically cheap and represents great potential, but it is not humus. It has not been decomposed by the microbes in the soil responsible for making plant food. Of course, manure has some soluble nutrients in it, which is why growers continue to use it without considering the presence of soil microbes, but this is not maximizing the potential of manure in soil.

Organic matter does not just melt, and gut microbes do not do the work of soil microbes.

This is the case for many other microbial products on the market containing only specific strains of microbes, like mycorrhizal fungi inoculants, or specific strain Nor P-solubilizers. These are important products, and can work well for specific applications, but they are limited biologically. They do not replace the importance and power of a complete soil food web.

With any garden started from scratch, it is important to source a diversified humus product that is farmbased for inoculation, ideally through brewing compost tea. Actively aerated compost tea (AACT) is the most potent and effective way of consistently introducing soil microbes to the garden. Estimates tell us that we know 5% of bacteria and 10% of fungi at the rate of

discovery, so if the microbe strains included in the product can be listed on the label, keep in mind the product is extremely limited in diversity.

When sourcing microbes for setting up a garden or making a custom soil mix, it is preferable to use an inoculant from Nature. Worm castings are a great resource, but they are typically not a complete soil food web with some of the higher shredder organisms missing, and research is telling us that castings contain as few as Âź the fungal diversity of a good balanced compost source. However, they may have a greater bacterial diversity.

Think of soil microbes like construction workers.

To build a neighborhood, you need day laborers and specialty workers, the more diversity the better.

Consider sourcing compost from your friends, or scratching some soil from the forest floor. The more humus sources you can combine in your inoculant, the more diversified your soil food web will be, and the stronger your soil will become.

T h e l ea r ning cu r ve a nd ef fo r t s a r e we ll wo r t h i t

Construction workers need building materials in the form of organic fertilizers, and ionic tools in the form of trace elements to manufacture enzymes. There are thousands of options, and know that everyone is going to swear by all of them. Diverse materials such as rock dusts, kelps, fish, plant and animal meals, sea minerals, bat guanos, humates, etc. are all a good place to start. Experiment with different ratios of each in respective stages of growth to generate the best results.

The holy grail of growing is a soil mix that requires no fertilizer throughout the life of the plant. In my opinion, unless the soil has been allowed to mature biologically in a no till environment for an extended period of time - this is sacrificing results. It is a noble effort to grow a garden without using any inputs, but very difficult to accomplish in a controlled environment application.

In a field, however, the ability of soil to hold water and nutrition can be managed successfully through ensuring a diversified population of soil microbes, and by managing the base saturation percentages in the cation exchange capacity (CEC). For growers using fresh soil on every cycle this is not as important, but it is absolutely critical for those who are interested in reusing their growing media.

On paper, soil is sand, clay, and organic matter. When making a custom soil mix the grower is managing the physical structure of the soil by replacing clay and sand with elemental and water-retentive material like peat moss or coir fiber, and draining materials such as perlite or rice hulls. You want the soil to retain around 50% moisture after watering, leaving enough water so the soil does not dry too quickly, and enough air so the roots can breathe. A good mixture of these materials

will account for the large majority of the volume in the soil mix.

Whether in a field or in a container, the soil has a net negative charge, meaning it can hold positively charged elements, or cations (calcium, magnesium, potassium, etc.), as opposites attract.

Dr. William Albrecht determined the sweet spot in the balance of the cation elements in the exchange capacity through his pioneering work in the 1940’s at the University of Missouri. Through experimentation and intense soil testing he defined the ideal base saturation percentages for the macronutrient cations required for soil growth as 68% calcium, 12-15% magnesium, 3.5-5% potassium, and 0.5-1.5% sodium. Keep in mind these are ranges, and desired ranges may be different for different crops, but on average, this balance in the soil represents the life balance for growing healthy crops.

There are also ranges for the micronutrients like manganese, iron, zinc, copper, etc. required for healthy plant growth, and ratios the elements like to be associated relative to other elements. It’s like a big jigsaw puzzle. And the cool thing is that when the elemental balance is proper, the pH is always perfect.

All soil testing is not the same. Many labs, particularly Extension-based labs, look for limited element spectrums, and take a pH-driven approach to soil testing.

The pH is not a good metric to evaluate soil health, because it is possible to have an imbalanced exchange capacity and a proper pH. For example, if you have an acidic soil, lime will increase the pH every single time.

It does so by adding calcium to the soil that works to displace the exchangeable hydrogen. So, what happens if this soil has a potassium or a manganese deficiency? In other words, don’t take the pill to eat more fast food, change your diet and take a probiotic.

We use these ranges with growers when conducting the soil testing for our Fertility Management Services.

Combined with water testing, the data generated provides the data needed to guide the grower into mineral balance as well as quantify what should be added to regenerate this balance once the soil has been used.

There is no better way to approach the reuse of growing media in a perpetual grow.

use a n i nocula nt f r o m N a tu r e

Adopting an approach that manages the base saturation can even help growers develop strain-specific fertility.

The reason plants are cloned is so the results are consistent. Consistent plants will pull the same nutrient profile from the soil. If we test the soil after each cycle, we can learn the nutritional rhythm of the plant and fine tune it over time. We can also learn ways to be proactive when certain strains are using more of a

particular element than others.

Bottom line: how do we know what to add if we don’t know what is missing?

As with any farming application, there are countless things to consider when making your own custom soil mix. The learning curve and efforts are well worth it. Remember, if you want top shelf results, trust but verify with soil testing.

Over time the results will exceed your expectations. 3

1

C O M PAC T H Y D R O P OT

Botanium stands apart from the recent rash of plug-nplay instant gardens that rely on grow pods. This stylish hydroponic growing container is more like a mini Dutch pot using LECA growth media. Nutrients and chili seeds included.

The wildly successful Kickstarter campaign recently completed, the Botanium ships worldwide in three colors.

Learn more: www.bit.ly/botanium and www.botanium.se

2

S M A R T WAT E R H E AT E R

The French startup Solable introduced their innovative, eco-friendly tankless water heater at tech shows around the world in recent months.

The LaDouche delivers hot water to your shower in seconds, yet uses 80% less energy. The ingenious design taps gray water from the shower drain to continually heat incoming water.

Limitless hot water! Never run out again with this beautifully designed, compact wall-mounted system with towel warmer. Learn more: www.solable.fr

3

SO U N D AU N AT U R E L

Portable Rockit Log speakers are crafted from hemlock, fir, and cedar logging waste. Delivers 60 watts of pure audio power and premium quality sound. Choose dark or light finish, or customize it. Crafted in British Columbia by former World Cup soccer star, Jay DeMerit.

The battery lasts 10 hours at full volume. USB charging port, Bluetooth or AUX connection. About 12” (304mm) diameter. The successful Kickstarter campaign ended in Feb. 2017. Learn more: www.bit.ly/rockit-log (will retail at: www.bit.ly/CST-buy).

4

LIGHT SIMPLIFIED

You’ll find many gorgeous wood items for your desk and mobile from Grovemade in Oregon. But this small desk lamp really stands out. Available in Claro Walnut (pictured) and natural Maple. Shown with an add-on 30-watt radio bulb.Any standard E26/E27 filament bulb fits.

It stands 6” (152mm) tall with the radio bulb. 6-ft (1.82m) cloth-covered cord.

International shipping. Learn more: www.grovemade.com

5

P L A N TA B L E PAC K A G I N G

Organic herbal tea company Rhoeco in Greece designed product packages as a seedling planter.

Once the tea is gone, fill the container with potting mix, insert the seed stick included on the inside of the lid, add water, and grow your own herbs.

The pot is biodegradable. Seeds are from an herb used in the tea. Sold in Europe and the UK. Food for thought in the US and Canada. More info: www.rhoeco.com 3

I know, I am writing this in a magazine to which I contribute and even advertise in. But there are magazines, and there are magazines. For all those who do not ever advertise: this is not for you, unfortunately. Proceed at your own risk.

