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Current Culture H2O Fresno, CA. 93722 U.S.A. web: www.cch2o.com email: sales@cch2o.com

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Jeff Edwards

has been a fixture in the hobby hydroponic industry since 1988. Prior to joining, he was the Assistant Director at NORML. Jeff went on to found and operate Home Harvest Garden Supply as a retail and ecommerce concern for the next 24 years. He is a founding and current board member of the Progressive Gardening Trade Association, formerly known as the Hydroponic Merchants Association. More recently, he has been offering marketing, advertising, and web development services to manufacturers, distributor and retail hydroponic businesses. He also hates typos.

From th e Ed ito r Page Four Ask Erik Page Six Twenty Five Years of Hydro Page Seven LE Ds Why N ot Page T en Custo m G row Ro o ms II Page Thirteen Hyd ro Sc ripts Page Sixteen The Straight Dope Page Seventeen Cultured Propagatio n Page l bs Feeding Journal Page G al leries Page Hyd roT h ai Page Th anks and Praises Page

jeff@gardeningadvantage.com

Eighteen Nineteen TwentyTwo TwentyFive

is one of those people that always tries to figure out how or why things work the way they do. To that end he earned a BS in mechanical engineering, but shortly after graduating he realized his time spent in school created more questions about everything around him than answers. In an effort to prevent from overwhelming himself now he focuses just on mak-

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is an obsessed gardener. He grows veggies, herbs, and flowers with both traditional and hydroponic methods. His years of botanical experiences have taken him everywhere from Jamaica to Northern California on a quest for more knowledge. You can read his articles in various hydroponics magazines, or visit his retail shop: Garden Grove Organics in the Northern Kentucky region of Greater Cincinnati. www.gardengroveorganics.com

Twenty Four

Jordan Gartenhaus

-Jeff EdwardsContent Advisory & Edits

Casey Jones Fraser

contributors

Table of Contents

ing gardens as fruitful as is scientifically possible. He spends a lot of his time optimizing grow spaces to make the most of the resources available, and also strongly advocates quality automation systems. He would since he co-owns a company that designs and sells their own automation equipment, but despite the conflict of interest he actually does provide excellent insight into the “how” and “why” of gardening. If you want to each him: www.grohaus-automation.com

Brandon Pillon: Growing up in Essex County, Ontario I was always fascinated with how plants grow, and would spend hours in our garden patch looking at the plants and insects and gained an understanding of nature and how it works. I decided to further my knowledge of growing and enrolled in the horticulture program at a local college and have been enjoying furthering my “green education” both in and out of the school setting.

bpillon01@yahoo.ca

lb is a hard working member of the hydroponics industry that likes to share his knowledge-and ability for achieving extraordinairy yields with his fellow megawattage minded horticulturalists. He’s always working on improving crops, or if your prefer: taking clones 2 zones! lbezzy365@icloud.com

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““It says here that you call yourself a “Hydroponics Expert”” That’s what a guy said to me looking at his clipboard accompanied by two rather large law enforcement officials. Like it was something I had filled out somewhere as some kind of joke, or that I was thumbing my nose at “the system”. In hindsight, I guess it was supposed to make them not feel bad about what it is they thought they were going to be doing. My reply: Yes, that’s right...and others have too Long story short, they left with me thanking them for being gentlemen about a situation that had in part been created via false information they were given thirdhand by a vengeful party that capitalized on the fact that being or calling yourself a “hydroponics expert” could leave someone vulnerable to harassment by authorities via the age old practice of stereo-typing. I was sickened although not quite surprised to learn how easy it is for someone to “drop a dime” with the authorities and have them act and treat you differently because you are outspoken about hydroponics..

ryd o

What makes an Expert ?

e are notice how many people ar Recently, I have begun to of onics Experts. While some calling themselves Hydrop them, perts, a great number of ex E AR t fac in le op pe these g out of their asses. how shall I say...are speakin stuhesive: it attracts other Apprently, stupidity is co themone half-wit trys to pass pidity and grows. So when wares, st typically to flog their mo rt, pe ex an as off s ve sel e same pass themselves off as th another half-wit trying to of s will agree. Well, if both on as re r ila sim or me sa e for th Some will read this and feel the sting-and it wouldn’t be that hard to pass off my banter here as self righteous. I have looked on or over so many posts for example in Facebook discussions where I have been tempted to factually and morally THRASH some of these people.

doesn’t an Expert, and somebody r he ot ch ea ng lli ca e ar you it might experience or education, know better from lack of even seem true. is wit joins the circle-jerk....Th Heaven forbid a third halfr inws and perpetuates in ou is how bad information gro at an all time high; espeis is th ve lei be I d an y, dustr real ws for those who have no cially as desperation gro ve an increasingly competiti attributes to sell from in marketplace.

going to need the tools to do so.

But what’s the point? It takes time and menatal energy away from more productive and positve contributions.

Now there ARE folks out there that are self-taught in these areas, and they deserve a lot of credit for that. However, quoting the manufacturers specs that suit your arguement from a Chinese supplier you found on Alibaba or whatever is not credible information-sorry, they would laugh you out of a real scientific debate for even suggesting that it is.

Some of what I read is laughableactually a growing amount of it is in terms of what people are arguing as credible information. You don’t have to have a University level education to be the BEST Grower in the World, however, if you want to talk about or more importantly understand a proper scinece based study that is based on FACT rather than half-baked theories or highly skewed casual observations you are

This industry used to push hydroponics forward backed by REAL Science. Take for example the published Proceedings of the Annual Conference on Hydroponics that were sponsored by the former HSA (Hydroponic Society of America). This was REAL info from REAL experts that gave our industry credibility and gave growers real tools and information to advance their growing practices... Not to make some half-

wit middle man money for a new sports car or to stuff their nose and get VD or wherever it is your hard earned growing purchase money went. Most experienced hydro growers or real experts will easily spot the BS when they see it, however, there are lots of new and trusting growers who will not. I challenge members of the Industry to step up our level of expertise and perhaps even get back to our roots: growing information based on Real Facts and Real Science. And, I’ll be the first to say, there is so much to learn for all of us still, and that we do need to also discuss Growing Philosophy; however let’s call it that, when in fact that is what we are offering. Peace.

