Hydroponics

The ideal pH range for most hydroponic crops is between 5.5 and 6.5.

Water containing too much calcium and magnesium (called “total Hardness”) may create serious problems. Contact your municipal water supplier who can provide you with an analysis of your water supply. If you are using well water, many laboratories can provide you with an analysis if you send them a sample. If the dissolved salts in your water supply measure 200 ppm or more, we strongly recommend that you obtain a water analysis to determine calcium content. Excessive calcium is the main factor in determining if your water is hard. If an analysis of your water supply reveals that the Calcium content of your water supply is greater than 70 ppm (mg/liter) you should use Hardwater FloraMicro. Hardwater FloraMicro provides rapidly growing plants with a combination of chelated micro nutrients uniquely formulated for hardwater conditions. Other options are to collect rainwater, install a reverse osmosis filtration system, or use purified water. Do not use mineral or “spring” water, which can unbalance the nutrient solution, or even be toxic to plants.

The concept behind FloraSeries® is simple: Different plants have significantly different nutrient needs, which change during each plant’s growth cycle. By using various combinations of FloraGro®, FloraBloom® and FloraMicro®, the grower can fulfill the plant’s exact needs at each stage in the plant’s life cycle. As the crop grows, the grower can precisely adapt the nutrient formulation to meet the crops changing needs.

Visit our What Is Hydroponics? page to find out more.

Anywhere. Indoors, in a greenhouse as well as outdoors. Any plant can be grown with hydroponics, though some are more delicate than others. If there is enough light for the plant to grow, you can probably bet somebody has grown it using hydroponics.

There is a huge popular debate about the value of “organic” fertilizers and methods. Many people would like to apply “organics” to hydroponics. Currently accepted organic fertilizer components are dependent upon organisms in the soil to convert the “organic” materials into a useable form for plants. In hydroponics we provide the minerals required for plant growth directly, completely eliminating the need for soil and soil organisms. The result is much higher growth rates and yields than organic methods can achieve.

Hydroponic produce is cleaner than its soil grown counterpart, and the grower has the ability to adjust the nutrient feed for maximal growth and yield in the shortest time.

Hydroponic produce frequently exceeds soil grown produce in terms of flavor and nutrition. This is because all of the nutrients required by the plant are immediately available when the plant needs them.

The best method is prevention. If you keep the solution away from light, i.e. keep the lids closed and all openings sealed, you can prevent algae from growing. If you already have algae in the system you can remove it with a brush, or use hydrogen peroxide (3ml of 3% H2O2 per gallon of solution) to remove it. If there are particles floating in the nutrient solution, be sure to flush the reservoir and growing chamber with ample water, and then start with a new batch of nutrient. If the problem is severe, make sure you have the algae completely flushed out to avoid the risk of clogging some of the flow lines in the system.