With the legalization of medical and recreational cannabis in many states, there is an explosion of printed (and online) media. New magazines pop up like mushrooms. There are lifestyle magazines, technical magazines (though not that many), activist magazines, connoisseur magazines, gardening magazines, medical use magazines, and of course, in every category, probably a few that are just advertisements.

Many haven’t even printed a first edition, and already we get their target group numbers, their demographic profiles, in great detail illustrated by graphs, and the print numbers. I could easily advertise in about fifty different magazines, that would all reach my “target group.” You guys must be reading a lot of magazines.

• •

• We actually pulled out of a few publications because the content was so poor that we no longer wanted to be associated to it, or because we just did not want to advertise in a magazine that is almost 80% advertisements, or a combination of these two factors. You are no longer helped by the vehicle, you become the vehicle.

Let me give you some good advice: • Do some research: which are the magazines your customers read, and which ones do they value most.

Just ask them. You speak with them every day, right?

• Read the magazines you advertise in, do not only check if they printed your ad in the correct color.

•

Check who writes the articles, are they (recognized) experts in their field, or desk-writers? Do you want to be associated with that content or that quality of content?

Count the advertisement to editorial ratio. What does this magazine add? Or is it just a bunch of ads?

Are you advertising because your competitor is too? Some even use that to lure you in, by naming your competitors that do advertise. I would say: let them burn their money faster than you do. It is expensive. For every four monthly magazines, you could probably have someone on the road full-time.

Think more in campaigns. Make sure your online media support your ads. In many cases, the only objective is to funnel your target group online.

Be consistent in your communication style, so people will recognize your brand. Don’t be afraid to evolve over time, but incremental change is often the best way to go.

You can only spend your marketing money once. Spend it effectively. Associate yourself with quality. Go multi-channel, embrace social media if you have the time for it. Support media that make a difference.

Of course, you would want to keep advertising in Garden Culture magazine.

What is it?

Just like with worm castings, insect frass is not collected from wild insects. Just imagine how difficult such a job would be, or how it could even be done… Insect frass is a by-product from insect farms. These farms breed insects such as beetles, crickets, and locusts mainly for use as natural feeds for animals and exotic pets. Insects are very high in protein, and grow to maturity with a low food stock input, making them one of the most efficient sources of farmed protein.

The most common source of frass you can buy from your local hydroponic shop is from mealworms, and is often also called mealworm castings. Mealworms are not actually worms at all, they are the larval stage of the Tenebrio molitor beetle.

The biological content of Frass is very high for a natural input.

If you put most types of insect frass under the microscope, you will find the bacterial and protozoa populations are very high. Saprophytic fungal species (the decomposers) are also often present, but in lower numbers. However, mealworm frass is very good at stimulating soil fungi. The high organic matter content of frass along with the residual wheat bran from the insects feed is responsible for boosting fungal growth, so overall, the use of Frass in the garden will help to increase all the useful soil microbial groups.

Frass also contains a very useful plant elicitor called chitin, a modified polysaccharide found in the cell walls of the insect’s exoskeleton. Chitin is also found in crustacean shells, such as crabs, and also in fungi. When chitin is broken down by the enzyme chitinase, chitosan is formed.

These insects are most commonly farmed on a diet of wheat bran and carrots. Frass from mealworms looks and feels like lightweight sand, and the frass products you can buy often contain a small amount of leftover bran along with some of the adult beetle body parts, and also fragments of skin that the mealworm larvae shed during development.

What’s in it?

Frass is an organic and sustainable source of nutrients for your plants. It generally has a well-balanced NPK of 3/2/3 – 2/2/2, the variance depending on the food stocks used to breed the insects. Being a type of manure, the nitrogen content is mostly ammonium, which is easy for plants to uptake. The P and the K are released more slowly, along with other useful secondary and micronutrients such as calcium, magnesium, iron, sulphur, zinc, and copper.

When this chitinous derivative is sensed by the plant, they think they are under attack from insects, and an immune response is triggered. This response elevates the plant’s defences against insect pests and fungal pathogens, and can also elevate the plants growth rate. This induction of ‘positive stress’ is also reported to increase essential oil production.

Pretty cool stuff for insect shit!

How it’s used Frass can be used in many ways, including; amending soil and coco mixes, top dressing, foliar spray, and as a compost tea additive. Different types of insect frass have different properties so the application dosage largely depends on what insects’ rear end it’s come from. The recommendations below are for mealworm frass, as it’s the most commonly available product to buy.

Amending Peat and Coco Mixes When amending coco coir or peat-based potting soil, you can mix in frass in the range of 0.5-2% by volume or 1:200-1:50. If you are amending a bag of straight coco, and are only mixing in frass, then 1:50-1:100 is the ideal range.

used in the right way, it can be a real benefit to your garden

If you are mixing with a bag of pre-fertilised potting soil, or including frass as part of a recipe with other amendments, then try in the rage of 1:100-1:200.

Top Dressing You can sprinkle frass on the surface of the growing media at the rate of 1-2 teaspoons per litre of potting mix. After application, it is best to cover the surface with a mulch layer or thin layer of potting mix, then water in well. Covering the surface helps the frass breakdown and release its goodness.

Frass will take about 4-6 weeks to release all its nutrients when there is a good biological activity in the root zone, so it’s best to re-apply around once a month.

Foliar Spraying To give your plants a boost of nutrients, and trigger their immune system, making a quick tea and foliar spraying it is probably the most efficient way of using frass. To do this, there is no need for a long brew or fermentation, you can simply add a teaspoon of frass to a litre of water and stir a few times over an hour. Strain it to remove all the sediment and spray the leaves until the run-off. You can spray with a mix like this every 1-2 weeks.

Compost Teas

Whether you are brewing an aerated compost tea, or just making a quick compost extract, frass will help to add biology and act as a biological food source. For a simple approach, you can add around one teaspoon of frass to each litre of water before brewing or extracting. Alternatively, you can add it to the brewing compost, mix well then add a bit of water to make it damp. Cover it, and leave in a warm place a few days.

This way the biology will breed in the compost and supercharge it, creating a more diverse tea that will often be ready in a shorter brew time.

If you are keen on making microbial teas with powdered ‘shelf-life’ microbe mixes, frass can also be added as a useful source of protozoa. Soluble microbial tea products are often high in bacteria and fungi, but lacking in protozoa; the organisms that are key to gobbling up bacteria and cycling nutrients.

So overall, frass is quite a versatile product you can use in your garden in many ways. Being a by-product from insect farms, frass is sustainable and organic. Just make sure you choose a reputable brand of frass that carries an organic accreditation to ensure you’re giving your plants the best option available. Two brands that are available are Ecothrive with their frass product ‘Charge’ for growers in the UK and Europe, and Organic Nutrients product ‘Insect Frass’ for growers in North America. 3

Well known as one of the many components of soilless media, perlite is a volcanic glass that is mined as ore, and super-heated (up to 1800°F/ 1000°C) until it expands and forms the familiar, small white particles we have all seen in flower pots. In some applications however, perlite can be a stand-alone medium in both container and hydroponic growing operations.

Perlite’s use as the sole substrate has been shown to be effective for many growers of bonsai, and other plants with coarse root systems, but it can also be used for food crops grown in hydroponics systems.

Perlite is available in various grades. Generically, there are “fine,” “medium,” and “coarse” grades, which range in size from dust to small pebbles. Many of the finer grades of perlite are used in the building trades for plasters, cement additives, and as insulation, and not often used for horticultural applications. It is also commonly used in filtration devices. Differences in particle size should be a consideration as to whether you are using perlite as the sole media, or if it is a component of a soilless mix. A recent Romanian study showed that when compared to 2 mm and 5 mm sized particles respectively, 4 mm was the size that led to increased production and yield for greenhouse grown cucumber crops.1

Pros of Perlite

Cons of Perlite

1. Weight - As a growing media, perlite is extremely lightweight, weighing in at just 6-8 lbs/ft3 or approximately 9 kg/m3. This property increases the air holding capacity, and can increase oxygen circulation around plant roots. This makes it an excellent choice for crops that are top-watered as well.

