Horticulture Carbon filters

Carbon filtering is a method of filtering that uses a piece of activated carbon to remove contaminants and impurities, utilizing chemical adsorption. Each piece of carbon is designed to provide a large section of surface area, in order to allow contaminants the most possible exposure to the filter media. Carbon filters are most effective at removing chlorine, sediment, and volatile organic compounds from water.

Using Horticulture Carbon Filters
By Susan Slobac

Activated carbon filters represent one of the most efficient and cost-effective ways to purify air as well as water. Air purification is important in hydroponics as well as good, clean water in maintaining hydroponic systems. You'll find many different types of systems available at stores and websites that sell hydroponic supplies, but you'll want a good supply, as activated carbon filters require periodic changing.


Photo: epagma.org

The Importance of Carbon Air Filters

Although "hydroponics" literally means "water gardening," air purification is an important component. One of the challenges maintaining indoor hydroponic systems and indoor gardens is eliminating the many airborne contaminants that can cause your plants to sicken and even die. It's a good idea to have a blower of some kind that brings in plenty of fresh air to the space, but carbon filters are necessary in order to remove various potential toxins from the environment as well.

There's another important reason why when engaging in activities related to indoor horticulture, carbon filters are important, and that is to keep odors at a minimum.
Types of Carbon Air Filters

There are several types of carbon filters available:
• Powdered activated carbon (PAC)
• Granulated activated carbon (GAC)
• Extruded activated carbon (EAC)
• Impregnated carbon
• Polymers coated carbon
• Activated carbon fiber

Each of these has a specific use, not all of which are appropriate for hydroponic systems and indoor gardens. Indoor air filters are of the GAC type. Used on U.S. Navy submarines, granulated activated carbon filters contain a form of that element of which the granules are relatively larger than that found in powdered activated carbon air filters.

How Do Carbon Filters Work?
It is not possible to see the process by which activated carbon purifies air and water, nor even under any but the most powerful electron microscope. Carbon is activated by treating charcoal with oxygen, which opens up millions of "micropores" in the surface of the granules on the atomic level. This provides a relatively huge surface in relation to size - up to 2,000 square meters per gram! Because of this surface area, organic chemicals that have a tendency to bond to carbon are virtually unable to pass through and are trapped.

By the way, carbon air filters are not effective when it comes to inorganic chemicals (the exception being chlorine, which is why activated carbon is good for water treatment). However, chances are that your plants won't be producing sodium or any nitrates, and it's unlikely to enter your indoor garden from the outside.

Replace Your Carbon Air Filters as Recommended
There is a limit to how much in the way of organic contaminants activated carbon filters can absorb; therefore, they need to be changed regularly. You can extend the life of your carbon filters by using them in combination with HEPA filters.

Susan Slobac has a great deal of experience with indoor gardening. Hydroponic gardening is the way of the future. Known to some as "soil less gardening", hydroponics are proven to grow plants 20-30% faster than their soil grown counterparts.

Indoor Hydroponic Garden

Indoor hydroponics systems work by actively passing a nutrient solution over your plants roots. They usually involve a large size planting medium such as pea gravel, vermiculite and perlite. To make a simple, active, hydroponic system, for one plant.

How to Make an Indoor Hydroponic Garden
By Tracy Ballisager

If you want to learn how to make an indoor hydroponic garden, you need to know the difference between an active hydroponic area and a passive one. Active hydroponic systems pass a nutrient solution over the plant roots. You will need a large sized planting medium like vermiculite, perlite and pea gravel. To make an indoor hydroponic system passively, you will be providing a system that uses a wick or capillary system to feed your plants. The wick, which works like a kerosene lamp, sucks your nutrient solution via its reservoir, to the root system of the plant. Sand, peat moss or sawdust is the usual medium for growing hydroponics passively. It is quite easy to begin. You need a lot of natural light for the best results. A greenhouse is ideal.



Photo: onlinegardenertips.com

Hydroponically grown foods taste better and are high in nutrients. You can grow more plants in a small space than with regular gardening. If you choose your plants wisely, you can also repel pests. Citronella plants repel mosquitoes and various other pests.

