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Root Parasite Fungi: How to Control Pythium in Hydroponics

Posted by: Brett McCormick · Comments (0) · March 23rd
Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010

When operating your own hydroponic grow room or greenhouse it essential that you understand various pathogens and how to prevent and treat them.  What is a pathogen?  A pathogen is an organism that can cause sickness.  Fungi like: fusariums, pythium, verticillium, phytophtora, are ferocious invaders and can lead to total crop destruction.  We have to understand that there is a large diversity of organisms that live on plants, in soil and water, in and on our food, and even on our skin.  Some of these organisms are beneficial but the others are considered pathogens.  These pathogens attack at the slightest sense of stress.

One destructive pathogen is pythium.  Pythium is a root-parasite fungus that can multiply very fast under optimal conditions and will deprive the plant of food.  This fungi will be present in almost any grow environment, no matter how clean it is.  There are numerous ways for this fungi to reach your grow room so it is very important to keep it clean and track your quality of water that you are using. Pythium is considered a secondary infection because it takes advantage of plants that are already slightly damaged or stressed.

Detecting this pathogen in soil-based plants is a lot harder than that of hydroponic growers because of the access to the root system.  If pythium has started to attack your plants, you will notice that the roots have started to turn from their normal white color to a light brown and eventually black.  In a severe case, the lower portion of the stem will turn black and slimy.   Fighting this pathogen can be quite simple if you have everything in your grow room dialed in.

There are some products that are sold to prevent the infestation of various pathogens including pythium.  These products include but are not limited to, special silicate powders, beneficial bacteria or fungi.  These products, either sold separately or in mixtures of various strains of both, are added to the nutrient solution.  However, the main way to prevent this pathogen from taking over your plants is to keep your plants healthy.  These basic rules are: good water quality, good ventilation, ideal temperature and humidity levels, optimal oxygenation of nutrient solution, general cleanliness, and a appropriate feeding program.  It is very important to pay close attention to your plants to ensure that they are health and not susceptible to pathogen infestation.

Article by, Brett McCormick, co-founder of Good Green Builders.  Good Green Builders is a hydroponic grow room/greenhouse builder in the San Francisco Bay Area.  For more information or a free consultation call today, (415) 246-8055.

Source: maximumyield.com

Categories : Hydroponics
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Are Hydroponics Organic II

Posted by: Brett McCormick · Comments (0) · March 19th
Friday, March 19th, 2010

Why is it that there are so few organic certified hydroponic growers out there?  This should be a simple question to answer, but it isn’t.  Each state has different guidelines for labeling produce as organic.  In addition to this there are 36 non-governmental agencies, which can certify produce as organic.  If a California grower wants to sell his produce as organic they must register with the California Department of Agriculture and pass inspection.  California growers can also obtain a certification through the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF), which actually has higher standards for organic than the state.  If the grower in California doesn’t obtain the CCOF certification, which is optional, they can’t sell produce as certified organic.  A grower in another country can only sell his produce as certified organic if they get certified by one of the 36 non-governmental organizations.  In addition to this, produce from any state can be sold as certified organic if it passes inspection form one of the 36 agencies, even if it doesn’t meet their states requirements.  Sounds like they need to figure this out. And they are…

Basically the organic label is a matter of bureaucratic definitions, which vary from state to state and country to country.  The USDA, state governments, non-government certifiers, consumers, and many other agencies are writing a federally mandated set of organic standards.

While organic farming methods do produce superior and safer crops than the larger agribusiness operations, modern hydroponic techniques can supply equally safe food that in many cases has a higher nutrient level and superior taste to that of its soil counterparts.  Many consumers don’t know this and for them it is only the label that counts.  The main problem for hydroponic growers in gaining organic certification is the nutrient formula that they use for cultivation.

Another concern for certifiers is the way that media such as rockwool cubes and slabs are disposed of.  Considering the fact that the organic label also gives people the sense that the food labeled organic was produced in the most sustainable manner possible.  Even thought this fact has nothing to do with the quality or safety of the product, certifiers have a problem with this.  This is one reason that hydroponic growers have had a hard time gaining organic certifications.