2. Increased yield - Several studies have concluded that the use of perlite as a sole substrate can increase yields in some crops. A 2012 Italian study found that when compared to pumice and rock wool, cucurbits grown in perlite had more fruit, higher yield weights, and the plants themselves had higher aboveground biomass.2 3. Economy - Perlite is reusable, an uncommon trait among many types of substrate. A rinse in hydrogen peroxide or bleach (as long as it is well-rinsed afterwards) will sufficiently sterilize perlite for reuse on other crops. Another advantage of perlite is its abundance. It has been mined and incorporated into growing media for decades, and it is estimated that we (as a species) have not used more than one percent of the available, harvestable amounts. This abundance is the reason for its relatively low cost compared to other substrates.

4. Neutral - Perlite, being non-organic in origin does not affect a soil’s pH. It is also sterile. The high heat used in its creation kills any pathogens that may have been in contact with it.

1. Weight - Perlite’s light weight is not always a desirable thing. It does not anchor heavy roots well, sometimes causing plants to fall out of their containers as they grow.

2. Unsustainable - Perlite comes from a nonrenewable resource, at least, not within our lifetime.

If we were to increase our usage, it is possible to run out, though this is currently not a likely scenario.

3. Closed Cell Structure - Other than externally, due to its irregular edges and “nooks,” perlite is a hard material that does not have the capability to retain any water or nutrients. In non-hydroponic applications, more frequent fertilizing and watering may be necessary.

4. Compaction - Unless a coarse grade of perlite is being used, particles can tightly compact causing a plant’s root development to be challenging. This compaction can also impede nutrient flow and restrict water uptake in bottom-fed systems.

5. Hazardous - As perlite is a glass, there are some dangers to using it. It will not cut your hands, but the dusts can be inhaled, and cause cuts on your lungs.

A mask should be worn when using large quantities of perlite, especially finer grades of it. This inhalation hazard is not restricted to humans. If perlite is used in an aquaponics system, fish gills can be damaged by the glass particles, often leading to high mortality in these systems. 3

1) Staten Island, NY

Empress Green There’s a commercial farm hiding in the middle of a 900unit apartment complex on Navy Pier. Farmer-in-residence Zaro Bates spent her first year growing thousands of pounds of produce for the apartment residents CSA, a retail stand, 3 restaurants, and food banks.

A full range of crops - 50 varieties - plus cut flowers thrive in the 4,500 square foot farm built atop the underground parking garage. Zaro’s husband, Asher Lands, tends beehives on the Urby complex roof, selling the honey under the Empress Honey brand. The Urby owners are so pleased with the farm’s success, they’re working on building her another space to cultivate.

The tenant farmer returns with a twist - it’s a paid position that includes housing. Follow Zaro: www.bit.ly/Emp-Green.

2) East Oakland, CA

Seed Funding College In a densely populated area, with little access to fresh food, Kelly Carlisle, Navy veteran and Master Gardener, is able to give back to her childhood community in the form of a ¼ acre garden.

A collaboration involving many community members, and space at the Tassafaronga Recreation Center, that influences more than 3,000 low-income youth and their families by giving access to farming beds, cooking classes, and a place for community events.

The most impressive is Camp Acta Non Verba - A summer camp that offers low-income children aged 5-13 a safe place to learn about sustainable agriculture! The kids sell their produce through a farm stand and a CSA. They also donate to food pantries. The proceeds go into individual trust funds for each child, building a nest egg to pay for a college education. It’s not all serious work at Acta Non Verba though, there’s camping, field trips, and fun woven in.

Sowing futures by helping kids and families help themselves change tomorrow. Learn more: www.anvfarm.org.

3) Greenfield, IN

Commodity Food Desert Fourteen miles beyond Indianapolis, the roads are lined with farms. So, it surprised farmer Jonathan Lawler that his son’s friend was reliant on the food pantry. Until he realized that most of these farms grow commodity crops, not food.

He turned part of his farm into a nonprofit operation to fight local food insecurity.

Brandywine Creek Farm donated over 400,000 pounds of produce to area food banks in 2016. The crops are planted, tended, and harvested by volunteers, Indy youth groups, and veterans enrolled in their Patriot Farmer internship program. Project 23:22 helps others set up food bank plots too.

Putting good, locally grown food back into America’s breadbasket. Learn more: www.bit.ly/BWC-farm.

4) Halifax, NS

Focus: Holistic Growing community in connection with healthy living led to the Common Ground Urban Farm sprouting on 3.5 acres of vacant land owned by Capital Health. Someday, hospital expansion will occupy some of this space, but the rest will remain growing food, flowers, gardeners, and farmers.

Therapeutic gardening, rental plots, and healthy cooking lessons are regular activities here. People come just to admire the plants, and sample free Nibble Beds food. But it’s also a working farm selling organic produce through a farm stand and food bank CSA. Unlike most CSAs, charitable donations pay for the weekly boxes, and the harvest feeds the hungry.

Promoting a holistic approach to health while empowering community. Learn more: www.bit.ly/CGUF-org. 3

They’re the smallest member of the avian world, but they move their wings faster than any other bird species. And while they alone are the only ones that can fly backward and hover, hummingbirds can’t walk. They can also fly sideways and upside down, beating their wings 70- 200 times a second - capable of zooming around at speeds of 30-60 mph. No wonder their hearts beat 1000 times a minute, hummers are hyper.

The brain of a hummingbird equals 4.2% of its body weight while a human brain is only 2%. They’ve also got a memory to envy. A hummingbird remembers every flower it’s ever visited, and can calculate how long each flower takes to replenish the nectar. And not only can they see every color we can, their eyes also process ultraviolet light, so the world is far more colorful for them than it is to us. Hummers also recognize humans, and know who is in charge of refilling their feeders!

Even more awesome things about hummingbirds: www.bit.ly/amazing-hummers.

Packed with flavour and nutrients, this low-maintenance, tasty perennial vegetable is a must for every garden. The attractive, flowering-bearing green stems are a favourite ingredient, and grow easily in compact spaces.

Health Benefits Spring onions are very low in calories, yet high in Vitamin C, antioxidants, and fibre. They are an excellent source of vitamins and minerals. One study* found that spring onions contain significantly higher antioxidants (responsible for removing free radicals that trigger diseases in the body) than white onions.

Spring onions also contain potent anti-cancer, and antiinflammatory compounds.** All healthy reasons to grow them!

Cultivars Spring onions (Allium fistulosum) belong to the flavoursome Allium genus (onion or Liliaceae family). Their ‘cousins’ include garlic, leeks, onions, and chives. There are many spring onion cultivars. Some have a very strong flavour, whilst others are mild and sweet. All varieties have long hollow leaves. True spring onions don’t have a bulb, as they grow from seed. They grow to about 1’3”-1’8” (4050cm) high, either singly, or in clumps.

Spring onions are sometimes called shallots (Allium cepa, aggregatum group), which have a small onion-like bulb at the end of the stem. Some varieties of bulb onions (Allium cepa, cepa group) can be grown as spring onions, if you harvest when the leaves have grown, but before the bulb matures. An example is ‘Red Legs’, which has slender crimson bulbs, long red stems, and is rich in antioxidants.

Other varieties to try are green or red stemmed ‘Welsh’ bunching onions. These are a hardy perennial variety that grow in clumps, and self-propagate at the base. ‘Evergreen Bunching’, ‘Rossi’, ‘White Lisbon’, and ‘Red Beard’ are other popular spring onion varieties.

