adelegypt
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Re: my home made hydroponic system

Picture of tree Roselle planted on a bottle of carbonated water capacity 2 liters note it is longer than my son and this is because of the strongly rooted in hydroponic system so that the system can grow a larg plant in a pot ,look to the red fruit that is the source of the medicinal drink.

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JC's Garden
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It's bigger than both of you. :shock:
I have high blood pressure. I think I will try growing Roselle.

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rainbowgardener
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I grew roselle one year. Grown in the ground, it gets huge, turns in to a shrub, tall and wide and bushy. The part you use for the tea or whatever is just the calyxes of the flowers. To me with my city garden, it took up a lot of space for very little reward. But it is easy and did produce a lot of flowers, well in to fall.

adelegypt
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JC's Garden wrote:It's bigger than both of you. :shock:
I have high blood pressure. I think I will try growing Roselle.
Both are my sons I`m 59 yrs , Rosselle is easy to grow
Thank you

adelegypt
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rainbowgardener wrote:I grew roselle one year. Grown in the ground, it gets huge, turns in to a shrub, tall and wide and bushy. The part you use for the tea or whatever is just the calyxes of the flowers. To me with my city garden, it took up a lot of space for very little reward. But it is easy and did produce a lot of flowers, well in to fall.



Thank you for your comment.

This plant grows rapidly and resists many things like high temperature of nutrient solution, pests, birds..........


adelegypt
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I don't know if these cabbages will give large growing as that of the land growing


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applestar
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Hmm... I think cabbages will need much bigger root space and more water. The outer leaves actually get to be at least 24 inches across and those are the small headed varieties. Larger headed ones will get to be 3 feet across or more.

But even if not and they don't form heads, you COULD harvest the individual leaves like lettuce and chard as they grow. You may want to do that with some of them and experiment with the others to see if they can grow bigger in these and bigger containers (like bucket-size).

adelegypt
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applestar wrote:Hmm... I think cabbages will need much bigger root space and more water. The outer leaves actually get to be at least 24 inches across and those are the small headed varieties. Larger headed ones will get to be 3 feet across or more.

But even if not and they don't form heads, you COULD harvest the individual leaves like lettuce and chard as they grow. You may want to do that with some of them and experiment with the others to see if they can grow bigger in these and bigger containers (like bucket-size).
I think so , but the 2 liter container has holes to give the roots a chance to go outside the container... In Egypt we cook the inner leafs (white) by filling it with rice +tomato+onion the leaf encircle this mixture like sausage we don't consume the outer green leafs.
I don't know how you consume cabbages

Thank you for your comment .

adelegypt
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It is 50 days old, is there a hope in success
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adelegypt
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the same photo after one month

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imafan26
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It looks great, better than any head cabbage I have attempted. At that age for me the leaves would b e full of holes from the slugs, snails, and cabbage worms eating them. My one and only head cabbage grew to be about 3 inches in diameter and half of it was a big hole from something eating it.

adelegypt
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imafan26 wrote:It looks great, better than any head cabbage I have attempted. At that age for me the leaves would b e full of holes from the slugs, snails, and cabbage worms eating them. My one and only head cabbage grew to be about 3 inches in diameter and half of it was a big hole from something eating it.
Thank you very much.
Did you grow cabbage in hydroponic system , I`d like you to attach a photo if possible . How do you consume cabbages, we Egyptians cook the inner leafs with rice ,onion and tomato
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applestar
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Looking good! Isn't it such a wonderful feeling to harvest real food from your own garden? :D
I guess you are already thinking about what and how to grow next :wink:

adelegypt
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applestar wrote:Looking good! Isn't it such a wonderful feeling to harvest real food from your own garden? :D
I guess you are already thinking about what and how to grow next :wink:
Sure

adelegypt
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I`m growing beans some of it yield much but most of it give little, I don't know the cause

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adelegypt
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My tomato is usually small in size

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adelegypt
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I made an extension to my set up "it is 4 meters away from the original one" to grow lettuce and watercress, I used pump of washing machine to drain the new extension.