Yo u r s Tr u l y E r i k B i k s a erikbiksa@gro

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Roots: what’s good?

What is the best method for cloning? I don’t mean Fastest, I mean BEST. There’s lots of different articles and videos on cloning.-even Fully Auto systems I don’t think every method could be the best method.-please help ! ! !

I’ll bet my answer has changed at least half a dozen times for this one over the last decade or so. It’s not because I am indecisive, it is most likely due to changing varieties grown or using different growing methods after rooting, for example, a hydro system versus large container soilless production. Sometimes the answer might have to do with what kind of micro-environment you may be able to retain around your delicate cut shoots while they are rooting too. Sometimes things stay a little cooler and sometimes you battle heat; it always depends on the situation.

However, if you can provide a consistent environment, which is something you definitly want to work towards if you are going to keep growing, you will typically find one method to work

better over an other using the same genetics to propagate, via cloning.

Unless of course you have gone FULLY AUTO which includes automatic pH adjustments and monitoring.

I’m going to run through a few of the questions you should be asking yourself as a prospective propagator of superior hydroponic genetics. I will answer your question though. After I do that I’ll tell you what I am liking best these days. and why.

A chiller that automatically keeps the rooting solution temperature below 75 Deg F may be neccessary in some applications.-usually for bigger set-ups that run bigger pumps (they add heat)

Do I need the cuttings to root fast, or is it OK if they take a while because another room or section of the garden needs to finish up before new cuttings can be transplanted?

Note:

If you propagate for cash, the cost of your rooting medium can be a factorbut not likely before your cost of labor.

For fast root development, aeroponic methods can work great. But, you’ll need a stable environment and good sanitation practices to make it work

Do I have enough time and will I remember to do regular maintenance, like mist or check and adjust pH?

Do I need to propagate LOTS of plants and FREQUENTLY, or just a few to replace what is harvested? Note:

When propagating what is going to be your next crop, your overall cost should be relatively low, regardless of which medium you choose.

Me?

Note: DWC, Aero, Flood & Drain, etc are automated systems; the Catch-22 is that you need to monitor them frequently.

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tion dome...one that fits PERFECTLY around the enire edge of the 1020 flat. Jiffys get pre-soaked in good quality tap water with a small dose of a vitamin tonic (very low dose). UC Roots is becoming a regular propagation additive too. From there, the Jiffy’s are drained via gravity. After inserting cuttings, no need to mist. Twenty watts of fluorescent lighting are used per 1020 tray with lid. Lift domes once in a while to vent. Expect roots in 10-14 days.

AsK ERik Growing Questions? Email: erikbiksa@grozine.com

Lately Jiffy-7s and tall prop domes with minimal lighting seems to be doing the best all around. Part of the secret is a quality-fitting propaga-

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Part One:

25 Years of Hydro:

September, 2013 marks my 25th anniversary in the hobby hydroponic industry. The short story of my tenure has included 17 years as the owner of a retail garden supply and hydroponic shop in the Washington D.C., Baltimore metropolitan area, followed by 7 years operating a successful gardening and hydroponic ecommerce department for a Midwest hydroponic retail firm. Over the past year, I have segued into doing website related contract work for other firms in the industry.

G O O D

EB NoteThe amount of change hydrop onics has seen in the last two deca de is INCREDIBLE s . To leran more ab out hydro roots, check this out: http :// zine.com/histo grory-ofhydroponics/

ACCESSIBILITY

il fewer than 50 reta In 1988, there were g ited States sellin Un e th ss ro ac es stor pplies. door gardening su hydroponic and in tors which meant bu ri st di no re we There the place orders with to d ha s er il ta re lable nufacturers avai few individual ma odnt selection of pr ce de a e id ov pr to stomers. owing base of cu ucts for their gr ’t ow it today didn kn we as et rn te The in re cases, retailers we ny ma in d an t is ex ucts urers of the prod also the manufact

CHOICES While customers in 1988 had a choice between fewer than a dozen different hydroponic nutrient solution brands with two or three products each, consumers today literally have scores to choose from, with dozens of different formulations and supplements per brand in many cases. The “grow lights” sold in the late 80’s were primarily poorly adapted HID streetlights and often constructed in sketchy basement environments with the help of a six-pack of beer. EB Note: Ha. ha...been there, done that! When choosing metal halide, you had the choice of a phosphorus “coated” or “uncoated” lamp, period. If you didn’t have the resources for HID lighting, your only real alternative was a regular fluorescent shop light fixture, or twenty. Today, consumers are offered a plethora of grow light technologies, most constructed in certified manufactur-

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A lot has changed over 25 years. Some of these changes have been good, some of them bad, and some of them have been downright ugly. I’m going to use this opportunity to share some observations regarding these changes with Grozine readers. This will be a three-part series, in this segment we will briefly look at what I view to be the good things.

of ered not what kind they sold. It matt uipur hydroponic eq yo ; re we u yo er grow limitoptions were very ment purchasing y more were significantl ed. In fact, there ore ’t have a grow st dn di at th es at st U.S. d. than those that di 2012, according to te la By contrast, in induswww.ibisworld.com/ IBISWorld ( http:// res. ng-equipment-sto wi ro -g ic on op dr try/hy reindustry market th ep -d in an ), ml ht hyare now over 1100 search firm, there e retail stores in th t en pm ui eq ic on drop

ing environments that place a high priority on customer safety. Bulb choices abound in virtually all categories, with dozens of different color formulations, operating systems, outputs, and styles. If you were a container grower, you basically had a choice between one of two different professional potting mixes. Today there are dozens, ranging from inert to organic to fully pre-fertilized. Giving the consumer choices is paramount to any successful industry and that is certainly the case today for the end-user of indoor and hydroponic gardening supplies.