Sow seeds 1/4 inch (5mm) deep, an inch apart, or in rows about 6” (15cm) apart. Up close and personal!

Growing from Seed and Transplanting •

Best Time to Sow Depending on where you live, spring onions take 8-12 weeks to mature.

• • •

•

In cool weather, they prefer a protected pot in the sun, or grow them in a greenhouse during winter.

They are frost hardy, but need protection from severe hail damage.

Spring onions are grown for their edible stem, so are best sown during the New Moon or First Quarter moon phases. If you are not familiar with planting by the moon cycle to optimize growth and harvests, you can learn more at www.bit.ly/moongardening.

In some areas you can over-winter spring onions outdoors as well. Late sowings in August, September and a fine October will provide an early crop by late spring. Always use a winter hardy variety for this.

Spacing Spring onions provide a high yield for the minimal room they need to grow. Tall and skinny with shallow roots, you can squeeze them into tight spaces. They are the perfect companion plant to help repel a wide variety of pest insects. Plant them amongst your most vulnerable crops.

•

• •

S tart seeds in seed raising mix in punnets or trays.

Depending on soil temperature, the seeds should germinate in about 2 weeks. Keep moist with liquid seaweed to boost germination.

Want to save money? Save seeds from previous crops. Wait until the flower head is dead and dry.

Cut it off, and shake the seeds into a paper bag.

Store in self-seal bags in a cool dry place.

Transplant seedlings when they are about 6” (15cm) high.

Prepare soil with compost, or a good quality potting mix with organic soil conditioners and rock minerals.

Harvesting and Storing •

•

Likes •

• •

•

Well-drained, humus-rich soil. Add compost, or worm castings. Ensure the soil is loose, and friable.

S oil pH 6-7, ideally a full sun position, and regular watering.

A liquid fertiliser 2-3 times while growing.

To boost healthy leaf growth, and provide trace elements, alternate liquid feeds of diluted seaweed or fish emulsion with ‘worm juice.’ Dilute the liquid from your worm farm to the colour of weak tea.

T hick mulch layer to maintain soil moisture, and prevent weeds.

Dislikes • • •

Being planted near peas and beans.

D rying out, resulting in water and nutrient stress.

Weed competition.

•

•

•

ew leaves emerge from the centre. Start snipping N the outer leaves when plants are tall, green, and healthy looking.

Avoid pulling up the entire plant - this is a wicked waste! Use a sharp knife, or scissors to cut the outer leaves above the roots, where the green stem emerges from the base. Leave at least 2” (5cm) stem in the soil. Water in with seaweed, and watch it regrow.

I f you do pull the plant out, use the leaves as normal but leave at least 2” (5cm) of stem with the roots on. Keep these roots in a glass of water in a well-lit position like a windowsill. Change water daily, and harvest as leaves regrow.

To encourage more growth, snip 1-2 outer leaves off separate plants. This allows each plant to recover, and thicken up at the base. Rotating your harvest will reduce plant stress.

S nip flower stalks off, if you want the plant to keep producing leaves. Or allow them to grow to harvest the edible flowers for use in salads, stir fries, or as garnishes. If you leave flowers on the stalks to mature, seeds will develop, and can be saved.

Spring onions don’t store long in the fridge, so wrap in plastic. For maximum health benefits, harvest straight from the garden as needed.

Tips on Growing Spring Onions •

•

• •

Propagate by division in spring and autumn. If growing a bulb, or clumping variety, you can divide clumps to grow new plants. Slice off individual plants (including the bulb and root) by using a downward motion with a sharp knife through the clump. Gently loosen them apart. Once separated, trim the top and roots before you transplant.

If you are growing a bulb variety, be aware that removing leaves will deprive the bulb of the food it needs to grow to maturity.

C ompanion planting: sow seeds between carrots to deter carrot fly.

C ontainer-grown spring onions may need more frequent watering, especially if they are in porous pots, like terracotta.

Pests & Diseases Thrips and aphids are the main pests to watch for.

These small sucking insects are active in the warmer months, and most common in dry weather. Thrips cause white, silver, or grey blotches on the leaves, and tend to attack new leaves as they emerge, so look in the centre of the plant periodically. Aphids usually attack in early spring, and downy mildew may occur in wet weather. Making sure your plants are in moist, nutrient-rich soil will likely avoid most problems.

Suggestions for the Kitchen •

• • •

• •

he more mature the plant, the stronger the T flavour. If you want a mild onion taste, choose young slender leaves.

S tems on mature plants will thicken up, and can be used as a leek substitute.

S pring onions taste delicious raw, when they are at their most nutritious.

U se both the green tops, and the white or brown bulb sliced in salads, omelettes, stir fries, and fish dishes.

S hred the green tops for use as a garnish.

F lavour soups, casseroles, rice, noodles, vegetables, pasta, or egg, cheese, and Asian dishes. 3

References: * www.bit.ly/sphinxsai ** www.bit.ly/eureka-mag

BIO: Anne Gibson is author of several eBooks, and publishes The Micro Gardener, an inspiring DIY garden website. As a writer, consultant, speaker, and community educator, she teaches people how to grow sustainable, highly productive edible gardens on a budget in urban spaces. Anne is passionate about helping people grow nutrientdense food, upcycling materials in the garden, and maximising yields for minimal time, money and effort. Visit www.TheMicroGardener.com for your complimentary eBook.

1. It takes 2 million flowers and over 55,000 miles (88,500 km) of travel to make one pound of honey.

2. A honey bee produces 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime. A single pound is the life work of about 800 bees.

3. There are 20,000 species of bees on Earth, but only 7 of them produce honey. And one species of wasp, but don’t eat it… it is often poisonous!

4. Honey is the only natural food that never spoils.

5. Honey enters your bloodstream within 20 minutes of being eaten.

6. The reason bees make honey is for winter survival. They’re simply preserving summer’s bounty to tide them through the cold season.

Source: www.bit.ly/about-honey

President Trump isn’t exactly lauded as a deep thinker. He speaks off the cuff, makes unrealistic promises, and tosses around unsubstantiated claims (see: wiretapping).

That’s why it’s chilling to read how his proposed budget, which jacks up military spending by $54 billion and features massive cuts elsewhere that will hurt the United States and its world partners, came to light in the first place.

Trump’s budget director, Mick Mulvaney, told reporters that staffers sifted through Trump’s campaign speeches to help create his first budget.

If he said it in the campaign, it’s in the budget

“If he said it in the campaign, it’s in the budget,” Mulvaney said. “We wanted to know what his policies were. And we turned those policies into numbers.”

Remember that campaign? Trump ran on a nationalistic platform that bashed Washington and called for a temporary ban on all Muslims entering the country.

He pleaded with the Russians to hack his opponent. He bragged that he’s so popular he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and not lose support.

While he never proved the Fifth Avenue theory, he won the election — and now we’re seeing a ludicrous campaign turn into real policy with real consequences.

When it comes to the environment, we should all be sweating.

The worst part of Trump’s approved budget, which still has to be approved by Congress, is the 31% cut to the Environmental Protection Agency. Trump and new EPA director Scott Pruitt want to completely gut an agency that is already underfunded.

Pruitt refuses to even acknowledge that climate change is driven by humans, a preposterous stance for someone who’s now running the EPA. Dozens of leading scientists, including Nobel Laureate Mario Molina, sent a letter in March to Pruitt telling him he’s wrong and his positions are dangerous.

Of course, he and Trump — who called climate change a “hoax” during the election — will only double down.

Just as we were starting to make progress on climate change policy, this administration could set us back decades. The federal government will no longer fund efforts to curb carbon pollution and develop renewable energy technologies.

States like Florida with rising sea levels are threatened by the proposed cuts.

Miami is the sixth-most vulnerable city in the world to rising sea levels, according to a Weather Channel report. Tampa is 16 th .

