Using Portable Low-Cost Chlorophyll Sensors to Assess Plant Health and Improve Crop Quality in Hydroponics
When you grow plants hydroponically you become responsible for delivering the exact amount of every essential nutrient. Getting nitrogen right is particularly challenging since plants can require dramatically different amounts…
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The Problems with Brix Analysis of Sap in Crops
Brix analysis, the measurement of soluble solids in plant sap using a refractometer, has gained popularity as a quick field test for assessing plant health and crop quality. The method…
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Comparing Nutrient Solutions for Hydroponic Strawberry Production
Getting the right nutrient solution for strawberries in hydroponics can feel like trying to solve a puzzle where every piece matters. Unlike many crops where you can get away with…
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Comparing Nutrient Solutions for Hydroponic Tomatoes
When growing tomatoes hydroponically, one of the most critical decisions you’ll make is choosing the right nutrient solution. The composition of your nutrient solution can dramatically affect both the quantity…
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pH vs Nutrient Availability: Rethinking the Classic Charts
If you’ve been around hydroponics long enough, you’ve probably seen the ubiquitous “pH vs nutrient availability” chart. It usually looks like a series of colored bars, each showing how available…
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Can you manage downy mildew in hydroponic basil with organic foliar sprays?
Basil downy mildew, caused by the obligate oomycete Peronospora belbahrii, has become one of the most serious diseases affecting hydroponic and greenhouse basil production globally. The pathogen, first documented in Europe…
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Triacontanol Foliar Sprays in Soilless Culture: Formulation and Application
Triacontanol is a naturally occurring long-chain fatty alcohol found in plant cuticle waxes that can act as a growth regulator at very low concentrations. Below I focus on peer-reviewed evidence…
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Calcium silicate (wollastonite) in soilless crops
Silicon in media is not a magic switch. In soilless systems it can help, it can do nothing, and at the wrong rate or pH it can hurt. Calcium silicate…
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Calcium Thiosulfate as a Nitrate-Free Calcium Source in Soilless Culture
Growers often supply calcium (Ca) with calcium nitrate, but that introduces unwanted nitrogen (N). To achieve a 0% N finish in a hydroponic or soilless system (for instance to reduce…
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A low cost DIY oil IPM for your crops
An emulsified vegetable oil spray can smother mites and soft-bodied insects and can suppress powdery mildew if you actually coat the target. Soybean oil has the strongest evidence. Corn oil…
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