In this Age of Instant Gratification I can’t blame anyone for being impatient in the garden. People are used to Live Chat Help, Next Day Shipping from across the Country, and fast food that is served to you just as fast as you can make it to the second window. Now, now, now. We are all too used to it. What we need not do, is look at our plants growing as a service. They are more like children that require work, investment of both time and money, and patience. Much time goes by before the successful, responsible adult you hope they become is seen. The same in the garden, one product or one day of environment changes is not going to necessarily show results overnight.

Your grow media will play into time frames of course. Hydroponics shows signs/changes much quicker than with soil. Quick example, when a hydroponically grown plants first shows visual signs of wilting you can still water it and 30-60 minutes later the plant will look as if it was never wilting. In soil, by the time you notice the plant wilting the roots can already be too dry and it can be too late to save it. If saved, the plant can take hours to stop wilting. So when adding new nutrients/supplements to your regimen, take into consideration what media you are using, the time frame it takes for nutrients to be absorbed, and additionally broken down and utilized within the plant tissue.

When adding a new product remember that many of them do their best when the environment is all dialed in. The more out of range your environment is the longer it is going to take for you to see results from a new product, if at all. So make sure everything else is working properly before discrediting results, and then even still…. Give it some time. Remember these products still possibly need to be chelated, then absorbed through media, dispersed through plant tissue, and photosynthesized. Also, there is no single product that is a cure-all so do not expect to see all the results from adding one thing. Some products take precedent over others. Things like enzymes, B Vitamins, and carbohydrates come before others like silicates, kelp extracts, etc. First your foundation then you can build a house on it, not the other way around.

Environment changes  require just as much patience. Every time you change an environmental factor, many others can change with it. Heat causes plants to transpire more, and use more water, requiring reservoir top-off more frequently and making your humidity go higher, and the list goes on. As you see, environment changes can quickly trigger many other adjustments. It can all be done but needs to be done right. Always….give it some time. Make an adjustment and then watch and check all other factors over the next couple days, adjusting for what else may pop up, and giving each of those adjustments a few days of note taking and/or readjusting.

Going forward, I hope you will approach changes and new products that you want to try with patience. Give them time to work and adjust, and find their fit within this environment that you have created. Take notes and make other adjustments where needed. Note what worked for you and what did not work so well, but always give each change enough time to show. Make sure your environment is dialed in first, then work on your nutrient regimen by prioritizing what you are feeding your plants. Feel free to contact us at We Grow if you would like assistance in dialing in either.

Your first time visiting a Hydro Store, ahhh yes. You eagerly walk in, just to have your eagerness turned into a “huhh?”. All the equipment, the different bags of media, what are those square things, and could there be any more containers?! You tell the person behind the counter that you are looking for ‘nutrients’ as they point you to an aisle that might as well be an alley lined by two walls made of bottles. Seeing your confusion, the clerk steps into the aisle with you and starts breaking down what’s what. So you see that there are different brands, and each brand pretty much has a comparable product to the other just with a different name. Then comes question of the year, “so which one is the best?”.

Let me ask you this first. Would you ask the clerk at 7-11 what kind of soda is best before you purchase yours? Do you ask anyone at the grocery store which cereal is the best before you pick yours? And even if you ask the Cast Member at Disneyland which is the best ride, it does not mean that you will agree with them when you get off. The point…. The best plant nutrient is decided the same as anything else, and that is personal preference. The difference in this case is the plant is the person. Just as you decide whether you like Coke or Pepsi better, the best nutrient for your plant will completely depend on the plant itself. The only way to know which one is the best for your plant would be to try them all.

Now that you know not to let brand steer you, you still don’t know which one is best for your plant and you are not about to buy them all for an experiment. Ah, but we do know that they are all comparable so let’s see which program fits your style as a grower first. After all, you are the one growing these picky little things. Are you someone with a good grasp on the concept of mixing nutrients and what/when supplements are used or do you like simplicity and ease-of-use? Still unsure? Well, at home, do you use a 3-in-1 BodyWash/Shampoo/Conditioner or do you feel that you get a more thorough clean when you have 3 separate items specific to their cleaning purpose? This will at least get you to the right section in the nutrient aisle.

You have decided now whether you want a simple or a specific nutrient program, and the ‘hydro-clerk’ can show you a few nutrient lines that would work for you. Listen to what separates one from the other. “This is X base, this is Y base, this is X sugar, this is Y sugar, oh but X formula has ‘Whatever’ that Y doesn’t have”.  See what makes them unique, and what appeals to you and/or to your wallet. This will get you on the right track.

Which nutrient is the best will be decided by your plant, but if it doesn’t work well with you to begin, you will get poor results regardless. Once you have established what works well with you, and have familiarized yourself with mixing and supplementing you will then be able to conduct true tests and controls of your own to start finding what your plants like best. And remember, someone saying it’s the best doesn’t mean it will be the best for you. In a group of college graduates one will have been spanked, one was grounded, one was given time outs, one was a latch key kid, etc. but they all graduated didn’t they. There are many ways to get to the finish line and what matters is which way will get you there, not how the other guy got there.

All too often people have a problem in the garden and make the trip to the local hydro store (or website) asking “What bottle will fix my problem?”. In a society where there is a pill to “cure” anything and everything I understand the mode of thinking, but let’s get back to the basics. Feed a child the best nutrition but raise them in a home without boundaries, and see what kind of adult you get. And no matter how many steaks you feed it, that lion will never stay in your backyard. So, no matter what fertilizers/supplements you give to your plants they are not going to do well in the wrong environment. Banana Trees don’t grow in the Arctic.

