Friday, November 30, 2012
Fort Lauderdale Beach - Plastic Bottle Artwork
Huge Fish on A1A at Fort Lauderdale Beach. Completely made from recycled water bottles. Although a very neat idea, it looks a bit like the fishies are snuggling. Amazing.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Monday, October 1, 2012
Solar/Wind power, All the cool kids are doing it
Solar Power is the conversion of sunlight and wind to energy. Yes, its that simple and free!!! Obviously you have an initial investment but this should pay itself off. Whether it be lowering your electric bill or just having that ease of mind that when everyone else in the neighborhood has no power you are the shining star on the block.
The control charger and the converter your panels are hooked up to then takes the electricity and sends it to the batteries. The batteries you are using are most likely like a camper battery. These produce Direct Current which needs to be converted to Alternating Current in order to power your household. These two boxes act as a buffer in between the batteries, No power should be going directly to the batteries.
You can have as many panels as you like. But the more panels the larger Control Charger you will need to accommodate them.
So how does all this come together to allow you to use the energy you are producing? Below you will find a picture of the heart of it all.
The blue box on the left is your control charger (wired to your windmill). This takes the energy produced and sends it right to the batteries. The Silver box with the yellow and red wire nuts on it is what your panels are ran to, these too are sending that power to the batteries. All wired up as though they are one big battery. Connected to all of the batteries is the inverter. This box is sending the electricity stored in the batteries to your house panel. Next to that was a self installed transfer switch. What this does it it acts as a jumper from your house panel fuses. Your house panel has and on/off for each fuse but the transfer switch allows you to have an extra option for battery. These come in many different sizes depending on how many fuses you are jumping. This one has 6 transfer switches which allows him to power up to 6 different circuits.
Side note: The tubing on the batteries is leading all the harmful and flammable gases that batteries produce when they are over charged and exhausts it outside.
Saturday, September 29, 2012
New Toys!
Snagged me up two of these bad boys. The GH EuroGrower. Ive used this thing for years and finally got two of my own! I loved the results I got and it is an excellent intro to hydroponics systems for a beginner. You can get all the info on it from http://generalhydroponics.com/site/index.php/products/systems/eurogrower1/
Should have these up and running in the next couple weeks, Just have to decide what I wanna put in there!
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Balance is Key: PH levels and why they matter!
PH stands for Potential Hydrogen, It measures the alkalinity or acidity of your water or nutrient mix on a scale from 0-14. 0 being acidic and 14 being alkaline. When it is extremely high or low, it can lead to nutrient lock out which make the nutrients less available for the roots to absorb. It is important to find the balance that allows the highest amount of your nutrients to be taken up by the plant.
There are a couple different options for testing your PH. papers, drops, meters with probes made to go into soil, or my favorite a PH pen. There are tons of options for everyone's pocket size. Although I do recommend spending your money on something nice and most importantly waterproof. You can not pick one up out of your reservoir and stick it in the oven to dry it out like your T-Mobile Sidekick. Most likely that dip in the water has rendered it useless.
You always, always mix your nutrients before adjusting PH. They will most of the time make it more acidic. Every ones water is different, yours may be at an 8 while mine is maybe a 7. Nutrient lines can be made to get you right in that sweet spot just from the mixture, but that is in saying that your PH is starting at, lets say an 8. Not always will you be so lucky. If your not, don't be discouraged. There are products out there that allow you to raise and lower your PH in minutes. You can purchase whats so cleverly named PH Up or PH Down from your local hydro shop.
Some say PH rarely needs to be decreased but in my own personal experience, PH Down was my best friend. Depending on which medium you are growing in some prefer a little lower or higher then the optimal level. I start low. In rockwool I would drop it down to a 5.5. I would check my levels daily if not twice a day. It is important to keep an eye on this in order to avoid issues like that nutrient lock out I mentioned earlier. If you experience this you will need to leach your growing medium of built up salts and start fresh. Just adjusting will not do you any good at this point.
