Using machine learning control methods in hydroponics
Properly controlling the hydroponic environment is perhaps one of the most challenging tasks the modern grower must face. Either with a small grow room or a big green house, it…
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Calcium’s behavior in hydroponics
Calcium is often one of the most puzzling elements in hydroponic culture due to its ability to respond fairly non-linearly to nutrient concentrations in solution. This behavior is the result…
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Better understanding pH dynamics in hydroponic culture
Plants require specific conditions within their root zones to give optimal yields. The negative of the logarithm of hydronium concentration (a.k.a pH) is a very important measurement that tells us…
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Five important things you should know about humidity in hydroponics
Humidity is one of the most important metrics in hydroponic culture. In order to have a successful crop it is critical to understand what humidity actually is, how we measure…
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DIY Warm white LED lamp PAR measurements, not so exciting after all!
If you read my last few posts about DIY LED lamps built using 150W warm white LED cobs (which do not require an independent driver) you might have been excited…
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Cheap DIY high power LED grow lights: Introducing the Zip-tie lamp
Make sure you also read this post, where I studied the PAR of these lamps and realized they are not as good as I thought! Several months ago I wrote…
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Potassium concentration and yields in flowering plants
From the different nutrients that are needed by plants we have known for more than 4 decades that potassium is of critical importance to flowering/fruiting plants. Potassium is one of…
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Five reasons why a dedicated hydroponic testing room is a great idea
Most commercial hydroponic setups completely lack testing environments. The most common reason for this is that commercial crops are meant to produce revenue and a testing environment means dedicating space,…
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The use of phosphites in plant culture
Plants normally get most or all of their phosphorous from inorganic phosphorus sources. Most commonly these sources are monobasic or dibasic phosphate ions (H2PO4– and HPO4-2), which are naturally formed…
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Five things you should know when mixing your own hydroponic liquid nutrients
Many hydroponic growers – especially large scale ones – can benefit greatly from mixing their own custom nutrients. Not only can this save money in the thousands of dollars per…
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