The White House wants to cut the EPA’s climate change programs by $100 million. Among other benefits, it funds grants that assist coastal communities to protect themselves from rising sea levels. It also would end

conservation programs that help states rebound from environmental changes that hurt crops and drinking water.

a full-throttle attack on the principle underlying all U.S. environmental laws

According to an analysis from Budget Insider, Trump’s proposal would cut funding for EPA enforcement, which would make it much easier for, say, a sewage company to dump raw sewage into a river and not pay the consequences.

The White House also wants to cut the EPA’s regional cleanup programs, like the Great Lakes initiative, which will lead to less research on water contamination.

•

•

These aren’t small eco programs. We’re talking about major environmental concerns, from sea level rise to carbon emission.

Trump’s proposals are doing the unthinkable — creating bipartisan support in Washington among former EPA officials, all in opposition to Trump.

•

The EPA — created by, of all presidents, Richard Nixon — has survived through Democratic and Republican administrations. They’ve often had different approaches to the environment, which is why you won’t always see former EPA officials who served under a Democratic president teaming up with the counterpart from a Republican administration.

•

That’s changed. About 50 former EPA officials have formed the Environmental Protection Network, a new non-profit organization.

•

They’ve created an in-depth analysis that tackled every detail of the EPA, working out prior partisan differences.

They’ve called Trump’s proposals “a full-throttle attack on the principle underlying all U.S. environmental laws—that protecting the health and environment of all Americans is a national priority.”

Bloomberg, which did a detailed study on the Environmental Protection Network analysis, laid out five major risks from the EPA cuts that weren’t previously in the public consciousness: Endocrine disruptors: The EPA’s Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention has a program that screens and tests endocrine disruptors — chemicals that are a danger to child growth and development, along with reproductive health. The White House wants to cut the spending for this program from $7.5 million to $445,000.

Lung cancer: The EPA wants to cut its radon program by 80%. Radon, a naturally occurring radioactive gas, can pose health risks when it seeps up from under a house. An astonishing 21,000 people are estimated to die each year in the United States from lung cancer caused by radon.

Hazardous materials: The budget includes cutting a program that digitizes shipping manifests currently maintained on paper, of trucks carrying hazardous materials.

Airborne chemicals and toxins: Universally praised as a success, this EPA program spends $92 million a year researching how air pollution affects humans and nature, and how to best control which pollutants. The EPA has estimated that by 2020, the program will have reaped $2 trillion in benefits for $65 million in costs. But the proposed budget cuts this funding in half.

Mexico: The budget eliminates Border 2020, a joint program with Mexico. The $3 million program helps border communities cut pollution and secure access to clean air and water. The budget would also eliminate a $10 million grant program that funds wastewater infrastructure projects on the border. Trump doesn’t want to make lives better on both sides of the border. He just wants to build a wall.

Ever since Trump’s budget was announced, we’ve seen

daily, shocking headlines involving the proposed EPA cuts. A recent sampling: •

• •

wants to cut the EPA’s regional cleanup programs

Trump’s EPA cuts could hobble Michigan pollution monitoring, cleanup Trump cuts and the EPA: Making America less healthy again Trump’s EPA cuts: No one will protect us.

It’s infuriating that the White House wants to destroy the EPA based on Trump’s absurd campaign speeches and promises. There’s no logical justification to increase defense spending by $54 billion — a 10% hike — at the expense of these programs. Trump talks about keeping America safe. The United States is already awfully safe.

According to the New America Foundation, “jihadists” killed 94 people on American soil from 2005 to 2015.

But a leaked Department of Homeland Security intelligence document, which the organization confirmed, shows that the U.S. government believes most extremists became radicalized years after moving to the United States. DHS recommends programs aimed at deradicalization — not massive defense spending.

There will always be radical lone wolf cases. But the U.S. already has the world’s most powerful military and intelligence. There hasn’t been a major, organized terrorist attack in this country since 9/11.

Trump’s budget plays off fears and paranoia and leaves us exposed to actual dangers that threaten our quality of life for generations to come.

Fortunately, the U.S. isn’t a dictatorship, no matter how much Trump would like to have unilateral control over the country’s budget and policy.

Congress still has to approve the budget. It’s a conservative, Republican Congress that without question will slash the EPA. The only hope at this point is that it’ll be less extreme than what Trump is proposing.

We’re continuing to see backlash, and hopefully, Congress isn’t tone deaf to the complaints.

The Environmental Defense Fund has released a TV ad blasting the proposal to cut the EPA’s Energy Star energy efficiency program. That program, the organization says, “helps consumers reduce high energy bills, promoted economic growth by stimulating investment in new technology, reduces pollution through costeffective measures, and helps ensure the reliability of our electric system by reducing park demand.”

The ad warns Americans that cutting the EPA’s budget will lead to “more asthma attacks, more lead in drinking water, more health problems, more pollution.”

Connecticut Governor Danell Malloy, who is chair of the Democratic Governors Association, has called the proposed cuts an attack on science and future generations.

“The bottom line is this is absolutely an attack on future generations, those yet unborn, who will suffer the consequences of this major retreat that the Trump administration is attempting to bring about,” he told reporters.

But at least future generations will have the Wall of Trump to admire and adore as they seek clean air to breathe and clean water to drink. 3

Add some flavour and a touch of whimsy to your garden this summer Here are a few super-colourful vegetables with unusual looks to brighten up your garden, and your meals this summer. Enjoy this lineup of some of the zaniest vegetables you’ll find anywhere!

‘Turkish Orange’ Eggplant (Solanum melongena ‘Turkish Orange’) This eggplant variety is said to have been cultivated in Turkey since the 1600s. What makes it special is its spherical orange and green-striped fruit. Each plant, just a little over 1’8” (50 cm) tall, can produce up to 15 fruit.

• • • • • •

Plant spacing: 1’6” (45 cm) Seed depth: 1/4” (6 mm) When to sow: indoors, 8 weeks before the last frost date Number of days to harvest: 85 Exposure: full sun Soil: rich, loose and well-drained

Cucamelon (Melothria scabra) Halfway between melons and cucumbers, cucamelons are cute little fruits produced on a climbing plant that grows to at most 5 feet (1.5 m). This plant is native to Mexico and Central America, and is very easy to grow. It produces small, greyish-green fruit with dark green stripes all summer long that look like tiny melons (hence its other common name of mouse melon).

‘Crapaudine’ Beet (Beta vulgaris ‘Crapaudine’)

Cucamelons taste like cucumbers with a hint of tartness and, like cucumbers, can be eaten raw as an appetizer or in salads, or pickled like gherkins. Combine whole raw or marinated cucamelons in a bowl with black olives to serve with drinks, or spear them on a toothpick for a martini! Cucamelons can be grown pretty much like cucumbers, in full sun, in cool soil with plenty of organic matter. Unlike cucumbers, however, cucamelons require little attention because they rarely suffer insect or disease damage.

This French heirloom beet variety is unusual with its long, cone-shaped root – sometimes over a foot – and ridged skin reminiscent of tree bark. The deep burgundy flesh has an incomparable sweet flavour. Sow it directly into garden soil, in full sun, a few weeks before the last frost date.

• • •

• • •

• • •

• • •

Plant spacing: 2” (5 cm) Seed depth: 1/2” (13 mm) When to sow: outdoors, 3 to 4 weeks before the last frost date Number of days to harvest: 70 Exposure: full sun Soil: rich, light, loose and well-drained

Plant spacing: 1’8” (50 cm) Seed depth: 1/2” (13 mm) When to sow: indoors, 3 weeks before transplanting into the garden, or outdoors, after the last frost date once soil temperatures are at least 59ºF (15°C) Number of days from transplanting to harvest: 55 Exposure: full sun Soil: rich, light and cool

‘Brown Russian’ Cucumber (Cucumis sativus ‘Brown Russian’) ‘Brown Russian’ is truly a one-of-a-kind cucumber – it looks like it came from another planet – and the taste is out of this world! This heirloom variety, developed in Ukraine around 1879, produces brown-skinned fruit with crisp white flesh and a mellow, slightly sweet taste that’s never bitter. It is ready to harvest about two months after transplanting outdoors, once the fruit is 4.5 to 7 inches (12 to 18 cm) long. It can also be picked earlier, while the skin is still yellow.