See below, what I call the "sweet spot" graph of PH and how it relates to nutrient absorption
As you can see the optimal range for "most" plants is between a 6 or a 7.This is the most neutral and allows your plants to get the most out of your nutrient supply you pay so much for. Keep in mind your optimal range will also depend on which growing mediums your using.
There are a couple different options for testing your PH. papers, drops, meters with probes made to go into soil, or my favorite a PH pen. There are tons of options for everyone's pocket size. Although I do recommend spending your money on something nice and most importantly waterproof. You can not pick one up out of your reservoir and stick it in the oven to dry it out like your T-Mobile Sidekick. Most likely that dip in the water has rendered it useless.
You always, always mix your nutrients before adjusting PH. They will most of the time make it more acidic. Every ones water is different, yours may be at an 8 while mine is maybe a 7. Nutrient lines can be made to get you right in that sweet spot just from the mixture, but that is in saying that your PH is starting at, lets say an 8. Not always will you be so lucky. If your not, don't be discouraged. There are products out there that allow you to raise and lower your PH in minutes. You can purchase whats so cleverly named PH Up or PH Down from your local hydro shop.
Some say PH rarely needs to be decreased but in my own personal experience, PH Down was my best friend. Depending on which medium you are growing in some prefer a little lower or higher then the optimal level. I start low. In rockwool I would drop it down to a 5.5. I would check my levels daily if not twice a day. It is important to keep an eye on this in order to avoid issues like that nutrient lock out I mentioned earlier. If you experience this you will need to leach your growing medium of built up salts and start fresh. Just adjusting will not do you any good at this point.
See below, what I call the "sweet spot" graph of PH and how it relates to nutrient absorption
As you can see the optimal range for "most" plants is between a 6 or a 7.This is the most neutral and allows your plants to get the most out of your nutrient supply you pay so much for. Keep in mind your optimal range will also depend on which growing mediums your using.
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Cleanliness is next to Godliness
Important Notice!!! Don't be Dirty!!
One common mistake of an inexperienced gardener is not knowing how their unsanitary ways can and WILL cause a mountain of problems. I really pride myself on being clean, keeping algae growth down, and keeping my plants free from build up (suffocating doesn't feel very nice). It is important to prevent your garden from being infested with insects and the growth of disease. Its better to take an extra couple steps to prevent theses problems then spend all your time trying to fix them and not enough time enjoying what your doing.
You cant focus on getting the most out of your plant until the underling issues are taken out of the equation. Why grow a plant 4 feet tall when you could grow it 8? Why not give it the best shot you can. Only one of the many things that could go wrong, yes. But! such a small part can make a large difference when it comes to the quality of your plants.
Its ok when your outside to throw the dead leaves you picked off your plants right on the ground but inside you would be oh such a fool. These piles of dead plant matter and dust attract pests and make a good place for fungus to breed.
Wipe your walls and mop your grow room floors. I know this can be a pain considering you probably spent hours of your time putting everything in there and setting up "the best grow room in the world". Get over it. I know that sometimes taking everything out of the room is just not "do-able" and some people are just lazy. But I am at least warning you. Humidity and temperature will play a role in the mold shacking up in your grow room.
Clean your tools people! Don't give your plants Hep C. Hypothetically of course. Using non sanitized tools leads you right into a dead end. You are introducing your plants to disease right off the bat.
One common mistake of an inexperienced gardener is not knowing how their unsanitary ways can and WILL cause a mountain of problems. I really pride myself on being clean, keeping algae growth down, and keeping my plants free from build up (suffocating doesn't feel very nice). It is important to prevent your garden from being infested with insects and the growth of disease. Its better to take an extra couple steps to prevent theses problems then spend all your time trying to fix them and not enough time enjoying what your doing.