PRICING In the early days of the industry, price wars were unheard of. If anything, retailers were doing everything they could to get manufacturers to price their products so that uninitiated potential customers

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vtimated annual re es an th wi e on al U.S. ly emn, who collective enue of $543 millio ery ployees. Today, ev em 00 6,0 st mo al ploy en shop, t one indoor gard as le at s ha e at st even tropolitan areas, and most major me ores have multiple st t, as co st ea e th on even choose from. And for customers to ve ve near a shop ha li t ye t n’ do o wh those e inr supplies via th fo s ce ur so s es dl en ternet.

wouldn’t be scared away. Of course, the economies of scale didn’t exist back then. Lights were expensive, replacement lamps were expensive, systems were expensive, and heck, most everything was expensive by today’s standards. In those days, the most fairly priced items in a hydro shop were typically the nutrients. But even they were expensive compared to mainstream fertilizers available through garden centers. Today, thanks to a far more competitive environment and economies of scale, coupled with price pressures from international imports, the cost for an entry level hydroponic or indoor grower has decreased dramatically while their options have increased, which continues to significantly increase the interest and accessibility to hydroponic gardening. >>>

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By Jeff Edwards

The

the GOOD, the BAD & The Ugly...

cont d l Only-

ilde-Vertica 1000W Super Ha

ACCEPTANCE Hydroponics hasn’t always been as universally accepted, nor understood as it is today. The retailers who ventured everything were in fact visionaries who correctly saw the future. There was no hydroponic produce in supermarkets, no hydroponic farmer’s market stands, no sustainable food movement, no internet hydroponic food forums, in fact, it was pretty much thought by mainstream society to be something that outlawgrowers utilized exclusively and for a time, they were mostly right. Of course, the undergroundgrowers were the prescient ones, a fact even recently acknowledged (http://www.youtube. com/watch?v=zv5epteG6Zo) (8:28) by Dylan Ratigan, a former anchor for MSNBC, who recently quit his television job to work with returning veterans by teaching them how to grow hydroponic food. Today, however hydroponic plant and food production is fast overcoming any unseemly shadows. It’s tough to find a supermarket or farmer’s market

that doesn’t offer hydroponic produce, proving that the public has accepted the concept. And that segment of the hydroponic market is growing fast as well. Again, according to IBISWorld, the hydroponic crop farming industry http://www.ibisworld.com/industry/hydroponic-crop-farming.html) now counts almost 3,000 hydroponic greenhouse businesses in the U.S. with over half a billion dollars in annual sales. Internet forums abound, feeding these entrepreneurial growers with support and advice. Families are farming again, only they’re doing it hydroponically in their backyards, and selling their produce locally. And as a result, they are buying supplies. Of course, not everything that has occurred over the past quarter century has been good. In the upcoming segments, I’ll highlight what I view as some of the unfortunate changes in our industry, and then finally some of the ugliness. Stay tuned!

Back in the Day... A Parabolic Reflector a nd Re-circu Hydro-The H lating eight of Ea rly Growing LOL Technology

& Drain Garden Bathroom Flood cal ur Coated Verti Under a Phospho Halide

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Looks li ke it s goi n g to be a Grozi n e ki n d of day

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LEDS

This article assumes the reader is familiar with “the difference between PAR and lumens.”

If you aren’t, it’s probably worth while to Google the quote above before continuing. The more time goes on, the more I hear people claiming that light emitting diodes (LEDs) will soon replace high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps as the “gold standard” of grow lights. On paper the benefits of LEDs are incontrovertible. They offer a superior lumen depreciation schedule, exhibit less color shift over time, and they emit a fraction of the radiant heat that HID bulbs do. So why aren’t all of the master growers you know jumping on the LED bandwagon? The truth is no one’s really sure how to determine with certainty which lighting technology is absolutely superior. Sound silly? Read on. We need to get something out of the way first. There are those out there that claim LEDs are “more efficient” than HIDs.

Why the Heck No t?! You’ve very likely heard this argument before, but is it really true? It really depends on what is meant by “efficient.” Efficiency is simply defined as “the ratio of work done to the amount of energy supplied.” Just saying something is “efficient” is little more than meaningless unless the kind of efficiency we’re talking about is defined. When someone says that one lighting technology is “more efficient” than another I immediately assume they mean to say that it does a superior job at turning electrical energy into light. In the case of HID and LED, it’s interesting to note that the LEDs available in most grow lights today are no more efficient than HIDs in turning electrical energy into light. But, “How can that be,” you ask? How can a manufacturer claim that their 300W LED can replace a 1000W HID if LEDs aren’t more efficient? The answer to this question is actually simple, but proving it empirically and unequivocally, unfortunately, is not.

Spectral output of a red LED (red curve) and a typical HPS lamp (rainbow curve). Note how narro w the LED output is in comparison to the HPS. Also, the vast majority of light output from the HPS is green /yellow.

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By Jordan Gartenhaus LEDs are special because they produce a very narrow range of colored light in the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum. In other words, a typical LED will output light within a range of roughly 30 nanometers (measured by its “spectral line half-width”), whereas an HID will output light over the entire PAR region (400-700 nanometers) and then some. All the energy used to create light outside of that PAR region is more or less wasted. To that end, manufacturer’s take advantage of the fact that LEDs produce a very narrow wavelength of light. They can be selective and strategically choose to only use LEDs that produce light only within the PAR region of the EM spectrum. That way when the LED light turns on it’s using the available input energy solely to create light that the plant can utilize for photosynthesis, and nothing else. This is precisely why people can say that LEDs are “more efficient” than HIDs. Moreover, LED light manufacturers can change the color blend of LEDs for more or less emphasis on specific areas of the PAR region. We know plants respond strongest to the red and blue areas of the PAR region, so it would make sense to build a grow light composed of mostly red and blue colored LEDs for instance.