Easy Hydroponics

The first thing to do when learning how to make an indoor hydroponic is to decide exactly what you want to grow. Decide how many of each plant you want. How much area will you need to grow your desired quantity of plants? Let's say you want to grow a mixture of 66 cabbages and silverbeet. This can be grown hydroponically in 5 pipes of 4 inch round and 10 feet by 6 feet wide. This means you need a 6 feet square area for growing.

Mark and space 4 inch holes for the 4 inch diameter pots you are going to use. Shade cloth is helpful for the first month and if the climate is very warm. Mix fertilizer and water to a strength of 20 to 24 CF. The resulting pH should be between 5.5 and 6.5. Rinse the seedlings to remove any dirt before planting them. Don't be too generous with nutrients. Hydroponic plants can cope with not enough nutrients but can die if you give them too much.

You can use chopped rockwool, rockwool slabs, blocks or cubes, fired clay or a mixture of fired clay and rockwool as a growing medium. Cubed chopped rockwool or fired clay are recommended but you can use any of these and expect good results.

Planting

Plant the seedlings in the hydroponic solution. You need to check the water daily if you want to successfully learn how to make an indoor hydroponic system. This is to ensure the nutrient to water ratio is right. Water evaporates which is why you have to keep an eye on it. Hydroponic gardening is not for you if you can't check it frequently.

Your hydroponic plants will grow for 3 to 5 months. You have to watch out for root rot and pests during this time. When your plants are ready, you can harvest them. It can be expensive if you want to discover how to make an indoor hydroponic system but the results are usually well worth it. For more information you might want to get a book on hydroponics or search online because there is plenty of information on how to make a hydroponic garden.

Tracy Ballisager is stay at home mum. To read more about gardening tips and idea go to http://www.gardening-tips-idea.com/

Basic Requirements before Hydroponic Gardening

Hydroponics has become extremely popular. Hydroponics technology today is used to grow healthy vibrant and lush indoor plants ,food and herbs. The basic requirements of most plants can be met without natural sunlight or soil using tried and true Hydroponics methods.

Hydroponic Gardening - Basic Requirements That You Need To Know
By Kyan Zen

When you plan to build your own hydroponic system or purchase a starter's kit, it is important to bear in mind that you are not only just getting a container or a tray, putting your plants in it and supplying the plants with water and nutrients. There are two primary objectives that you need to achieve in hydroponic gardening.


Photo: hobbyhydro.com

The hydroponic system structure must be able to support the root system without soil.
You need to have an efficient method of supplying air, light, and nutrient to your plants.

When these two requirements are fully satisfied, you can then begin experimenting a more complicated and automatic system.

To meet the first requirement which can be quite easy with the help from good beginner's guides. All you need is a simple hydroponic unit that consists of a waterproof container filled with a growing medium or aggregate for root support. You place seeds or young plants into the aggregate. Then you pour a nutrient solution over the aggregate to feed the plants, and that's it, you have your own hydroponic garden!

Unfortunately, most of the times, when the hydroponic system is in operation, beginners encountered several problems. This is mainly because the second requirement is not well planned. No matters what kind of system you select, air, light and more importantly, nutrients are vital to your success. Therefore, while you are planning for a hydroponic system, it is always a good idea to get a few good hydroponic gardening guides and put a bit of extra efforts in studying about nutrients. You won't regret.

One of the important considerations for the second requirement is the type of nutrient you want to use. When selecting a nutrient to use, keep in mind that the nutrient must be designed specifically for hydroponic application. Using common fertilizer is not advisable as these products are designed for use as a supplement to soil gardens and may not contain sufficient essential elements to suit the hydroponic condition. Of course, there are also many commercially available hydroponic nutrients that make it easy to get started in hydroponic gardening for those prefer not to make their own nutrients. However, again, these commercially ready hydroponic nutrients are usually designed to satisfy the widest range of plants, lighting conditions and stages of growth.

Hydroponic nutrients come in all flavors, powers and liquids, single part, two part, three part or even more. Selecting the best one for the plants may not be easy for beginners. Majority of the experienced growers prefer a system that is simple to use, inexpensive to own and effective at growing a wide variety of crops to their fullest potential without additional supplements. In general, two part and three part nutrient formulas are always better than the single part or general purpose formulas because they allow you to custom blend your nutrient solution for each crop and stage of growth for better performance.

