First time hydroponic user. I live in Colorado and my outdoor growing season is fairly short. So I'm wanting to extend my growing season year round.
I have an eight foot rail system and four 5gal buckets, that are recirculating. In the rail system I'm growing leaf vegetables, and in the buckets I'm growing peppers. Buckets have individual drip lines, each with a drain at the bottom. The rail has one drip line at one end and a drain at the other. Both systems drain lines are tied together, dumping back into the reservoir.
My tap water's PPM is 145 prior to nutrients, and is currently around 850 to 950 with nutrients. My PH is @ 8.0 straight out of the tap, but I have PH up/down and try to keep between 5.5 and 7. Each day it measures in the 5.0 range, and I have to consistently put in PH Up.
Nutrients are GH's Flora Series - Gro, Micro, and Bloom. I'm currently apply nutrients at 10ml, 7.5ml, and 2.5ml respectively.
Lighting is 3 400W MH bulbs - 18 on 6 off
Plants were in soil. I washed roots and initially had them in pea gravel, but have since put them in hydroton. Over the past 3 to 4 weeks, the plants have stopped growing and look to be dying. In fact one of the pepper plants, which was sickly looking prior to transplanting, has died.
Any suggestions? Any online websites good for education? Any books good as well? If I'm going to purchase a book, I'd rather have suggestions instead of gambling on my own.
Need to add: Temp is at 80F when lights are on. Humidity is around 35 to 45%. And there is no CO2 besides from human exhalation.
Thinking of changing buckets to DWC and leaving rail system as drip.
Thanks all
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BluePlanet
- Newly Registered
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Fri Aug 16, 2013 4:49 pm
- Location: Louisiana
for freshly transplanted plants, your ppms are WAYYYYY tooo high...
When you transplant from pea gravel to hydroton, you are already stressing the roots. Personally, when I grow any veggie hydroponically, I always use a DWC system, I start the nutrient solution strength out at about 250ppm to 300 ppm, and add enough water so that it touches the bottom of the roots so they are at least getting some water. Also, a very powerful aerator is always good.
Once you see some roots poking out of the hydroton in the net pots, then you can drop the level of the nutrient solution which will encourage the plant to grow more roots downward into the nutrient solution.
Slowly increase the nutrient solution strength and KEEP THE pH AT between 5.5 and 6.0. I shoot for 5.8 for most crops.
When you transplant from pea gravel to hydroton, you are already stressing the roots. Personally, when I grow any veggie hydroponically, I always use a DWC system, I start the nutrient solution strength out at about 250ppm to 300 ppm, and add enough water so that it touches the bottom of the roots so they are at least getting some water. Also, a very powerful aerator is always good.
Once you see some roots poking out of the hydroton in the net pots, then you can drop the level of the nutrient solution which will encourage the plant to grow more roots downward into the nutrient solution.
Slowly increase the nutrient solution strength and KEEP THE pH AT between 5.5 and 6.0. I shoot for 5.8 for most crops.
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rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
Just wanted to say hi and welcome to BluePlanet. We have needed someone with good hydro expertise around the hydroponics forum for awhile now; it's been a bit languishing lately. You might want to make a post in the Introductions section, tell us a little bit more about yourself and your experience. But thanks much for the help!