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adelegypt
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A photo of washing machine pump"9 watt" that is used to drain the extension

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JC's Garden
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Adel, I always enjoy seeing your post. My wife calls me the "Repurpose King" but you may be better than me. :)
I love how you find a way to make things work. Well done.

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rainbowgardener
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wonderful set up!

Re small tomatoes .. part of tomato size is genetically programmed, some varieties are just smaller than others. Of course, there are grape and cherry and "saladette" tomatoes, but even amongst full size tomatoes there is a wide variation in size.

e.g. bush goliath produces 3-4" tomatoes, celebrity hybrid averages 7 oz, beefy boy hybrid tomatoes are 12-16 oz, beefsteak/ red ponderosa is said to produce 2 pound tomatoes, and big zac to produce 4 pound tomatoes!

So to start with you need to grow a variety that is genetically programmed to produce large tomatoes.

But then doing hydro, you have to supply all the nutrients and tomatoes are heavy feeders, especially to produce large tomatoes, so you need to have the nutrients right, with different nutrient combination at different points in their life cycle.

https://www.uvm.edu/vtvegandberry/factsh ... rition.pdf

https://www.yara.us/agriculture/crops/to ... l-summary/

adelegypt
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JC's Garden wrote:Adel, I always enjoy seeing your post. My wife calls me the "Repurpose King" but you may be better than me. :)
I love how you find a way to make things work. Well done.
Thank you.
Do you how much"usd" of this new group:
12 larg 20 L bottles = 6
40 small 2 L bottles = 1.5
connections and tubes = 1.5
Washing machine pump = 4.5
All are 13.5 usd for 65 openings of growing

adelegypt
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rainbowgardener wrote:wonderful set up!
Thank you

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Re small tomatoes .. part of tomato size is genetically programmed, some varieties are just smaller than others. Of course, there are grape and cherry and "saladette" tomatoes, but even amongst full size tomatoes there is a wide variation in size.

e.g. bush goliath produces 3-4" tomatoes, celebrity hybrid averages 7 oz, beefy boy hybrid tomatoes are 12-16 oz, beefsteak/ red ponderosa is said to produce 2 pound tomatoes, and big zac to produce 4 pound tomatoes!

So to start with you need to grow a variety that is genetically programmed to produce large tomatoes.

But then doing hydro, you have to supply all the nutrients and tomatoes are heavy feeders, especially to produce large tomatoes, so you need to have the nutrients right, with different nutrient combination at different points in their life cycle.

https://www.uvm.edu/vtvegandberry/factsh ... rition.pdf

https://www.yara.us/agriculture/crops/to ... l-summary/
Thank you
My nutrient solution is mostly organic "extract of home-made compost" + supplement of amonium nitrate and phosphoric acid and sprayed potassium
Because I don't grow in a greenhouse ,does moisture of atmospher affects size of tomato?

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rainbowgardener
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RE: does moisture of atmosphere (humidity) affects size of tomato?

No, I wouldn't think so. Humidity has a number of effects on tomato plants , most of them negative. Humid conditions favor fungal diseases that tomatoes are prone to. Humid conditions inside greenhouses, with not enough air movement also make pollination more difficult:


In addition, learn to use intermittent ventilation on
cool days to reduce moisture condensation inside the
house. The drier the foliage can be kept and the
more air movement in the greenhouse, the more
favorable the conditions for pollination.
Growers who have previously had low ventilation
capability have doubled their yields of spring
tomatoes in several situations when they replaced
old houses and increased their ventilation capability.
https://extension.tennessee.edu/publica ... pb1609.pdf

Doubling the yield here was from improved pollination leading to more tomato fruits set. It was not about the size of the tomatoes.