• • •

• • •

Plant spacing: 1’8” (50 cm) Seed depth: 1/2” (13 mm) When to sow: indoors, 3 weeks before transplanting into the garden, or outdoors, after the last frost date once soil temperatures are at least 59ºF (15°C) Number of days from transplanting to harvest: 60 Exposure: full sun Soil: rich, light and cool

‘Orient Wonder’ Yardlong Bean (Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis ‘Orient Wonder’) Here’s an absolutely amazing climber! It produces long, slender pods, sometimes over two feet long, that taste like both asparagus and green beans! Because it can grow nearly ten feet over the summer, ‘Orient Wonder’ yardlong bean absolutely must be staked or planted at the base of a trellis. It can also be inter-planted with corn so that it can climb the corn stalks.

• • •

• • •

• • • • • •

Plant spacing: 1’8” (50 cm) Seed depth: 1” (25 mm) When to sow: indoors, from late April to May, 4 weeks before transplanting into the garden, or outdoors in late May or early June, after all risk of frost is past Number of days from sowing to harvest: 75 Exposure: full sun Soil: light and well-drained

Plant spacing: 1 foot (30 cm) Seed depth: 1/3” (10 mm) When to sow: place tuber pieces directly in the ground, 2 to 3 weeks before the last frost date Number of days from sowing to harvest: 100 Exposure: full sun Soil: rich, light and deep

Tomatillo (Physalis philadelphica) The tomatillo is the fruit of a plant closely related to tomatoes and ground cherries, growing to just over a metre tall. The fruit is similar to a ground cherry, but much larger, up to four inches in diameter. Like a ground cherry, though, a tomatillo is surrounded by a paper-like yellowish husk. Once the green fruit has fully ripened, it turns yellow or mauve, depending on the cultivar, and usually splits the husk encasing it. Tomatillos are the main ingredient in Mexican salsa verde. They can also be used in ratatouille or spaghetti sauce, to add a slightly tart and spicy taste. The other parts of the plant and unripe fruit contain solanine, a toxic alkaloid that’s not very good for you. So be sure to pick your tomatillos when they’re completely ripe.

‘Watermelon’ Radish (Raphanus sativus var. radicula ‘Watermelon’) With its lovely pale green skin and fine pink flesh, this radish resembles a miniature watermelon! When fully ripe, the fruit is about four inches in diameter, and the skin takes on a whitish tinge. Unlike other radish varieties, ‘Watermelon’ has a mild, slightly sweet flavour.

• • • • • •

• • • • • •

Plant spacing: 2’3” (70 cm) Seed depth: 3/4” (15 mm) When to sow: indoors, 4 to 5 weeks before transplanting into the garden Number of days from transplanting to harvest: 70 Exposure: full sun Soil: rich and well-drained

Plant spacing: 3/4” (2 cm) Seed depth: 1/3” (10 mm) When to sow: outdoors, in April or early May Number of days from sowing to harvest: 60 Exposure: full sun Soil: rich and cool

‘Pusa Asita’ Carrot (Daucus carota var. sativus ‘Pusa Asita’) Developed by Pritam Kalia at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, in New Delhi, the ‘Pusa Asita’ carrot is a spectacular deep purple, indeed almost black.

‘Pusa Asita’ is high in antioxidants with a richer, more flavourful taste than most other red or purple carrot varieties.

• • • • • •

Plant spacing: 2” (5 cm) Seed depth: 1/3” (10 mm) When to sow: outdoors, 3 to 4 weeks before the last frost date Number of days from sowing to harvest: 75 Exposure: full sun, partial shade Soil: loose, light and cool

Bubblers can be tricky little buggers. One minute they’re fine and the plants are doing well and the next minute they can be dying faster than Prince in an elevator (I love you, Prince). So, here are 10 great tips to make sure that your bubblers stay on the right track.

1.

Your air pump needs to be kept above the waterline of the liquid that it is blowing air into. A super simple point, but often overlooked.

2. If you are using multiple air stones with the same pump, make sure the airlines are the same length and/or have the same resistance. Otherwise, you will have an uneven distribution of air.

3. The air pump needs to bring in fresh, cool air - ideally from a separate source. Some people leave the air pump in the same room as the plants. All this will do is take the warmth of the air in the grow room and blow it directly into the reservoir, pushing the roots into the disease-inducing temperature range faster.

4.

Keep on top of the EC and pH. Bubblers and DWC systems tend to fluctuate in their uptake of nutrients and water, throwing off the EC and pH, one way or another. Let’s say we have 10 litres of mixed nutrient solution, with a final EC of 2.0 and pH of 5.8. After 24 hours, the plant has taken up 5 litres of liquid. In theory, the EC and pH should remain the same. In our less than ideal world, you will find that a plant will either choose to take up more of the water or more of the nutrients from the solution, which can affect both indicators.

Getting the EC and pH levels correct is a balancing act. The longer it is out of balance, the harder it is to control. My suggestion would be to use an EC and pH probe that can be left in the solution at all times for easy monitoring.

5.

Use the right net pot for the plant you are growing. If you’re growing a large plant, use a large net pot. A small plant, use a small one. Not rocket science, no, but everything helps.

6.

Keep your roots covered up! Roots do not like the light. Make sure they are covered up as much as possible - if not entirely. Even the smallest of light leakages will stress the plant, and increase the chances of root disease.

Many single-pot bubblers have a transparent exterior level indicator which can also be used to empty the main nutrients when refreshing the supply. Killing two birds with one stone, right? Wrong! Using a transparent pipe on the outside can let in a huge amount of light.

Instead, use a black, light-proof pipe with a stopper. You will not be able to check the level at a glance, but it can still used to empty the bubbler when changing the feed over, which IS very useful.

Note: if you are changing the solution in this way, make sure the seal is always tight as it has a tendency to work itself loose.

This can lead to leaks, cracks… or in a worst case scenario, a fixture failure, and a complete dump of all the liquid from the bubbler. Not good. With no solution on the roots, your plants will not survive for long.

7. Keep the roots, and the nutrients that they are sitting in between 17°C and 20°C (63-68°F). If the temperature exceeds 33°C (91°F) for a prolonged amount of time, root disease is almost guaranteed. The number one root disease is pythium, which will show itself as a browning of the roots. The browner or darker the roots get, the less healthy they are. By the time the middle of the roots are a dark blackish brown, they will also have a slimy feel and bad smell about them, because they are basically in the rotting process.

8.

When dealing with bubblers, there’s a lot of liquid in the growing environment. It is inevitable that at some point there will be a break, crack, and/or major spillage. It’s best to think ahead, and prepare for the worst by buying and using a waterproof tray. They’re cheap, 100% waterproof, and a great insurance policy. The ones that do include them are eternally grateful, and the ones that don’t… well, it’s a sharp learning curve, and a big clean up.

9.

Don’t let your bubbler dry out. This one’s back to the basics. Without the roots in the oxygen-rich nutrients, your plant will die within 24-48hrs. When the plants are in the later stages of flowering, they can take up a surprising amount of nutrients in a relatively short amount of time, depending on the size of the system. A large plant in a smallish bubbler can drink all the available nutrient solution within a day.

Remember that the larger the plant grows, the more roots there will be in the bubbler… the more roots, the faster it will feed. There is also less space for nutrient solution in the bubbler.

10.