Article by, Brett McCormick, co-founder of Good Green Builders.  Good Green Builders is a hydroponic grow room/greenhouse builder in the San Francisco Bay Area.  For more information or a free consultation call today, (415) 246-8055

Categories : Hydroponics
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Are Hydroponics Organic Part I

Posted by: Brett McCormick · Comments (0) · March 18th
Thursday, March 18th, 2010

The following set of articles will explore the different ideals of organics and how they fit into the hydroponic industry.  This is a very popular debate amongst many growers and produce consumers alike.  There are very few organic certified hydroponic growers out there today and this is because of the difficulty in obtaining a certification for their hydroponically grown crops.  Accepted organic fertilizer components are dependent on organisms in the soil to convert the organic material into a usable form for the plants.  As many people know hydroponics is the growing of plants with a neutral media, where the nutrients are carried to the plants in water.   The various materials, which are permitted for use under organic regulations, are not in pure enough form for use in hydroponic applications.   With this in mind, it is important to remember why the word “organic” became such a buzzword in the ‘90s.

Consumers are becoming more conscience of what goes into their bodies.  They don’t want to consume any produce that was treated with any sort of hazardous chemicals or poisons.  Another reason for organics is the desire to create a food model that doesn’t harm the soil, water or ecosystems.  There is an increasing public demand for produce that is cultivated with our planet in mind and that doesn’t harm our soil, water, or ecosystems.   With hydroponics, less water is needed for cultivation and therefore, more food can be produced with less water.  Hydroponic fertilizers are ultra pure and aren’t present in the cultivated fruits and vegetables.  The result of providing the plants exactly what they need in the form of dissolved minerals in water, the plant is able to achieve higher growth rates, yields and even higher quality than organic methods.  Since hydroponic technologies are more efficient than soil methods, more people can be fed with less area and ecological impact.

Article by, Brett McCormick, co-founder of Good Green Builders.  Good Green Builders is hydroponics grow room/ Greenhouse builder in the San Francisco Bay Area.   For more information or a free consultation call today, (415) 246-8055.

Categories : Hydroponics
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Benefits of Hydroponic Food Production

Posted by: Brett McCormick · Comments (0) · March 2nd
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

Many people don’t understand that hydroponic grow rooms aren’t just meant for marijuana cultivation.  There are many different benefits of hydroponic food production.

Hydroponic food production is mostly pest free and therefore there isn’t a need for pesticides.  As far as nutrients are concerned, you know exactly what is going into your plants and there for you know what will not be in your final product, genetically modified organisms.   Genetically modified organisms are currently in the majority of store bought food.  In a closed system, nutrients are recycled and thus utilizing less fresh water than traditional field/soil farming.  Another interesting aspect about nutrients is the fact that they are specific to the various stages of growth and you can use different strengths for different types of plants.  One of the last benefits is that hydroponic fruits and vegetables are is vine ripened.  Vine ripened produce eliminates consumption of artificial ripening agents and pesticides on imported produce.

Article by, Brett McCormick, co-founder of Good Green Builders.  Good Green Builders is a grow room contractor in Oakland, Ca.  For more information or a free consultation call today, (415) 246-8055.

Categories : Hydroponics
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Opinion: Why Water?

Posted by: Brett McCormick · Comments (0) · February 23rd
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

Many growers feel that the usage of natural mediums, such as coconut coir, is a sustainable way to grow considering that the coir is from the earth.  Although it is widespread and highly effective medium for hydroponic gardeners, many people don’t consider the extensive transportation costs that it takes to ship a bag of coir across the continent to its final destination.  Most people start their own hydroponic garden because they want to become self-sufficient or so the can produce their own foods and know what is going into their body.  It is important to do this in the most sustainable manner possible.

Water will be the medium of the future allowing growers to use fewer resources and reduce their carbon footprint.  Hydroponic systems use mineral salts to provide plants with the nutrition they require to grow and bloom.  Hyper-oxygenated water culture methods typically increase the efficiency of nutrient uptake in the plants root zone.  You can typically use a much lower concentrations, around 40%-70%, of the recommended dosage for a given nutrient.