I expect more important than humidity is hours of direct sun:

Grow tomatoes in the sunniest, warmest part of your garden. Cherry tomatoes can get by on 5-6 hours of sun and still produce fruit, but larger tomatoes need 8-12 hours of sun a day for best performance. https://www.grow-it-organically.com/grow ... CqN3M.dpuf

adelegypt
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Thank you Rainbow

adelegypt
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2 photos for the roots of cabbage I made vertical cut in the 2nd photo


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Image
....................
A deep photo of bean`s roots floating in n. solution.


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JC's Garden
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Good root development.

[/quote]All are 13.5 usd for 65 openings of growing[/b][/quote]

Not bad. :)

A Happy Seedling
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Wow! Could you re-post these in the topic Homemade Hydroponic Systems in the format required? Thanks! I don't know much about hydroponics but I am very interested in Nutrient-less hydroponics.

adelegypt
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A Happy Seedling wrote:Wow! Could you re-post these in the topic Homemade Hydroponic Systems in the format required? Thanks! I don't know much about hydroponics but I am very interested in Nutrient-less hydroponics.
What do you means by " Nutrient-less hydroponics. "?

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Hydroponics without nutrient solution, e.g. using only water.

adelegypt
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A Happy Seedling wrote:Hydroponics without nutrient solution, e.g. using only water.
Do you mean organic growing.

This black 20 L bottle contain a permeable pack filled with compost, the white hose in the upper right "inlet"supply water to the set up by continuous dripping that extract the nutrient from compost and go out to the set up through black pipe in the lower left"outlet"

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RE: "using only water"

Plants can't live on water alone any more than you or I can. They must have the needed nutrients. Planted in the soil, they can get them from the soil and the soil web of life. If your soil is rich, you may not need to add anything else. Planted in a hydro system, you must supply everything the plant needs.

You can provide the nutrients organically through the use of compost, AACT (brewed compost tea), worm castings, etc or you can use synthetic "nutes" which I think is most commonly how hydro is done. But somehow you must provide sustenance for your plants.

Rairdog
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So you are pumping water through compost for nutes? Is it under pressure? It looks like the roots are a little dirty. White roots will give you the best output. Maybe it's just tannin stained water. If there are small particles imbedded in the roots it might be worth setting up a radial or swirl filter to collect solids. Another option would be to set up a worm bed in gravel/media. The water could filter through the media to trap solids. The worms will eat the solids and break them down for plant uptake. Just some ideas I'm throwing out from an Aqauponics view point. Typically all the solids are trapped before going to DWC/NFT so the roots remain bright white. I have been wanting to set up a HP but would never buy the expensive nutes. There are a few experiments using AACT but they never show the end results.

adelegypt
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Rairdog wrote:So you are pumping water through compost for nutes? Is it under pressure?
I don`t pump water, water flow in a slow rate "according to consumption of growing plants" compost is inside porous bag, the bag is inside 20 L container/bottle the level of fluid goes up and down according to the cycle of irrigation
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It looks like the roots are a little dirty.
the old ones become yellowish
White roots will give you the best output. Maybe it's just tannin stained water.
water is yellowish
If there are small particles imbedded in the roots it might be worth setting up a radial or swirl filter to collect solids. Another option would be to set up a worm bed in gravel/media. The water could filter through the media to trap solids. The worms will eat the solids and break them down for plant uptake. Just some ideas I'm throwing out from an Aqauponics view point. Typically all the solids are trapped before going to DWC/NFT so the roots remain bright white. I have been wanting to set up a HP but would never buy the expensive nutes. There are a few experiments using AACT but they never show the end results.
Good idea, thank you, How I can get worms naturally.

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I see, the porous bag which filters out the particles of compost.

How long do you compost the scraps before going into the system?

Please list the NPK supplements you are adding. You mentioned: phosphoric acid, urea, amonium nitrate and sprayed potassium.

What form of potassium?

Do you check ph?