That sounds pretty simple and straightforward: Save energy by only producing the colors of light the plant needs. So again, why isn’t LED the gold standard in grow lighting? It may have something to do with the fact that well thought-out qualitative analyses are hard to come by, and sadly, the consumer-level tools used for quantitative analysis are equally as imperfect. >>>

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cont d

So the consumer-level tools used to quantify PAR are inadequate for today’s high-tech solidstate lamps, side-byside tests are going to be mostly subjective, and some LED lights cost about as much as some people’s monthly rent. Is it any wonder then why people are slow to give this new tech a try? It’s unfortunate because the lights do genuinely offer some advantages

A qualitative analysis of HID versus LED is difficult because there are so many variables involved in evaluating them. It may not seem like it at first, but a true apples to apples comparison of the two technologies is nearly impossible. If you were designing a test to evaluate the two technologies, would you be able to find comparable reflector hoods and lenses to use for the HID and LED lights respectively? Would you correct for the HID’s more pronounced lumen depreciation schedule and color shift in your test? The lights have very different radiant heat output, so with that in mind would it be unfair to run the LED light closer to the canopy than the HID? These questions are tricky and don’t even touch the fact that not all LEDs and HIDs are not created equal. These are just a few of the many variables that make designing, and subsequently interpreting side-by-side tests so difficult.

Just as an example to illustrate the point, if you were to assemble an LED grow light composed solely of green bulbs, we already know it isn’t going to grow anything particularly well. However, if you were to put a PAR light meter under it, it would almost certainly generate a favorable PAR

over HID technology, and in some cases the benefits can be significant. Let’s just assume for the sake of argument that a 600W LED light is as good as a 1000W HID is in terms of overall crop yield. And for the sake of simplicity let’s also assume that HID has a comparable lumen depreciation schedule and color shift characteristics to that of

LED (which it certainly does not). Would it be worth making the switch from HID to LED then? Assuming the lights are used 12 hours a day every day for a year, you’d save about $20 amonth just in energy usage, per light, by switching to LED.

At that rate it’d take someone about two years to pay off their initial investment in LED technology when you factor in replacement HID bulbs as well. After that the savings is money in your pocket.

value implying that it’d be well-suited for growing plants. We can conclude from this that just because a light scores a high PAR measurement does not necessarily mean that it’s going to produce a healthy plant.

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Image courtesy of Apogee Instruments. You can see the differences in the PAR region (labeled as defined plant response in red), actual plant response (green), and quantum sensor response (blue). Note the huge discrepancy between the actual plant response and the quantum sensor between 450-600nm.

Even if the jury is still out on some of the claims touted by LED manufacturers, there are some real, tangible benefits to switching to LED. No one likes being a guinea pig, but until artificial lighting evaluation tools improve you simply have to give the technology a try for yourself and see if it’s worth the initial investment. And to offer a caution that surely goes without saying: Your results will vary.

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Custom Grow Room Design Part II When it comes to your next growing project, whether expanding your existing endeavors or starting with a blank canvas to create your growing masterpiece, do you just “ go for it” and construct? Or have you reached the realization that for success, and especially continued success in growing that you need to plan carefully: and that’s much easier said than done. Consider what’s at stake if you’ll pardon the pun, when you grow. And albeit a little cliched, people don’t plan to fail; they fail to plan. If you are a whiz at grow room engineering, there’s a chance you suck at accounting-ever run out of funds mid way through your expansion when your investment awaits transplant and more growing space? How about having a pile of money to work with and still never seeming to get a decent yield or return on your investment? It’s darn near impossible to be the best at everything, especially if you don’t have many years of practice as a professional hydroponics or indoor grower. No matter who you are, chances are you have kicked yourself in the pants for some of .your own growing blunders, the ones that could have easily been avoided with better planning.

highly probable chance for great success. If you have been growing, you probably know the value of a good “feed chart” in how best and when to apply important growing staples, like fertilizers and additives. A good chart is proven, and has given hundreds or even thousands of growers excellent success and helps to take some of the risk out of hydroponics growing by providing optimal nutrition and pH levels. What about the rest of the room-is what you plan to do 100% proven and easily replicated and repeatable.? We are talking about important stuff like planting and lighting densities for the area you are working with. Cooling requirements can be even more important, based on the number of lights, the internal air volume and other factors. CO2 enrichment is like a boost of nitrous oxide to a performance engine: get it right and you will see accelerated growth, misfire and you can crash and burn.... While growing can be fun and rewarding, if you invest in or count on your garden you often have room to make mistakes-especially biggies like layout, air handling, and crop rotations.

So the importance of a plan is obvious. However, a plan is only good if it can work.

Human nature is often stubborn,. A lot of us think for things to work they will be harder or even more expensive. Custom grow room designs and complete packages are the perfect example of why this isn’t always true for growers.

Some plans are simply destined to fail, while others leave you with a

Because you are getting everything you need to build a running grow

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room, there is no guessing of which one of these, how many of those, will it work and whats it all going to cost in the end. You are buying a complete grow, that has worked for many others, when you buy a complete kit from a reputable supplier. Of course the next step is a customized plan, built on the back of a proven set up or package. But, before we can go there let’s talk a little bit about complete grow kits in general terms. A kit is only as good as who supplies and supports it. A foreign supplier selling bits in a box over the Internet is not the ideal choice here-at least with regards to being a complete and working solution.