The ocean is a circulating, well-aerated solution of H20 and dissolved salts.  It is also the birthplace of all plants and life forms.  So with that said plants have coded with in their ancient DNA to be able and willing to adapt back to living in water.  Water is the growing medium of the future hydroponic gardening.

Article by, Brett McCormick, co-founder of Good Green Builders.  Good Green Builders is a grow room contractors in Oakland, Ca.  For more information or a free consultation call today, 415-246-8055.

Source: urbangardenmagazine.com

Categories : Hydroponics
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Recirculation Basics-Part 1

Posted by: Brett McCormick · Comments (0) · February 17th
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

Growing hydroponically drastically reduces the usage of various resources necessary for an indoor grow.  Water is one of them.  The days of run-to-waste or open irrigation have almost come to an end.  Pure water, which is essential in a hydroponic system, is becoming more and more scarce.   It is important for people to re-circulate their water and nutrients to limit the water usage.  When cultivating in your hydroponic grow room you can reduce water consumption up to 80% by using a water recirculation system.  A recirculation system will also allow you to save money on all of the nutrients and additives that make up the nutrient solution.  Water is the key to any hydroponic system.

It is very important to know what is in your water.  If you don’t know what is in your source water, and if the performance of your plants suffers, you will not know where to start to diagnose the problem at hand.  It is important to have a low EC water source so that the water can dissolve the required nutrients and so you wont have a build-up of nutrients.  When dealing with a closed or recirculation system it is important to top off your reservoirs to make sure that the nutrient solution is of the right concentration.  Plants will take up the water in the solution quicker than the nutrients in the solution. When deciding on reservoirs for your hydroponic grow room bigger is better.  This is because the nutrients will stay in balance longer, larger volumes of water helps stabilize temperature, and also enables the grower to make more subtle adjustments to avoid any spikes in EC or pH.

Article by, Brett McCormick, co-founder of Good Green Builders.  Good Green Builders is a grow room contractor in Oakland, Ca.  For a free consultation call today, 415-246-8055.

Source: urbangardenmagazine.com

Categories : Hydroponics
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Who’s Afraid of Hydroponics

Posted by: Brett McCormick · Comments (0) · February 16th
Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

There are many misconceptions that give hydroponics a bad name in the agricultural world.  The truth is that cultivating foods hydroponically is the way of the future and is already prevalent in the agriculture community.   The word “hydroponics” is derived from Greek, “hydro-ponos”.  This can be directly translated to water at work.  One of the main benefits to growing hydroponically is that the majority of the crops energy is put into the plants fruits and flowers and not the root system.   Therefore producing a much more vigorous plant with less resources used.   One of the main misconceptions of hydroponic cultivation is that hydroponics isn’t and can’t be organic.  That is untrue.

There are many different types of organic based hydroponic nutrients as well as organic mediums for growing crops.  Coconut coir, which is a favorite for hydroponic cultivators, is all natural.  Also, crops produced hydroponically, if fed the proper array of nutrients can be just as nutritious as organic produce.

There are many advantages to growing hydroponically, some of them are: Higher yields, increased growth rates, less labor involved in the maintenance, plants can be left un-attended longer, water usage is reduced when using a recirculation system, and finally many hydroponics systems provide plants with more nutrition while at the same time use energy and space.  These are just a few advantages to growing hydroponically.

Article by, Brett McCormick, co-founder of Good Green Builders.  Good Green Builders is a grow room contractor in Oakland, Ca.  For more information or a free consultation call today, (415) 246-8055.

Source: Urbangardenmagazine.com

Categories : Hydroponics
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Water World: The Many Advantages of Hydroponics

Posted by: Brett McCormick · Comments (0) · January 15th
Friday, January 15th, 2010

This is a great article if you are interested in reading about hydroponic industry as a whole. It details the history of hydroponics, the industry today, and some of the benefits of growing hydroponically. The article speaks on the larger scale production of vegetables but is easily related to the small time farmers who have hydroponic grow rooms of their own. Most of the article used tomatoes as the subject for discussion. Tomatoes were traditionally picked for the size and uniformity of the fruit, however; consumers’ tastes and preferences have shifted. They now desire a fruit that is full of flavor and high in nutrient content. Growing hydroponically has enabled, both, small and commercial farmers to produce more high quality fruit.