So, while you are working on your hydroponic nutrients, it is always good to learn to mix your own nutrients in different concentration and combinations to tailor for the specific growth requirements of your crops. Good hydroponic gardening guides usually recommend their own recipes of self-made nutrients that have been proven successfully numerous times by the experienced authors/growers. So beginners can always start with these recipes and slowly experiment them to get the best growth from your plants by adjusting the amount of ingredients.

Zen has reviewed a good beginner's guide as well as some basic information on Hydroponic Gardening, you can visit the website at Hydroponic Gardening Guides Review to find more about this guide.

Ebb and flow system for Hydroponics

Ebb and flow system is one of the easiest hydroponic systems to build yourself. All of the parts needed can be found locally to you. A timer starts the pump so it fills the tray with the nutrient solution, then drains back down into the reservoir.

Hydroponics Supplies for the Ebb and Flow System
By Michael Straumietis

The ebb and flow system, also known as the flood and drain system, is one of the most popular systems beginners choose to start hydroponic growing. It requires mostly basic hydroponics supplies and very little maintenance. It works by flooding the grow tray for a period of time to soak the roots and then allowing the nutrient solution to drain back into the reservoir. This occurs several times a day. The exact number of floodings will depend upon what kind of plants you are growing.


Photo: hydroponicstuesday.com


You will need the following hydroponic supplies:

Ebb and Flow Tray - Make sure that the tray you use is made of heavy plastic and can support your plants, growing medium, and nutrient solution easily. Make certain that when your tray drains, it leaves the tray bottom virtually dry. If there are spots with "puddles", it may over water certain plants causing your roots to rot.

Buckets or Modules - Instead of a tray, you may also use several buckets or modules where you place plants individually. This has the advantage of allowing you to expand your hydroponic system more easily.

Support Structure - Since the reservoir is usually not sufficient support for your tray, you will probably need to buy a support structure separately.

Reservoir - This is where you will keep your hydroponic nutrients solution. Make sure you thoroughly clean and disinfect your reservoir before filling it. Your reservoir should be black and block as much light as possible to discourage the growth of algae.

Fittings and Pipes - These hydroponic supplies will include the pipe that will pump the nutrient solution into the tray and an overflow drain. The overflow drain will be placed at the highest area where you want the water level to rise and is designed to prevent nutrient solution from flooding your grow room.

Containers - Use plastic containers to hold your plants.

Growing Medium - This is what will support your roots. Popular choices include coconut coir, rockwool and perlite.

Pump and Timer - Your pump will flood the grow tray and your timer will turn the pump on and off according to your settings.

To assemble these hydroponics supplies, first install your fill fitting and the overflow drain into your grow tray. Place the grow tray onto your support structure and place the reservoir under it. Put your submersible pump in the reservoir and connect it to the fill fitting on the grow tray. Now connect the pump to the timer. Test your hydroponic system, making certain that there are not any leaks and your overflow drain works properly.

To operate the ebb and flow system, set your timer to flood the grow tray three or four times a day at regular intervals. Again, the exact number will depend upon the size of the plant and what kind of plant you are growing. Each flood cycle should pump about a 1/3 more nutrient solution than the grow tray can actually hold. How long each flood cycle will last will depend upon how powerful your pump is. Make sure to replace your nutrient solution every two weeks and monitor your solution's pH level daily. The ideal pH for both your nutrient solution and your roots is about 5.6.

Michael Straumietis is co-founder of Advanced Nutrients, an international marketer and manufacturer of agricultural, home & garden, hydroponics and soil less fertilizers and plant nutrients. If you need more information on a hydroponic system, visit the hydroponics gardening section on their website at http://www.advancednutrients.com/

Growing Orchids by Hydroponic System

Growing Orchids Hydroponically
By Jeremy Sleigh

Growing plants by hydroponics means growing them without conventional soil. Instead of soil the system uses other nutrients, usually a water mixture poured over other aggregates which contain the minerals necessary for the plant, in this case our orchid, to thrive.




