Nutrient solution conductivity estimates in Hydrobuddy
People who use Hydrobuddy can be confused by its conductivity estimates, especially because its values can often mismatch the readings of conductivity meters in real life. This confusion can stem…
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Sugars in hydroponic nutrient solutions
Carbohydrates are an integral part of plants. They produce them from carbon dioxide, requiring no additional external carbon inputs for the process. However, since plants can absorb molecules through their…
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Controlling pH in hydroponics using only electricity
The ability of plants to assimilate nutrients changes as a function of pH. This makes maintaining the pH of nutrient solutions within an acceptable range – most commonly 5.8 to…
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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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Humic acids in hydroponics: What is their effect?
Plants and microorganisms affect the substrates in which they grow in many ways. If you start growing plants in an inert substrate – with nutrient applications of course – you…
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How to prevent problems with powdery mildew in hydroponic crops
One of the worst problems you can get in a hydroponic crop is mildew. Year after year I see growers lose significant amounts of production due to this disease within…
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