Very Big THANKS t o Green Hydropon Coast i c s for the O ground a r iginal Ba nd other ckcustom g images row room

If you have to buy or incorporate any additional components, unless otherwise stated that you will need to, it’s not a complete growing solution,. Although it can at least be a step in the right direction. If they don’t know what else you might need or don’t know that their total package is incomplete it would seem they have never operated or at least walked through one of their own. Stay away from this sort of thing. Interview your potential supplier on what they are offering you for your hard earned wad of money. Ask them what kind of refinements they have made over time, how long have they been offering the particular package and if possible (but don’t push on this one), can you talk to any of their previous clients? >>>

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See what kind of upgrades are available, and is it easy or feasible to scale it up and down as your needs may change over time? While it pays to be polite and professional, never forget it’s YOUR money and that it was hard earned. Don’t be a hard ass-but don’t accept half answers. A good supplier should be able to easily answer fair and reasonable questions...which leads us to our next point:

d t n o c

#1 Thing about Complete Grow Packages: It’s FAR from “complete” if they don’t offer free and thorough support. While not everyone can offer 24/7 support, your supplier should be available during regular set hours and have the patience, resources and experience to help walk you through any aspect of the growing package that you purchased as a complete growing solution.

And now Custom Packages (our favorite)... Being “Originals” we like to make things “ours” when it comes to growing crops. But it doesn’t mean that we need to completely reinvent the wheel to pull great yields the way we like to.

This means that while you are assembling or operating the package you have easy access to knowledgable advice and support. If you have to wait days or until never for a reply or info it could cost you not only your crop, but your entire investment.

Say for example, we want to grow some BIG “trees” in hydroponics and want to use vertical lighting with HPS applied as relayed lighting to keep power bills down and produce some big yields.

Tip: You’ll do yourself a favor by keep in

g it to the point. Chances are they get lo t s of calls and don’t ha ve time for chit chat about other stuff. Stay focused on solutions an d answers-a n d DO write it down.

Theres a pretty good bet that a complete growing package supplier is going to be able to help. Example: While the hydro system

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and big plants might be too tall for the standard lighting package-by swapping to vertical over horizontal lighting we gain another two feet of vertical clearance. However, if we light from the sides, we need some space between the lamps and the plant so we don’t scorch our crop. This means a bigger growing enclosureis needed in some instances....no biggie, because it’s easy to find wider or longer than it is taller. Oh, so we went wider? That means our air volume has increased-will the vent fans supplied in our standard base package cut the mustard? Your supplier should be able to answer, and if it doesn’t cut it they should have a reasonably priced solution.

Hopefully you get the idea here, and that is that complete packages can help you grow better for less money. At the same time, realize that good supplier can help you tailor a complete package to suit any special requirements you may have-and still save you gobs of money over more hit and miss approaches to getting set up. The options are virtually endless: you can go mobile on wheels, automate via web network, heck you might even bury an engineered package deep beneath the ground....just because you can! If you haven’t seen some of the complete packages that are available you could be missing out on easier and more profitable hydroponics growing endevors.

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So a guy walks into a Hydro Store...

Preface -- An older customer has been growing for years, ever since he retired. He was a mechanical engineer, so he felt very confident with his setup and design. His flowering garden was lit with a single 1000w HPS light, on a mover, covering a 4 ft. x 8 ft. space. With his engineering background, it was hard for him to heed my suggestions regarding layout and lights. Here’s what happened when he decided to take my advice:

Hydro-Scripts

r e s a r F s e n o J y e s a C g Featurin

Customer: You were right about that light. I can get just as much from a 4’ x 4’ space as I was from a 4’ x 8’ space. Everything turned out great. CJF: I know you were using a light mover. Did you change anything else?

Customer: Yeah, I bought that big ass reflector from you. That thing puts off much better coverage than my older, smaller hood. I harvested fruits the size of my leg! CJF: It’s funny you mention that. I was just telling someone else that a 1000w light would not adequately cover his 7’ x 7’ area. He was complaining of weak plants and low yields. When I told him to concentrate on a 4’ x 4’ area, he told me that would reduce his yield even more. Customer: No way! I’ll tell him myself! Where is he?! I’ll tell him about my garden!

CJF: Hey, calm down! We’ll set him straight eventually. I tried to explain that the weaker plants on the dimly lit perimeter would bring down the health of the rest of his garden. Any fungus or pests that are contracted by the weaker plants will be shared with the center plants as well.

Customer: That makes sense. Did I tell you my crop tasted better this round? Is that why? Fungus and pests?

CJF: That could be a factor, but the bottom line is that your plants were healthier this time. Healthy plants always taste better than weak, overfed plants.

Customer: I fed them the same levels that I have in the past, but I had half as many plants. I only used half the amount of nutrients.

CJF: You may have been overfeeding in the past. Now your plants have a constant, intense light source during their daylight hours. The plants were able to metabolize the food you gave them this time. If your old gardens were overfed, all of those stored fertilizers were killing the flavor.

Customer: I believe it. The quality, size, density, flavor,... It was all so much better. As soon as I get a bigger air conditioner, I’m buying another 1000w light. I’ve got the extra space now, and I can double CJF: Excellent! Make sure you watch your temps and humidity levels. Stationary lights can the yield that I have been getting. get hot fast. Keep it cool, and your plants will continue to thrive. Final Note -- You can cover larger or smaller areas with your grow lights, but thousands of indoor gardens all over the world have taught us the parameters in which our lights work best. For dense flowering annuals, the following lighting coverage is preferred:

1000W HID 600W HID 400W HID

4’ X 4’ 3’ X 3’ 2’ X 2’

If you find success with a different lighting layout, then do what works. However, these standards are practiced by commercial indoor growers for two reasons: yield and quality. -Illegitimi Non Carborundum-

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t r e the straight dope < E x p steelgc s-series

Hydro Product Reviews

The S-Series from www.steelgc.com are North American manufactured steel framed hobby greenhouses and coldframes designed to extend your growing season.