Another interesting topic discussed is the comparison of growing hydroponically to that of field growing. Growing hydroponically requires higher nutrient doses and the threat of power outages could ruin crops. That doesn’t mean that field growing is completely energy efficient in itself. Field growing does not recapture resources, takes longer to grow, yields less than growing hydroponically, and finally has mother earth to deal with. Yields are varied on a year-to-year basis due to weather and other environmental conditions. While growing hydroponically will help feed all of the worlds population in the future.
Article by, Brett McCormick, managing partner of Good Green Builders. Good Green Builders is a grow room contractor in Oakland California. For more information or a free consultation give me a call at (415) 246-8055.

Source: www.culinate.com

Categories : Harvesting Tips, Hydroponics
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Comparing Hydroponic Gardens

Posted by: Brett McCormick · Comments (0) · January 13th
Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

This article talks about hydroponics and the different methods for growing hydroponically. The first one method is passive hydroponics. Passive hydroponics is the lowest yielding method however it is the easiest. One of the main benefits for growing hydroponically is that there is unlimited space for your plant’s roots to grow but in passive hydroponics this advantage does not apply.

The next method on the production scale is deep-water culture. This method is very simple in design and limits the risk of root damage. One negative to this method is the difficulty of growing in large scales because of the size of the reservoir compared to the tray.
Flood and drain or ebb and flow systems are very popular for indoor grow rooms because of they are simple, versatile, and efficient. One negative for this system that is so popular is that the cycling of nutrients is dependent on a submersible pump. The growing medium, often rockwool or coco-coir, dries easily and therefore needs to be watered multiple times a day.

Another type of re-circulating hydroponics system is the drip or sprinkler system. This system allows the roots to have large amounts of oxygen. The nutrient solution, also very rich in oxygen, flows 24 hours a day.

The final method for growing hydroponically is the Nutrient Film Technique or NFT. This is where the plant is grown in a sloped pipe and the roots are allowed to grow freely without any medium. This is the highest yielding method of hydroponic growing. This is the most yield productive for a number of reasons. This method allows for the roots zone to have optimal oxygen levels at all times. It also allows the roots to have constant nutrient uptake. This hydroponic system is the hardest to master but can be very rewarding if done properly.

Article by, Brett McCormick, managing partner of Good Green Builders. Good Green Builders is a grow room contractor in Oakland, California. For more information or a free consultation give me a call at (415) 246-8055.

Source: www.hydroponics.com

Categories : Hydroponics
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The Potential of Hydroponics

Posted by: Brett McCormick · Comments (0) · January 6th
Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

This article from September’s issue of Maximum Yield tied in Darwin’s theory of evolution, Thomas Malthus’ ideas of overpopulation, and the benefits of growing hydroponically. The main ideas and principles of the article are that we have created a world that we have just recently been able to manipulate into something that we believe is more beneficial to us. Our tampering with nutrient levels in plants for the economic benefit has made our food supply devoid of nutritional value. An example made in the article is how applying high levels of phosphorus to raspberries doubled the yield but the levels of eight other minerals declined by 20-55%. We are also living in a world where Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO’s) are prominent in more than 70% of our food in our grocery stores. Although they are unmarked so the consumer doesn’t know if they are purchasing foods with GMO’s.

The next topic discussed, which is tied in with all of the above ideas, is that growing hydroponically is not only beneficial to the health of our population, it can be more lucrative than conventional farming practices. Growing hydroponically enables people to control what they eat and make sure that they are receiving their essential minerals and vitamins from a real source…not a packet of pills.

Article by, Brett McCormick, managing partner of Good Green Builders. Good Green Builders is a grow room contractor in Oakland, California. For more information or a free consultation give me a call at (415) 246-8055.

Source: www.maximumyield.com

Categories : Harvesting Tips, Hydroponics
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