Hydroponic Gardening DIY

So garden finally getting going again.

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The new reservoir fitted. Had to raise the support so it could fit under the structure. It's supposed to take 160L but I've only filled it to 130 at the moment. I've had the setup running for the last day or so now so I will squeeze another 20-30L in as the buckets have filled and are keeping some of the water in them.

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Seems like most of them are taking. Mostly basil and coriander at the moment with some brinjals in between. Will see how I'm going to handle it if they get to a stage where they bare fruit. (if)

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Does anyone know of a place I can buy rockwool sheets in Pretoria? Looking to make up some acoustic panels
 
Electric said:
I buy direct from greenfingers in 5l containers.
At builders it's also under R100 if I remember correctly.

Regarding topping of the plant.
You are trying to get it to bush over growing tall.
A bushy plant produces more leaves & flowering points.
Just remember to not allow the new side shoots to get to tall either.
It's a constant game of pruning for best coverage of foliage.
The more you prune the more you harvest essentially.

You can even go as far as topping the basil flowers which can extend the actual veg stage a bit resulting in a longer harvest period.
Harvest being the leaves in this case and not the flower/seeds.
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Bit of a BUMP here. I have still not seen the nitrosol cheaper anywhere. I would like to try it but the 500ml bottle is over R100 everywhere I've looked.

Also trying to source those bloody grommets again. They're so useful but so difficult to get hold of.
 
Some updated pics. I have ordered some rubber grommets from aliexpress for about R230 for 200 of them for attaching the electric conduit to buckets etc. I think they work out much nicer and easier than other options.

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Growing very nicely are you able to use everything? It looks like you have quite a lot of the same.
 
Beachless said:
Growing very nicely are you able to use everything? It looks like you have quite a lot of the same.
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The dutch buckets are all tomatoes(cherry and other varieties) and I eat a lot so thats easy enough to finish. Same goes for the coriander and basil. Actually most of them will be easy to use up. I have planted more of the common herbs so later in the season I'll be making lots of basil pesto as well :D The Brinjals are just for lol's at the moment. No idea how they will turn out.
 
Zenbaas said:
The dutch buckets are all tomatoes(cherry and other varieties) and I eat a lot so thats easy enough to finish. Same goes for the coriander and basil. Actually most of them will be easy to use up. I have planted more of the common herbs so later in the season I'll be making lots of basil pesto as well :D The Brinjals are just for lol's at the moment. No idea how they will turn out.
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From what I've seen from veggie plants you're going to be feeding the whole neighbourhood tomatoes. My mom has a veggie patch and with just a few plants shes always giving away peppers, tomatoes, gemsquash and other things because they carry so much.

But rather too much than too little I supose, my fruit trees I planted are taking forever I only had 3 oranges, a few figs this year from 6 trees :cry:
 
So anyone here growing with coco peat/coir...? I'm keen to try seeding with it instead of rockwool.....
 
Zenbaas said:
No one then...?
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No one it is then :D Will be trying it as an alternative pretty soon.



Growing some chillies as well. There are about three different chillies types growing here. Looking forward to the Jalapeños. :D
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Nitrosol

Hello everyone
Thanks for all the info you guys have shared here.
I am looking for any information regarding the use of Nitrosol in hydroponic systems. I am interested especially on how you dilute it and how often you change the whole batch of solution.
Thank you.

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hydromax said:
Hello everyone
Thanks for all the info you guys have shared here.
I am looking for any information regarding the use of Nitrosol in hydroponic systems. I am interested especially on how you dilute it and how often you change the whole batch of solution.
Thank you.

nitrosol%20organic%20plant%20food%20200ml.jpg
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Better question is where can it be purchased at an affordable price..? Search for nitrosol in this thread. I know Electric discussed it at some point.
 
I know electrics comments are on page 12. I was hoping someone might share their specific experience and how they dilute it in a hydroponic system they manage. I paid R109.00 at Game in Durban. Thank the dreadful rand exchange rate for the high cost of so many of these products.
 
hydromax said:
I know electrics comments are on page 12. I was hoping someone might share their specific experience and how they dilute it in a hydroponic system they manage. I paid R109.00 at Game in Durban. Thank the dreadful rand exchange rate for the high cost of so many of these products.
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As far as I know he was the only one who has/had actually used it so I can't comment on that front. Maybe PM him...?
 
I assembled my custom Hydroponic system yesterday, will finish Monday morning, after a quick run to the shop.
I have two noob question: I was wondering, how long do you run the water through the system? Do you run it 24/7 or just a few hours a day? I can't seem to find any info on this anywhere.
Also, I'm using PVC gutters with small rocks/gravel in them (bought from builders), do I just plant the seeds in them? I think large seeds should be fine, I'm just concerned that the small Broccolli seed I want to plant will end up in the water tank.
 
You should upload some pics so we can actually see how your setup looks and what it is. Are you running a NFT/Ebb and Flow/bubbler etc. I'm guessing it's NFT but show us some pics.

Will the gravel be your growing medium...? You can use that but it isn't ideal depending on where your setup is. Also growing seed straight in the system will be probably yield poor results. Unless you're using something like coco peat as a growing medium.
 
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Did a quick setup by my folks place with stuff lying around. Still took a while to get it all together though. Decided to try and combine a Dutch bucket and normal NFT system together and it seems to work pretty well at the moment.

I used rubber grommets for the seals with the piping and it works really well. Not a single leak. It also works out very well cost wise because you can use simple electrical conduit for your pipes.

I found a place in CPT that sells the grommets for a great price..! No more paying out your ass for them. I paid R170 odd for a 100 of them and that included shipping costs. Will add the details in this thread when I get back from holiday.
 

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Ok, so for how long do you run the water (how long do you turn the pump on)? Do you leave it running 24/7 or just a few hours a day?
 
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