Because Steel Greenhouse Components designs and manufactures their greenhouse parts and complete buildings for Canadian conditions, you can bet they will stand up to most anything nature can send your protected garden’s way.

The but and who

GZ Rated-Normally we are a little reserved

first time you build is always the trickiest; you can relax, they come with good drawings a helpful telephone number where somebody knows the structures can walk you through it.

Wide, in any length by 3’ or 4’ increments. Can be covered with single or double poly. Great for manual blackout structures

GZ Rated: PVC Hoops are NOT greenhouses; they are destined to fail sooner or later. For a pretty fair price, you can go with a proper steel frame and use modern components like roll up walls and poly lock. The doors tend to be a hassle; but have improved. Most of the time you can get one of their hobby buildings delivered for around a thousand dollars.

Lighting continues to be one of the least understood yet most debated areas of indoor growing. Most of us just want the best lighting for our crops without having to spend a lot of money.

-Illegitimi Non Carborundum-

Of course each of the four enclosed and protected ballasts is independently dimmable. Just one aluminum fan cooled box to mount to the wall and it’s done.

We have been owners of two different models from SGC (because we had one at two different places).

1 k4 by purgro electronics c

After three wires are connectred (thats it) growers can safely run up to four 1000W lamps continuously or up to eight with the built in stealth flip.

What-Digital/Electronic HID lighting system for 1000W HPS or MH lamps. You can run one to four lights continuous or up to eight lamps on relay mode.

What: Steel framed greenhouse from 10 to 14 Feet

intensity discharge) gang-lighting system that we have ever tested.-we have been checking in with our tester since December 2012 to the time of this writing: it’s been running flawlessly.

An easy install is always a bonus too. Apparently PurGro thinks our requests are far too humble, because they delivered the most versatile, reliable, affordable and easy to install HID (high

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about recommending anything electronic with this much power capability-PurGro delivers with the 1-K4, no BS: this is the best HID lighting option for the money that we have tested to date.

pure blend pro bloom Note that we are talking about Pure Blend Pro “HYDRO Formula” by Botanicare; not the SOIL Formular....very different things. Whatever you do, don’t apply the SOIL formula in early flower. If you grow in soil or soilless media like peat based or coco based mixes, and appreciate nice flavors and aromas but don’t want to be dealing with a lot of different organic-based amendments; PBPB is a good bet for you. You’ll need an additional source of Calcium and Magnesium however.

What-Organic based “All in One” liquid fertilzer for bud and bloom phase.

GZ Rated-Good value; even if you need to use

a lot of it. Has kelp, guanos, humates plus a balanced bloom fert charge for good results. Watch for acidic nature of product (to prevent spoilage).

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The technique of tissue culture was once considered a novel idea, but is now widely used by commercial growers in the greenhouse industry. Tissue culture involves the use of extremely small pieces of plant tissue, usually less than 1 millimeter in length, these pieces are call explants. Under sterile, germfree conditions, this tissue is placed in a specially prepared growing medium in a test tube. This ability for an explant to produce a complete plant from itself is called totipotency. Totipotency means the total potential a cell has for new growth. Tissue culture was first successfully demonstrated in the 1950â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s when a plant biologist placed some cells from a carrot root into a cultural medium containing sugar, minerals, vitamins, and coconut milk, which was known to contain certain growth factors for plants. It was discovered that cells divided when placed in a culture containing coconut milk, coconut milk contains 2 plant hormones call cytokinin, and auxin that add in growth of new cells. Synthetic hormones are now used to replace coconut milk.

Cultured Propagation:

A fragment of tissue explant from the center of a stem is placed in a culture medium. A complete plant can form from the tissue fragment because each cell of the explant contains all the genetic information

The Basics of Tissue Culture

needed to form a new plant. Varying amounts of auxin and cytokinin in the culture media produce different growth responses. Nutrient agar (gelatin like cultural medium) containing a moderate amount of both auxin and cytokinin causes cells to divide and form a callus (a clump of disorganized, undifferentiated cells). When the callus tissue is transferred to a medium with a higher ratio of auxin to cytokinin, roots begin to form from the callus tissue. Shoot growth is stimulated by a medium with a higher ratio of cytokinin to auxin. After a short period of time a very small plant has formed from the explant, and can be transplanted into soil or hydroponic media to be hardened off, before being moved into the greenhouse and grown normally. All of the plants produced by this method will be similar in vegetative appearance and blooming characteristics. Plants grown from a single tissue source are known as clones. Thus, orchid clones, produced by tissue culture methods will all bloom at the same time. This uniformity in the bloom date helps the grower to harvest the crop and prepare it for market on schedule. An increasing number of tissue culture laboratories are starting up to supply the needs of commercial growers.-the future is here.

By Brandon Pillon -Illegitimi Non Carborundum-

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lb’s Journal: Feeding the Short N Squat Girls Hello my fellow horticulturist and thanks for checking out this new edition of GROZINE. Today I wanted to drop a feed chart gem for maxing out “Short N Squat Varieties” As I mentioned in my previous article on “Bottle Rocket Varieties”, I’ve noticed over the years of growing and working with many different strains of the same plant that certain varieties respond better to particular nutrient ratios than others. Meaning one feed schedule might be perfect for some plants and way off for others. To further the confu-

Soil Medium: Drain to waste 25 Plants per light 3 gallon Pots

sion I’ve also noticed that changing the nutrient source has a desired effect on plant growth maximizing the growth response for each week and transition point. What I mean with this is switching it up on the plant so the plant doesn’t grow stagnate at any point. For instance going from an organic to synthetic base. These minor switches with the feed sched-

ule enables the plant to pull from multiple sources, switching up the feed so the plant never gets tired of the same nutrition source. This method can really have a negative effect if done wrong and applied to different mediums, so pay attention to the feed schedule because it shows a visual representation of what I’m talking about.