Make sure you have easy access to change the nutrient solution. This may sound the most obvious of all the tips, but reservoirs can be tricky to change, especially in the later stages of flowering. They can also be very heavy and hard to move, so preparation and planning is key. Put a system in place that works best for you at the start of your grow. Think ahead, and make sure that the grow room is set up in a way that the same system can be used throughout the entire process.

Personally, I use a spare bubbler reservoir. I prepare it with the right amount of nutrient, place it next to the “live bubbler”, and then simply lift the plant out of the old and into the new.

Its quick, so the roots don’t get too stressed out, and plants are now in a new nutrient solution, and a clean reservoir, all in one go. This also helps maintain a stable EC and pH. A last bit of advice if you are contemplating using bubblers for one of the following reasons: 1) The system will need less care than hand-fed plants.

2) The bubbler can be left for days, without watering.

This is definitely not the case. It will take a few years of experimenting to create a fail safe system, before you should even contemplate leaving a DWC alone for a few days. 3

In hydroponic applications, a broad range of media is used; clay pebbles, rockwool, coco, peat, and perlite, to name a few. Technically speaking, they are all hydroponic medias, because they are all soilless. Even the ‘soil’ that is sold in bags is technically misnamed, because it is usually a blend of peat moss and other components, such as perlite and mycorrhiza. Actual soil is defined as the top layer of earth consisting of organic materials, clay, and rock particles in which plants grow.

The title of this article might seem a mostly derived from sphagnum mosses. It they are all little obvious, but end users asking for a has characteristics that some growers find hydroponic bag of soil, then complaining when they highly beneficial such as the stability of pH, medias, because are given soil, is a daily occurrence. The the high CEC, and the high water holding difference between coco or peat and capacity. Peat products have been the they are all soil is that soil has residual nutrients, substrate of choice in hobby hydroponics soilless which vary depending on source and and commercial agriculture for ages. It is level of decomposition. Also, soil often an inexpensive substrate that has done the comes lightly to heavily pre-fertilised, whereas coco and job for decades. Look out peat - there is a new media in peat will typically have very little to none. town, and it is causing some waves.

Peat moss products consist mainly of, you guessed it peat moss. To aid in water drainage ability, peat is usually mixed with perlite and few other things. Coco is the waste from coconuts that has been treated for use in the growth of plants. Coco is often mixed with expanded clay pebbles for better drainage. Peat has a high Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC), coco has a lower CEC. This is the reason why we have to use different fertilisers for soil-based and coco-based media.

Peat moss is from marsh lands or swamp vegetation. There are three different types of peat. The mostly commonly used, for its beneficial characteristics, is moss peat. This is

Coco is quickly becoming the medium of choice for hydroponic gardeners around the world. Derived from the husks of coconuts, it is dried and ground up to give a consistency that is beneficial for plant growth. Typically sourced from areas such as Indonesia and Sri Lanka, it can contain high levels of sodium salts (that need to be washed out), and high levels of Potassium. When fertilising, it is essential that a coco specific fertiliser is used. Lastly, coco has a tendency to ‘hold on’ to positive ions, such as Calcium (Ca2+), so it needs to be buffered to stop calcium deficiencies occurring in the plant. Calcium deficiencies occur due to the high amount of electronegative molecules within the coco that ‘hold on’ to the positive cations.

Making the switch from peat to coco is relatively easy, but may require a change of nutrients.

There is a growing trend to add amendments to coco such as trichoderma, insect frass, pebbles, and cork. The coco containing these amendments tend to do a lot better than basic coco, as it’s adding beneficial microorganisms, or increasing the porosity of the coco. Also a better air exchange capacity at the root zone is created.

Making the switch from peat to coco is relatively easy, but may require a change of nutrients. It also requires the grower to be more attentive, as pH will fluctuate more than peat. Coco needs more attention when watering as it holds less water, but needs a slightly higher EC (amount of fertiliser) than soil, because of the lower CEC. Top feeding in the early stages and later switching to bottom feeding is highly beneficial for growing in coco - t prevents compression of the media (reducing air spaces), and allows the grower to see which plants are drinking heavily, and which ones are drinking slightly less (plant centred feeding).

There is some speculation that peat media produces plants with better taste and flavour than plants grown in coco

media. This is probably due to its capacity to buffer pH and EC to a degree which can prevent deficiency or overfertilisation. It is more likely that plants grown in peat tend to have beneficial microorganisms as they are often already incorporated with the base substrate, and don’t need to be added separately. This increases the uptake of nutrients, which helps with sugar production within the plant. Having said that, a plant grown in coco with beneficial microorganisms, and fed so it doesn’t have any deficiencies or over-fertilisation issues, can just as easily match or even supersede the flavour and aroma of a peatgrown plant. The difference between peat or coco alone will not affect the quality of what you are growing. It’s all about controlling the medium.

If you take one thing away from this article let it be this: If you want peat, ask for peat. If you want coco, ask for coco... As long as you know they are not the same thing. 3

We are all familiar with the pH scale - for the measurement of acidity, and its importance when growing plants. Don’t worry if you are not, there are many resources online that can bring you up to speed on the basics of pH.

Simply put, a pH scale ranges from 1 to 14, 1 being the most acidic with lots of free H+ ions, and 14 being alkaline with a predominate free OH- ion.

The pH level affects the availability of nutrients to the plant. If incorrect, the plant will either starve or overdose on some or all of the nutrients it needs for bumper yields.

Fluctuation of pH around the root zone occurs as they grow and exchange certain elements with the media and nutrient solution, throughout the plant’s life cycle. Depending on the pH, it can either mobilize or immobilize certain elements, allowing the plant to take them up, or not. The plant can become deficient or poisoned by certain nutrients, all depending on the pH around those roots! Changing levels can be due to several factors, including the nutrient solution, what the plant is excreting, the temperature, and the media itself.

There is a wide range in pH between substrates, and even between different batches or brands of the same type of substrate. Table 1 shows some of these differences in the most commonly used in the industry.

Why do some substrates affect pH more than others?

Essentially, this is due to the makeup of the media. Rockwool contains no organic matter (no carbon!!!) and is predominantly made of silicon dioxide (SiO2), a highly unreactive substance.

The very strong covalent bond between the silicon and the oxygen result in the formation of a giant structure. These strong bonds stop it from dissolving in water, conducting electricity, and bonding with other substances. This includes the free H+ ions and H3O ions in the nutrient solution, which then dictates

the acidity of the solution around your plant’s root zone. ( See diagram for the differences in pH with coir.) Think of silicon dioxide as a new teenage couple - Silicon and Oxygen are tightly bound together, and they do not want to dance with anyone else at the party!

Coir, on the other hand, is completely different - it wants to hug everyone at the party, and not let go! Especially Calcium, but that’s another story. This “friendliness” is due to it being made up of many different organic molecules, including polysaccharides, carbohydrates, which form the cellulose and lignin within the fibre, along with residual salts, such as sodium (Na+), potassium (K+), and Chloride (Cl-). These lively organic compounds like to bond and absorb the free H+ ions from the nutrient solution, and this alters the pH around the rootzone dramatically. This effect is known as buffering, and a media such as coir is said to have a high buffering capacity.

Basically, the nutrient solution that you mix up to the perfect pH (5.5-6.5), can be altered dramatically by the media you are watering it into, not just the plant exchanging things through its roots.

This buffering capacity can have its advantages and disadvantages. Substrates with low buffering capacities, such as Rockwool, have a larger pH fluctuation range around the root zone. This is easily corrected with a fresh irrigation, flushing and replacing all of the solution around the root zone, thus correcting the pH - as long as the feed solution is correct.

With more organic content in a substrate, the pH can be more stable, due to the media’s ability to absorb and release. However, if the pH of a media with a high buffering capacity begins low, it will remain low with every feed. This is why it is important to regularly check the pH of the runoff and, more importantly, check the pH of the media before planting, and make any corrections required. Good quality media manufactures normally check and correct the pH of the media using washing processes, and sometimes use limestone, calcium carbonate (CaCO3), and magnesium carbonate (MgCO3) to increase the pH.

