Solve your problems
- Low yields
- Nutrient deficiencies
- High nutrient costs
- Inconsistent results
Services
- Hourly consultation
- Nutrient solution design
- Growing setup optimization
- Custom crop monitoring automation
My Blog
Through my blog – a top 50 hydroponics blog according to feedspot – I share my insights, research and experience in hydroponic culture. I strive to make this blog a reliable source of high quality, practical information for both commercial hydroponic growers and hobbyists alike. These are some of the blog’s most popular posts:
Welcome to my site!
My name is Dr. Daniel Fernandez. I have worked as a consultant for the past 10 years in the hydroponic industry, helping growers with nutrient formulations, crop management and automation. I have a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and a masters and Ph.D. in nanoscience and nanotechnology. With my experience in nutrient solution chemistry and management I hope to help you take your crops to the next level.
Our services
I provide different types of services to suite your particular needs.
I understand that not everyone needs the same type of assistance and I have therefore designed three specific type of services depending on your needs .
- An hourly consultation service where you can ask any questions and get answers to help you solve problems (150 USD/hour).
- A service for the formulation of a specific hydroponic nutrient recipe for your particular needs coupled with guidance in preparing this formulation.
- An on-going consultation service where you will have me available to answer questions and help guide you through your nutrient needs as your crop or hydroponic project progresses.
Hydrobuddy - Open source software for Nutrient Formulations
This site hosts HydroBuddy – a software I programmed – which is the most popularly used open source calculator for the formulation of hydroponic nutrient solutions and fertilizers. This software has been helping hobby and commercial growers prepare their own fertilizer formulations from 2011 with more than 10 thousands downloads in its lifetime. There are also many peer reviewed academic publications that have used hydrobuddy. Feel free to use or modify this software for your nutrient preparation needs. It’s free and OpenSource! Get the software here.
Latest blog posts
Common questions about silicon in nutrient solutions
Introduction We know that silicon can be a very beneficial element for many plant species (see some of my previous posts here and here). It mainly enhances disease resistance and increases the structural integrity of plant tissue. Because of these advantages, you will want to add silicon to your nutrient solution. However, there are a […]
Connecting a low cost TDR moisture content/EC/temp sensor to a NodeMCUv3
I have discussed moisture content sensors extensively in the past. I have written posts about the use of capacitive moisture sensors to measure volumetric moisture content, including how to create sensor stations and how to calibrate them. However, while capacitive moisture content sensors can be a low cost alternative for low resolution monitoring of moisture […]
How to prepare your own hypochlorous acid cleaner using bleach
During the past couple of years, cleaning products based on hypochlorous acid derived from electrolysis have become popular in the hydroponic industry. This is because, in the USA – per 40 CFR § 180.940 – hypochlorous acid products containing less than 200 ppm of active chlorine are exempted from many manufacturing and handling requirements and […]
A cost analysis of fertilizers for hydroponic/soilless growing in 2022
Why fertilizer costs matter Fertilizer can be one of the largest expenses of a hydroponic growing facility. This is especially true when boutique fertilizers are used, instead of large scale commodity fertilizers. The use of non-recirculating systems with high nutrient concentrations also contributes heavily to high cost fertilizer usage. A medium scale growing facility working […]