*Compost Tea mix Products* A-Humega B-Algamic C-Mendocino Honey D-Bio-Flora Compost E-Wiggle Worm Castings F-Sea Green G-Guano: Vital Earth All Purpose (7/7/2) and OG Bloom mix (0/9/0) COMING a Recipe$ e T t s o p m o $C NEXT ISSUE

1/2. 4/6/10/12/* 3/13/* 5/6/7/8/9/* 1/4/12/* 11/13/*

F lu sh F ee d n ad a F ee d n ad a te a n ad a

Products: 1-Iguana Juice Bloom- 1 part Organic Base/Tricontinol Source/W:1-8 2-Heavy 16 BUD A&B- 2 part Synthetic Base/W:1-8 3-Heavy 16 ROOTS- Root enhancer/ W:1-7 4-Heavy 16 PRIME- Flavor enhancer/Microbe food source/ W:1-7 5-Heavy 16 FIRE- Flower enhancer/Tricontinol source/ W:1-7 6-FoxFarm BIG BLOOM-Flower/Flavor enhancer/ W:1-7 <<<EB N ote-Che 7-FoxFarm OPEN SESAME-Flower enhancer/W:1-2 ck it out: lb found G roz 8-FoxFarm BEASTIE BLOOM-Flower enhancer/W:3-5 “W”; and he’s usin ine’s g it for 9-FoxFarm CHA CHING-Flower enhancer/W:6-8 “WEEKs” i n this k ill 10-APTUS FASILITOR-Silicic Acid/ W:1-2 chart/fe eding sy er 11-APTUS ECOZEN-Breakdown Enzyme/ W:1,3,5,7,9 stem! 12-BUDSWEL BLOOM-Flavor&Odor enhancer/ W:4-8 13-GrowMore BIOCOZYME-Growth promoting Enzyme/ W:1-4

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*Base*Microbes*Roots*Flower*Flavor*Enzymes-

Feed Frequency: Feed, Feed, Tea, Flush

Soil mix - 1 Bale Sunshine mix #4 - 1 bag FoxFarms Ocean Forrest - 1 cu. ft. #3 Perlite - All Values needed per Light

-Illegitimi Non Carborundum-

Below, you can see whcih products (by number) are doing what job for your crop.

for Flush only use half amount of wate r

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Fasilitor(3ml/5gal), Iguana Juice 700ppm Heavy 16 Roots(1ml/gal), Big Bloom(4ml/gal), OpenSesame(1/4tsp./gal), Bio-cozyme(4ml/gal) PPM- 800-1000 pH- 6.3

ECOZEN(1ml/gal) water half amount as usual so plant dry out in 1 day rather than 2 days so plants are ready to feed again Monday.

R.O water same amount as week 1

Sun-ECOZEN (1ml/gal) same process as week 1

R.O water same amount as week 1

Fasilitor (3ml/5gal), Iguana Juice 750ppm Heavy 16 Roots(1ml/gal), Big Bloom(4ml/gal), Open Sesame(1/4tsp./gal), Bio-cozyme(4ml/gal) PPM- 850-1000 pH- 6.3

Iguana Juice 800ppm Heavy 16 Roots(1ml/gal), Big Bloom(4ml/gal), Beastie Bloom(1/4tsp./gal), Bio-cozyme(4ml/gal) PPM- 900-1100 pH- 6.3 Iguana Juice 850ppm Heavy 16 Roots(1ml/gal), Big Bloom(4ml/gal), Beastie Bloom(1/4tsp./gal), Bio-cozyme(4ml/gal) PPM- 1000-1200 pH- 6.3

Iguana Juice 850ppm Heavy 16 Roots(1ml/gal), Big Bloom(4ml/gal), Beastie Bloom(1/4tsp./gal), Bio-cozyme(4ml/gal) PPM- 1000-1200 pH- 6.3

-Illegitimi Non Carborundum-

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Fasilitor(1ml/gal), Heavy16-BUD A&B 500ppm Heavy16 ROOTS(1ml/gal), Heavy16 PRIME(10ml/gal), Heavy16 FIRE(3ml/5gal), Bio-cozyme(4ml/gal) PPM- 700-800 pH- 6.3

Fasilitor(1ml/gal), Heavy16-BUD A&B 600ppm Heavy16 ROOTS(1ml/gal), Heavy16 PRIME(12ml/gal), Heavy16 FIRE(5ml/5gal), Bio-cozyme(4ml/gal) PPM- 800-900 pH- 6.3

Heavy16-BUD A&B 650ppm Heavy16 ROOTS(1ml/gal), Heavy16 PRIME(14ml/gal), Heavy16 FIRE(5ml/5gal), Bio-cozyme(4ml/gal) PPM- 850-1000 pH- 6.3

Heavy16-BUD A&B 700ppm Heavy16 ROOTS(1ml/gal), Heavy16 PRIME(14ml/gal), Heavy16 FIRE(5ml/5gal), Bio-cozyme(4ml/gal) Budswel(30ml/gal) PPM- 900-1000 pH- 6.3

Heavy16-BUD A&B 700ppm Heavy16 ROOTS(1ml/gal), Heavy16 PRIME(14ml/gal), Heavy16 FIRE(5ml/5gal), Bio-cozyme(4ml/gal) Budswel(30ml/gal) PPM- 950-1050 pH- 6.3

Compost Tea EB Note When usin g two par t nutrients, a dd equal amounts of each A & B Parts to achieved desired P PM