So, how do I measure the pH of my media?

This can be done using a simple water extraction technique.

Don’t worry, this is not some nasty acid extraction, involving chemicals that require you to set up a laboratory in your kitchen, though that could be fun! It is a nice, easy analysis that just requires a pH test kit or meter, a jug, some water, and the media itself. You may already be familiar with this method by Kipp et al., 2000, but for those who are not this is how you perform it: 1. Take a 250ml measuring jug and fill with 150ml of deionised water.

2. Remove samples of media from as many places possible in the slab/pots.

3. Add this to the 150ml deionised water until it reaches the 250ml mark.

4. Mix and allow to settle for at least two hours.

5. Mix again and measure the pH. 6. This should be between 5.2 and 6.2.

7. Filter and measure the EC/conductivity of the solution.

If you find that the pH is out of the optimum range, simply flush through with pH balanced nutrient solution, until the runoff is correct. It is important to also monitor the EC of the runoff. If the EC is high, the plant would only require pH adjusted water (no nutrients), and flush until pH and EC runoff levels are within the right range. 3

The sea otters of the North Pacific Ocean are magnificent eco warriors that defend fragile kelp forests, and by doing so, are worth more than their weight in carbon sequestration. These unsung heroes were hunted almost to extinction, both to the detriment of, and at the hands of, humans.The critical part these playful denizens of kelp forests play in the food web was under appreciated almost until it was too late, and the lessons we can learn from understanding the connections and repercussions of how we interfere with the environment are ignored at our own peril.

Sea otters are marine mammals in the same family as weasels and river otters. One special property of sea otters is their fur. Their fur is fairly widely believed to be the densest of any mammal, with up to one million hairs per square inch. It has both long and short hairs, which help trap insulating air close to the skin. This insulating air is so efficient that sea otters do not have an insulating layer of blubber to keep them warm. Their reliance on this layer is why pollutants, such as oil, are so devastating to sea otters; if the hair is coated with oil it loses much of its ability to hold enough insulating air to keep them from suffering from hypothermia.

The combination of long and short hairs, silver tips, and the density of the hair contribute to a fur that is soft and pleasing to both the eye and touch. Native peoples in the areas around sea otter territory successfully hunted them for thousands of years without significantly impacting their numbers. At the start of the 18th century, there was an estimated 100,000-300,000 individual sea otters in the North Pacific Ocean.

Then harvested pelts were introduced to the European and Asian markets, and sea otter fur collars and other fur accessories became fashionable (particularly in the Orient). Demand for the sea otter pelts grew, and the maritime fur trade became a lucrative business. Profits were high, as the cost of hunting the otters was kept to a minimum (sometimes by resorting to forced labor by indigenous people) and the pelts could be marked up when traded for foreign goods, such as silk, tea, and spices, which in turn could be marked up again when sold.

Since the sea otters were being hunted in quantities in excess of their reproduction (a litter size of usually only one pup), their numbers dwindled in areas of heavy hunting. As an area became barren (or nearly so) of sea otters, other colonies would be found and hunted. This went on until there were no new colonies to find, and the remaining 13 or so surviving colonies only had small populations.

To decimate literally means to reduce by 10 in 100. By 1911 when the International Fur Seal Convention (more formally known as the “Convention between the United States and Other Powers Providing for the Preservation and Protection of Fur Seals”) was enacted protecting them, the sea otter population had been reduced by 98 to 99 in 100, in other words; only an estimated 1-2% of sea otters remained, a mere 2,000 or so animals.

That was a bad thing, because unbeknownst to the companies making the huge profits (although there is some doubt they’d have changed their behavior even if they’d known), the sea otter is what is classified as a “keystone species,” which are species that have a disproportionate effect on stabilizing their environment. They do this by what is known as a “trophic cascade” effect; they are a predator that mitigates the effect of their prey on the prey’s food source.

Sea otters live in and around kelp patches and kelp forests.

Their diet includes fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and perhaps most importantly, sea urchins. In healthy kelp forests with active sea otters, sea urchin populations are kept in check, and the urchins help clean up the detritus, such as fallen kelp fronds from the sea floor. If the sea otters are removed (or killed), the sea urchin population increases, and pressure from overpopulation forces the sea urchins to expand their diet to include the holdfasts (root analogs) of the kelp. The sea urchins eat away the anchoring points of the kelp, not only setting it adrift, but effectively killing it. If left unchecked, the sea urchin population will destroy the kelp forest, leaving behind a wasteland known as an “urchin barren” where sea urchins and starfish rule, devoid of kelp and the animals that depend on it.

Beyond the local fish, crabs, and other assorted animals that depend on kelp to help them survive lies a more global

effect of particular consequence to humans: kelp is a form fate of sea otters, the threats by humanity haven’t ended. of algae that uses photosynthesis, and therefore, carbon.

Nutrient-polluted agricultural waste water can harbor Similar to terrestrial plants; kelp absorbs carbon dioxide, cyanobacteria blooms, which create toxins that if dumped storing (sequestering) it in its own mass. An urchin barren into the sea, can sicken or kill sea otters. As mentioned stores very little carbon, since there is no plant life. In above, oil spills can have a devastating effect on otters, contrast, a healthy kelp forest may store and since spills tend to be large, and the toxins that if sea otter populations are still relatively tons (or even megatons) of carbon with an effect on par with a similar area of dumped into the small, a single spill could wipe out a local rainforest. No sea otters, no Northern sea, can sicken population entirely. The Exxon Valdez Pacific kelp, less carbon sequestering, oil spill is thought to have killed several or kill sea more carbon dioxide in the air, more thousand sea otters with a single accident. otters global warming, less good for humans.

Another threat is the practice of dumping pet waste into the ocean, as the parasite Hope is not lost however, starting with the North Pacific Toxoplasma gondii can use both domestic cats and sea Fur Seal Convention of 1911, conservation efforts have otters as hosts. There has also been a change in the behavior slowly helped those few remaining sea otters repopulate of White Sharks (and possibly Orcas) which have apparently some of their former territories. The Southern California increased the rate of their attacks on sea otters. sea otter population has grown to an estimated 3,000, a vast improvement, but still shy of the 8,000 or so It may be easier to forgive the sea urchins than the people scientists suggest would take them out of danger. Alaska at the fur companies, since the urchins don’t have the ability conservation efforts have helped return a population of to decide to deviate from a destructive path. It may also be over 70,000. Russian efforts have been remarkable, with worthy to note that part of the natural solution to excessive populations in some areas returning to pre-exploitation populations includes starvation and mass die offs as levels. resources are used up faster than they can replenish. These are lessons we should learn from if we wish to avoid such Vigilance in their protection is still called for. Although developments in our own overpopulation-driven ravaging of being hunted to extinction is no longer the likely final our environment. 3

Street artist Pawski, based in Sheffield, UK, is well known in the urban art scene. With the support from DNA Mills, he has been bringing art typically found in back alleys and on the sides of buildings, inside. Pawski impressed the crowd at the 2017 Spannabis with a live demo depicting late Franco Loja from the Strain Hunters, as well as a smaller portrait that will be auctioned off to raise funds for the education of Franco’s children. 3

Cows may look randomly scattered in a pasture, but you’ll rarely find them hanging out facing East or West. They align themselves with the North and South poles. It has to do with the Earth’s geomagnetic fields. Scientists call it magnetic alignment. A 2008 Google Earth imagery study discovered the phenomenon, but a second study found that the behavior wasn’t always true in really large herds, super hilly terrain, close to fences, and around power lines. All those things seemed to interfere with this pole alignment.

Interesting, and definitely worth noting the next time you come across a herd at pasture, but it’s not advisable to use cows as a compass. Especially in an emergency.

Source: www.bit.ly/cow-poles