Do worms occur there naturally in gardens? Here is an article I found. Maybe you could order from Australia if they are not found locally.

https://www.greenprophet.com/2011/01/egy ... vironment/

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applestar
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adelegypt wrote:A photo of washing machine pump"9 watt" that is used to drain the extension

Image
I'm going to have to remember this as a possible salvage item next time my Washing Machine needs to be replaced.... Hmm... but then, I just remembered that both of the last two machines needed to be replaced BECAUSE the pump had stopped working, and DH didn't want to take them apart.... :?

Well, I guess I'll see what I can do next time. At least I wouldn't be afraid to get the pump out if I don't have to worry about putting the machine back together. :()

...I also recently read that the perforated tub might make a good planter.... 8)

adelegypt
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Rairdog wrote:I see, the porous bag which filters out the particles of compost.

How long do you compost the scraps before going into the system?
Three months
Please list the NPK supplements you are adding. You mentioned: phosphoric acid, urea, amonium nitrate and sprayed potassium.
Now I soray NPK 18,18,18 every 2 weeks
K is potassium oxide
Phosphoric A, Am. N and urea less than one gm/L of all
I`d like to say that I depend on my sense

What form of potassium?
Do you check ph?
yes using special paper strips
Do worms occur there naturally in gardens? Here is an article I found. Maybe you could order from Australia if they are not found locally.
Can these worms live in n water

https://www.greenprophet.com/2011/01/egy ... vironment/

adelegypt
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applestar wrote:
adelegypt wrote:A photo of washing machine pump"9 watt" that is used to drain the extension

Image
I'm going to have to remember this as a possible salvage item next time my Washing Machine needs to be replaced.... Hmm... but then, I just remembered that both of the last two machines needed to be replaced BECAUSE the pump had stopped working, and DH didn't want to take them apart.... :?

Well, I guess I'll see what I can do next time. At least I wouldn't be afraid to get the pump out if I don't have to worry about putting the machine back together. :()

...I also recently read that the perforated tub might make a good planter.... 8)
:)

Rairdog
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Yes, the worms will live near water. I put them in my aquaponic(AP) beds and is a universally accepted practice. They don't like to be continuously under water and do much better with flood/drain or timed systems. If you have a separate bin to age the compost they would really help break it down and provide easier uptake for the plants. Compost that is 3 months old would have a lot of nutrients that weren't available for the plants IMO.

I was asking about the NPK supplements because they could be hard on the worms. It is usually safer to spray the leaves with PK supplements and keep most of it out of the system.

AP guys run into the same issues you seem to have with the vining/fruiting vegetables like watermelons, beans etc. They suck up all the N but have a hard time getting enough P&K and other micros when needed. Also, check out Mono Potassium Phosphate (MKP) which can be sprayed on leaves and maybe a source of seaweed extract (Seasol) to add directly into system for added micros and iron.

Haifa should be available there. Here is some nute deficiency reading for you.
https://www.haifa-group.com/knowledge_ce ... nutrition/
https://www.haifa-group.com/products/pla ... haifa_mkp/

adelegypt
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Rairdog wrote:Yes, the worms will live near water. I put them in my aquaponic(AP) beds and is a universally accepted practice. They don't like to be continuously under water and do much better with flood/drain or timed systems. If you have a separate bin to age the compost they would really help break it down and provide easier uptake for the plants. Compost that is 3 months old would have a lot of nutrients that weren't available for the plants IMO.


Do you mean that I should old it more?
Haifa should be available there. Here is some nute deficiency reading for you.
https://www.haifa-group.com/knowledge_ce ... nutrition/
https://www.haifa-group.com/products/pla ... haifa_mkp/
Thank you

Rairdog
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Do you mean that I should old(age :) ) it more?

It depends on how you are making compost. Compost is usually aged 6 months minimum but can be done faster with tumblers. It needs to get very hot to speed up the process. Worms or black soldier flies can do it in 3 months or less.



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