When you see problems arising, the first thing to check is your environment. Temperature, humidity, light schedule, watering schedule, pH levels, air circulation. These are all things controlled by Mother Nature in her garden, so you must do the same in yours. Temp and humidity fluctuates with season, and each plants has it’s season. Find out yours, and get the temp and humidity as close as you can. Sunlight hours also change with season, get your plants on the right schedule. Stop watering so much! The most common problem is over watering. If there is water available to the plant, it does not need more! Make sure plants have a chance to use up the water available to them, this will stimulate roots to stretch and search for water giving you more growth. Plants absorb nutrients at different rates when pH changes, to optimize your nutrient uptake always make sure your pH is at an acceptable level. Last but not least, fresh CO2 is constantly available to plants in nature so make sure you have good air circulation….they need to breathe!

The #1 most common thing that people try to fix with a bottle is “yellowing”. Most people will see some yellowing and come right in saying they need a nitrogen boost, or need to correct a calcium/magnesium deficiency. But now we have our new mode of thinking! Before running to the store, first ask yourself all the environmental questions. How is my temp and humidity? Has my light schedule been interrupted? Have I been watering too much? Are my pH levels out of range? What some don’t know, is that watering too much can also cause yellowing. Answering this question first saves you the money on a bottle that still wouldn’t have solved the problem! If your environment is dialed in and you are still having the problems, then we can talk about products that can help.

This also applies to supplements and boosters. All too often I hear people say that they didn’t notice any difference from a product. Remember, environment first and then the juice. Any and all additives will be most noticed and will work the best when the environment is dialed in. Two things to take from this. One, you can’t discredit ANY product until your environment is on point. Two, save your money for supplements and additives until your environment is on point.

Ok, so from now on we are thinking of environment first so that our plants can then utilize all the goodness that we are feeding them. Good. Always remember how much environment can affect the functionality of a plant. Heat causes transpiration and more water use, high humidity can cause stomata to stay closed and not transpire at all, low humidity causes more water use, light schedules tell the plant what time of year it is, roots with too much water available to them will not reach for it, roots breath oxygen and foliage CO2 so make sure they can breathe, and the list goes on. When your plant can function properly, it can then utilize nutrients to expand growth to its full potential. In the end, the garden with great environment and cheap/minimal nutrients will ALWAYS do better than the garden with great nutrients and a cheap/minimal environment.

Hydroponics is for anyone who would like to eat healthier, save money, or even make money (i.e. Farmers Market, County Fair, etc.). So which group are you? I think of myself as part of all three. But they say it uses too much water, they say I’m feeding my plants with “chemicals”, they say I need to practically be a chemist, it’s expensive! No, no, NO…. let’s get the facts straight. In this day and age it is about time that people get a better understanding of Hydroponics, what it is, how it works, and the many ways that it can benefit them.

First, we are wiping the slate clean. Hydroponics saves water because you can use the same nutrient reservoir for a full week. Imagine how much money would be saved on your home water bill if your sprinklers re-used the same water for a whole week! You would be paying 85% less! Hydroponics is definitely water conserving. Simply take a look at projects like ‘Hydro For Hunger’ where they are using Simplified Hydroponics to help battle third world starvation http://www.hydroforhunger.org/articles_view.aspx?id=32. Also check out systems like aquaponics that combine fish culture and hydroponics. You NEVER have to replace your water with this system, you only have to top it off accordingly. Ok, you got it, water saved…not wasted. And water saved = money saved.

All too often, hydroponic fertilizers are referred to as “chemicals”. Maybe it’s because they come in a bottle in liquid form and not in a bag in poop form like manure, I don’t know. Either way, it’s wrong. There are essentially two types of fertilizers out there…. Organic based, and Mineral based. Organic being from decomposed, carbon-based, once living matter. Mineral based, or what is referred to as “Synthetic” or “Chemical”, is in fact mined mineral salts and that is all. Very similar to a one-a-day vitamin you would take. So no chemicals, only organics and minerals.

Now of course, you have a degree in botany/chemistry right? Well me neither, and I’ve been growing successfully for years. You know, my grandma and my 9 year old do very well in the garden too. Hydroponics is no more difficult than traditional gardening. The first response to that is usually “well, you have to check the pH and adjust it with chemicals, and I feel like a mad scientist”. Ok, let’s not over exaggerate. It’s no more difficult than a fish tank, a pool, or a Jacuzzi and how many of us have those?! Do you need to be a chemist? No, this is something that everyone can do, at any age.

“But it’s expensive”. In today’s economy I am not surprised to hear this and let’s face it, none of us can afford to waste money. Ok, think of your membership to your local “Bulk Buy Warehouse-Co”. First you pay for your membership, and then you can enjoy the savings. And everyone is happy in the end because their yearly savings amounts to much more than the cost of their yearly membership. The same with hydroponics, you invest up front to enjoy savings all year and the savings far outweighs the investment. Now you will be eating all natural and organic, or can even take it to your local Farmers Market for profit! Not to mention, hydroponics is extremely D-I-Y friendly and can be done with many items that can already be found around your house (i.e. plastic totes, Styrofoam, plastic cups, empty soda/juice bottles, etc.). So while there may be some upfront cost or investment, you will harvest savings and nutritious, pesticide free food all year round regardless of season.

So the next time you hear someone say, “Whoo-wee Vern, isn’t Hydroponics only for NASA to grow vegetables in space?”, you can school ‘em. Hydroponics has been deemed by many as farms of the future. We don’t use rotary phones, telegraphs, eight tracks, or floppy discs anymore….so in all the advancement, why do we continue to use outdated methods of gardening ? Hydro veggies for thought ……..