You cant focus on getting the most out of your plant until the underling issues are taken out of the equation. Why grow a plant 4 feet tall when you could grow it 8? Why not give it the best shot you can. Only one of the many things that could go wrong, yes. But! such a small part can make a large difference when it comes to the quality of your plants.
Its ok when your outside to throw the dead leaves you picked off your plants right on the ground but inside you would be oh such a fool. These piles of dead plant matter and dust attract pests and make a good place for fungus to breed.
Wipe your walls and mop your grow room floors. I know this can be a pain considering you probably spent hours of your time putting everything in there and setting up "the best grow room in the world". Get over it. I know that sometimes taking everything out of the room is just not "do-able" and some people are just lazy. But I am at least warning you. Humidity and temperature will play a role in the mold shacking up in your grow room.
Clean your tools people! Don't give your plants Hep C. Hypothetically of course. Using non sanitized tools leads you right into a dead end. You are introducing your plants to disease right off the bat.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Monday, September 17, 2012
Hydroponic Systems
There are lots of different methods and growing systems in hydroponics. Below are the most commonly used ones.
Aeroponics - This system spray or mist water on the root system and are mostly in enclosed environments. They will not require any sort of soil and could function without a media at all. It is good for water conservation and getting air to the root system. The plants roots are growing through the net pot and are suspended in the chambers. This system has 3" net pots filled with hydroton. All my seedlings were started in rockwool starter cubes. It makes potting all these sites pretty fast and simple.
The system pictured above is also considered an NFT system. NFT stands for Nutrient Film Technique. Inside the chambers is a film of nutrient rich water that flows through the tips of the roots. This technique is more commonly used in the commercial gardening industry.
Ebb and Flo - This system will consist of a tray or tub that will periodically fill with water from the reservoir and flow back when your pump kicks off. There are many different mediums you can use in this system. Some prefer one over the other. I prefer Rockwool blocks and slabs. Some like to fill the whole tray with hydroton or pots filled with a soiless media. I think its harder to clean but its your choice! The amount of times you need to flood will be based on the water retention of your media choice. I would flood once or twice a day for 6" blocks.
Drip System - I really love drip systems. They have worked pretty well for me. They are also easily made by the garden hobbyist. You can really use this technique in very many ways. I use tubing to make a main line run from the pump up through pre drilled holes in the bottom center of my tray. "T" off that line and use elbows to run two hard irrigation lines the length of my tray and pinch it off. I then poked holes for each drip line and inserted 1/4" tubing and cap it off with a dripper stake. Thats it and your ready to grow!
Aeroponics - This system spray or mist water on the root system and are mostly in enclosed environments. They will not require any sort of soil and could function without a media at all. It is good for water conservation and getting air to the root system. The plants roots are growing through the net pot and are suspended in the chambers. This system has 3" net pots filled with hydroton. All my seedlings were started in rockwool starter cubes. It makes potting all these sites pretty fast and simple.
The system pictured above is also considered an NFT system. NFT stands for Nutrient Film Technique. Inside the chambers is a film of nutrient rich water that flows through the tips of the roots. This technique is more commonly used in the commercial gardening industry.
Ebb and Flo - This system will consist of a tray or tub that will periodically fill with water from the reservoir and flow back when your pump kicks off. There are many different mediums you can use in this system. Some prefer one over the other. I prefer Rockwool blocks and slabs. Some like to fill the whole tray with hydroton or pots filled with a soiless media. I think its harder to clean but its your choice! The amount of times you need to flood will be based on the water retention of your media choice. I would flood once or twice a day for 6" blocks.
Drip System - I really love drip systems. They have worked pretty well for me. They are also easily made by the garden hobbyist. You can really use this technique in very many ways. I use tubing to make a main line run from the pump up through pre drilled holes in the bottom center of my tray. "T" off that line and use elbows to run two hard irrigation lines the length of my tray and pinch it off. I then poked holes for each drip line and inserted 1/4" tubing and cap it off with a dripper stake. Thats it and your ready to grow!
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