Compost Tea

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Sun-ECOZEN (1ml/gal) same process as week 1

Iguana Juice 850ppm Heavy 16 Roots(1ml/gal), Big Bloom(4ml/gal), Beastie Blooms1/4tsp./gal), Bio-cozyme(4ml/gal) Budswel (30 ml/gal) PPM- 900-1100 pH- 6.3 Iguana Juice 750ppm Heavy 16 Roots(1ml/gal), Big Bloom(5ml/gal), Cha-Ching 1/4tsp./gal), Budswel (30 ml/gal) PPM- 900-1100 pH- 6.3

Iguana Juice 600ppm Heavy 16 Roots(1ml/gal), Big Bloom(5ml/gal), Cha-Ching 1/4tsp./gal), Budswel (30 ml/gal) PPM- 700-800 pH- 6.3

Heavy16-BUD A&B 700ppm Heavy16 ROOTS(1ml/gal), Heavy16 PRIME(12ml/gal), Heavy16 FIRE(2ml/5gal), Bio-cozyme(4ml/gal) Budswel(30ml/gal) PPM- 950-1050 pH- 6.3

Heavy16-BUD A&B 500ppm Heavy16 ROOTS(1ml/gal), Heavy16 PRIME(10ml/gal), Heavy16 FIRE(2ml/5gal), Bio-cozyme(4ml/gal) Budswel(30ml/gal) PPM- 600-750 pH- 6.3 Heavy16-BUD A&B 500ppm Heavy16 ROOTS(1ml/gal), Heavy16 PRIME(10ml/gal), Heavy16 FIRE(2ml/5gal), Bio-cozyme(4ml/gal) Budswel(30ml/gal) PPM- 600-750 pH- 6.3

Compost Tea

R.O.Flush

ECOZEN (2ml/gal) I hope this Custom feed schedule on “Short N Squat” varieties, helped clarify my meaning of switching it up on the plants by offering different sources of the same nutrition. The ppm numbers will probably not be in direct relation to ml per gal. They are based for a guild of reference. How strong each additive effects reservoir EC will vary depending on many cir-

R.O water same amount as week 1

-Illegitimi Non Carborundum-

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cumstances.

levels,etc.)

I hope this schedule brings aid in your pursuit for maxing out the Short N Squat varieties. There are many factors that have huge effect on plant response so feed isn’t always the only key in maximizing plant genetics. Pay close attention to your environment! (Day-Night Temps, Humidity, Lighting, C02

All factors have huge effect on plant growth, the more you fine tune your environment towards your specific varieties needs the closer you”ll be to obtaining your goals. As always, flipping clones 2 zones. Keep it green and keep checking in to the realest grow publication out.

lb.

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P H O T O G A L L E R Y -Illegitimi Non Carborundum-

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P H O T O G A L L E R Y -Illegitimi Non Carborundum-

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That’s right, leading hydroponics manufacturers are amongst the savvy high tech businesses realizing the benefits, both for the quality of their product and the ability to offer it at an affordable price in a competitive marketplace. If you are counting on precision and reliability, as our friends at PurGro do with their innovative hydroponics automation and crop lighting solutions, the Thai Government has reportedly made it very attractive, practical and effective to set-up shop to develop, manufacture and distribute a technological product world-wide. Some compare the quality of high-technology based manufactured goods out of present day Thailand to the standard

Well here’s the deal, according to some of what Greg told us:

of Japanese in the 80’s. In other words: “as good as it gets”. We caught up with Greg of PurGro on a late evening here in BC Canada and a bright sunny morning in Thailand. He and his partner Marisa are among the first hydro industry members to share some insights-is the grass truly greener in Thailand? Right off the top, it sure sounded like itmmmm, fresh Papaya smoothie to start the day; as fresh as it gets. Anyways, back to business. Why would a guy as smart as Greg need to go all the way to Thailand to make a great product? Most of us would agree that he already has one.

What is this-Hydroponics in Thailand? Better yet, the Hydroponic Industry in Thailand!

Grozine Super Special

HydroThai k !

Bangko

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If you really want to be pushing your technology forward, you need expertise, testing facilities and access to the high tech bits one needs to put it all together. Back “home”, this is typically very spread out, not always the best and often over-priced due to distances from origin. As a smaller rapidly developing business in a technology based industry, you are going to need to be able to spend time on what it is you do best, rather than chasing down parts or having hassles with expensive testing. Thailand has opened their doors: do you want access to university researchers and facilities? No problem, come to Thailand. Need expertly manufactured

high tech components to make your product? Come to Thailand, we have lots-and if we don’t, we will make it for you. Want easy financial solutions for your growing business to keep cash flow moving? You guessed it: come to Thailand. Our initial conversation with Greg and Marisa was fascinating, to say the least. Now it doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to figure out that these guys likely have something mind blowing coming down the pipe from Thailandbut for now, cool your heels and dream of sunny beaches and tropical breezes...soon to be announced.) Special thanks to Marisa for the awesome original photos.

Phuke

t Sun se

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Thanks and Praise

Coming Next: Cropping Systems Ultra-DeLuxe Compost Tea Swirling: U Brew Building Better Blooms on the Molecular Level 25 Years of Hydroponics Part II Best Gear Reviews More, More & More!

E a r ly H a r ve s t s F i r e wo r k s BBQs T h u n d e r S to r m s s d n e i r F G o o d n ew a n d o l d

Facebook Contest for Best Caption on our Photo goes to Beach Cities Hydroponics. Winner and runners up will be contacted for details so they can receive their prizes.; it was tough to choose First.

One too many crickets las t night and I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even make it to my bed.

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September 15th, 2013 is the 33rd Annual Terry Fox Run-this is the Canadian Date. Dates may differ outside Canada. If you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know who Terry was: www.terryfox.org

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