There are some real benefits to growing orchids hydroponically and some of these are"

• You don't need to worry about watering them
• You can grow your orchids free from disease
• They require much less maintenance
• Much more vibrant growth. Better blooms and more consistent flowering

Lets elaborate on some of these points

Watering Orchids is a thing of the Past

Ok so this isn't really true, but growing hydroponic orchids means that you know exactly when to water. No more wondering, is the orchid dry enough, does it need water, are the roots rotting? A hydroponic system takes all of that guess work away. The best part of this is that you can go away on vacation and your orchids will continue growing beautifully.

No Soil - Less Chance For Disease
There is no soil used to grow hydroponic orchids, this drastically reduces the chance of your plants contracting disease. This is a major advantage because many times you will not even notice your orchid has disease until it's to late.

Nutrients Make Your Hydroponic Orchids Strong
The nutrients used are the same as are usually obtained from the soil. They usually will come with the system that is purchased but may be but in any store that deals with hydroponics. The nutrients may be a bit more expensive then traditional fertilizers. You can get them either as organic or chemical nutrients.

The Blooms Speak for Themselves
Growing orchids with a hydroponic set up can yield blooms that are much larger than conventional orchids. The other benefit is that the flowers will bloom a lot quicker, usually around 30% faster. This is a major benefit to professional orchid growers or just anyone who wants to have nice beautiful blooms.

This article just scratches the surface of growing hydroponic orchids, there is much more to learn about orchid care. You can start by heading over to http://www.orchidcarerevealed.com/ and grabbing the free orchid care report. You can grab the free report instantly by clicking here.

Simple Hydroponic System

A Simple Build-It Yourself Hydroponic System
By Leo Sheppler

The benefits of a build-it yourself hydroponic system are many. They are easy to make and can be sized to fit almost any space you have available. Although one of the greatest benefits is what you can grow. You don't have to think back too far to remember the recalls of Spinach for both Salmonella and E. coli contamination. With a hydroponic system you know where your food comes from, who handled it, and just how fresh it really is. And you don't have to grow just Spinach. I know of people who are growing , chilli peppers, lemon basil, parsley, and lettuce. And thats all in the SAME hydroponic system.



Photo: suntec.co.nz


The parts list:

2 x buckets or totes with lids - You have some freedom here. Basicly you need a nutriant reservoir and a growing container. Some people use a 3 gallon bucket ( the growing container) slid into a 5 gallon bucket (the nutrient reservoir). While others use two totes, one set on top of the other. It all depends on how big of a wick system you want and what space you have to fit it into. Just as long as the two containers sit solidly on one another and wont easily fall over. Oh and lastly choose a color or material that blocks out light, else you will end up with a healthy algae farm in your reservoir and not much else.

Wicks - The number of these you want will vary by the size of your system. For a small pot, one wick will be fine for a bigger system 5 or 6 might be needed. The most important thing is what they are made out of. You want a material that is highly absorbent, such as braided polyurethane yarn or fibrous rope. Don't use cotton (rots out easily) or nylon (not very absorbent). Wash the wick before use to help its absorbency.

Growing Media - Generally this is a mix of perlite, peat moss, and vermiculite. Although Pro-Mix and Coconut Fiber are also popular. It comes down more to what you are able to find at your local gardening center.

Nutrients - Normal fertilizers will not work. They do not have some of the trace elements needed since they expect you to be using soil. You will need to use Hydroponic Nutrients.

Optional - 1 length of tubing to act as a reservoir fill tube.

Putting it all together:

In wick hydroponic systems, plants control watering rates. Simply, the lower end of a highly-absorbent wick is placed in a reservoir containing nutrient-enriched water. The other is packed in the growing medium close to the plant roots. If you are using a bucket as your reservoir then you can set it aside for now. If you are using a tote for the reservoir you will want to take the lid of the tote and (depending on the size of the growing container) and decide where and how many holes to drill for the wicks to pass through. Generally in a normal rectangular tote two holes in the lid will be enough. Placed in the middle and spaced evenly to the ends of the tote lid.

Now you will want to choose how you are going to lay out the wick(s). You could use one large wick and just bring it up in the center a few inches (far enough into the growing media for it to start drawing water from the wick). I have also seen systems where they took 3 or 4 smaller wicks, braided them together then brought up into the growing container through a single hole. At that point they separated the wicks and laid them out in a "clover leaf" pattern to evenly disperse the nutrient solution in the growing media.

