Helpful things to remember, by dcyans
Basic things to consider
1. It is a very good idea the adjust the pH of a nutrient solution BEFORE adding nutrients. This prevents any minor lockouts which can occur when adjusting pH.
2. Always increase nutrient strengths in steps when transplanting your seedling/cuts into their home in hydro. Stronger concentrations can burn roots and cause dieback and stalled growth.
3. Always shake your nutrients before mixing.
4. Silicon can be used in place of pH up to benefit growth even further.
5. Pruning can be used to retard growth when needed. It does this by reducing photosynthesis thus energy converted.
6. Have you ever noticed how a plants growth takes off after pruning well this is due to a thing called root to shoot ratio. After pruning the root ratio is greater thus the remaining shoots receive even more growth than ever before to balance the ratio.
7. A plant will use up all available nitrogen within a couple of days after supplying it. A plant will also uptake as much as you give it until toxification occurs.
8. When rooting using a low pH (5.2) aids in forming callouses which is the first step in root formation. I also allow the pH to rise to about 5.6-5.8 before lowering it again.
9. It's very important to have the correct speed/cfm for your sized carbon filter! A filter is most effective when the air has sufficient contact time with the activated carbon make sense? This is really just basic common sense I know but you'd be surprised how many are not aware of this.
10. Remember you can never go too big when using filter media bags but you can go too small! The pump must fit comfortably inside I recommend 8x12 as the smallest for a 526gph pump gauge accordingly. The nice thing about filter media bags is they keep your pump clean and free of roots something an inline filter does not "tip of the day"!
11. Another tip always rinse your balls throughly and then some and even then there will still be some sediment but not to worry it's harmless to your plants as well as sprayers.
12. Word on powdery mildew, lower humidity ASAP!
13. 68-72F is optimal for res temps outside this range uptake of some element salts become limited or not available at all.
14. When working in hydro whether mixing nutes feeding or trimming it is a great idea to wash your hands before during and after as pathogens can be easily introduced into a hydro system. Also have you ever had an itchy eye with ferts or acid on your fingers?
15. Always carry an extra pump for back up it's extremely cheap insurance considering the price of your crop!
16. Always carry back up batteries for your meters again hindsight is always a great preventative to problems.
17. Letting pH drift is very beneficial to plants uptake of all essential nutrients just keep it within range either soil or hydroponic.
18. Plants live or die by pH so no matter how much of whatever element is present if the pH is off it's uptake becomes limited or not available at all.
19. Healthy roots are the key to healthy high yielding plants!
20. Never mix a disinfectant such as Florashield and any beneficial bacteria such as Hydroguard as the bacteria will be killed immediately.
21. High volume low pressure is where it's at for aeroponics it's much less problematic cheaper and works extremely effectively.
Thank you dcyans over at the cabana. This is a really well thought-out list. Thanks for letting me post it here.