And lastly the growing containers:

For the 3 gallon bucket just drill a single hole in the bottom of the bucket just big enough to pass the wicks through. If you find your wicks keep falling out just tie in a knot in the wick(s) slightly bigger than the hole (leave enough wick on top to reach the growing media).

Optional: Drill a second hole on one side just big enough to pass the fill tube through. Run the tube up the side of the bucket and leave it for now. This is what you will use to refill the reservoir without needing to pull the buckets apart.

Optional #2: You also may want to drill several smaller drain holes in the growing bucket if it gets any watering from the top. Else the water wont be able to drain and you could end up with flooded plants.

For the tote you will also want to drill holes for the wicks in the bottom of the container, be sure they match the holes in the reservoir lid. Thread the wick(s) in like above with the bucket and your done. Oh I almost forgot, you also may want to put one last smaller hole in the reservoir tote lid. Place it just under the corner of where the growing container would normally sit to act as a reservoir refill. Just slide the growing container to one side a little. Refill the the reservoir. Slide the growing container back and cover the hole to keep bugs and pests out.

The finishing touches:

- Fill reservoir with water and nutrients. Mix according to directions.- Put the wicks in the growing container.- Set the growing container in or on the reservoir, making sure the wicks are in contact with the water.- Fill the growing container with growing media.- Wait a few hours / days for the water to wick up into the growing media.- Plant your plants.- Enjoy your build-it yourself hydroponic system.

Find out more on how to quickly build an effective hydroponic growing system cheaply build-it yourself hydroponic systems

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Hydroponic gardening most errors

The Four Most Common Errors Hydroponic Growers Make
By Michael Straumietis

Whether you want to enter the world of hydroponic gardening for fun or profit, it pays to know what you are doing before you make any investment. As with most hobbies, you will become a better gardener as you become more accustomed to the requirements and complexities of growing plants in a soil-less environment.



Photo: hobbyhydro.com

With the proper amount of research and planning, you can avoid several costly, common and time consuming mistakes.

Going Cheap On The Light - Many make the mistake of thinking that fluorescent lights are suitable for all plants at all stages or are simply drawn to fluorescents because of the price. The truth of the matter is that fluorescent lights emit only one kind of light: white. Sunlight, which is that standard by which all other lights are judged, emits the full spectrum of light colors. Thus fluorescent lights are only really adequate for young, seedling plants. As your plants enter the vegetative and flowering stages, they require red, blue and orange rays to grow properly. Florescent lights may actually cost you more than you expect, both because they yield a poor quality crop compared to other lights and they require frequent maintenance.

Thinking More Is Better - Water is good for your plants as is good quality fertilizer, but that doesn't mean your plants will benefit from truckloads of both. If you give your plants too much water, the roots will rot and the plants will die. If you use too much fertilizer you may get salt deposits on your media or a fungus that stunts your plant's growth. Make sure you allow enough time between waterings for the roots to dry out a little and always follow the label's instructions when using fertilizer.

Danger: "Plant Food" - A hydroponic garden is different from a traditional garden and therefore has unique needs. Always purchase your fertilizer and nutrients from a reputable hydroponics retailer. It might be tempting to just grab a bag of fertilizer from your local hardware store but that will most likely result in a lot of unnecessary frustration and perhaps a even a completely dead crop.

Not Understanding pH Problems - pH refers to the acidity or alkalinity of the nutrient solution or water. Tap water has a pH level suitable for hydroponic growing but not all. Most hydroponic growing media is pH neutral, meaning a level of 7.0. If the pH of your nutrient solution drops below 5.6 or rises above 6.3, you will probably run into nutrient deficiencies. Rockwool, however, is a bit more alkaline than most, and may benefit form a slightly more acidic nutrient solution.
Make sure you understand the best pH balance for your media and your plants and invest in a good pH meter to ensure appropriate levels. Following these simple steps can keep your hydroponics garden looking and producing its best!

Michael Straumietis is co-founder of Advanced Nutrients and an expert in hydroponics, plant nutrition & soil sciences. He markets, reviews and publishes his knowledge in short original papers with a focus on soil-plant interactions. If you would like more information on hydroponics, visit the website at http://www.advancednutrients.com/ and discover a wealth of information at your fingertips.