Sunday, April 02, 2006

Aeroponic Cloning

Plant cloning is not a new concept and aeroponic cloning is basically the exact same thing only the cultivation of sibling/cloned plants is done using aeroponic cloning instead of the more traditional soil-potting.

Here is basic step-by-step guide to starting your own aeroponic cloning operation. We've left some gaps but we think you'll be able to fill them in if you think about it!!

1. Select a healthy branch from the parent plant with several clusters of leaves.
2. Cut off a piece of the branch leaving at least 2 leaf nodes intact
3. Remove the largest few leaves as they can be hard for a rootless plant to maintain in the early stages.
4. Then remove all branches and leaves apart from the top 2 sets.

You are now well on your way to procuding your first crop of cloned plants. For a more thorough guide to get you through the next/critical steps we recommend you visit the below page for some excellent advice:
http://www.bghydro.com/BGH/static/articles/1205_cloning.asp

Good luck with your Aeroponic Cloning Project!!

Aeroponics

Aeroponics is a little bit like the extremely clever younger brother of Hydroponics. Many people are amazed at the concept of hydroponic gardening - "you can grow plants without soil?" they might say. But Aeroponics takes that technology to a new level whereby the plants don't even sit in water for a feed anymore. Aeroponics is basically a system that allows the roots of the plants to be sprayed with nutrient-rich water vapour. Isn't that amazing? No soil needed, no elaborate flooding & draining system of hydroponics. Instead, the plants simply get sprayed with nutrient-rich mist and their roots grow at an alarming rate.

Startup Aeroponics kits can be found for as little as £40 or $70 so there is really no excuse for not having a go at Aeroponic growing in your spare time or as a summer project etc. We hope you enjoy your aeroponic exploits and adventures.

Hydroponic Growing

How do you grow a plant? You need soil, water and a seed right?
Well not any more. Allow me to introduce to you the concept of Hydroponic Growing. This basically removes the soil from the growing process and in its place you have a variety of nutrients & vitamins that a plant/seed needs to grow and produce fruit.

The concept of hydroponic growing, therefore, is quite simple - throw out the soil, bring in nutrients, and away you go. But as with most things it is harder to do, takes longer to master and costs more money than you might initially think. Hydroponic growing is usually done indoors. This means we need a replacement for the Sun's natural light and so instead, one must use hydroponic grow lights to provide the right amount of light for optimum growth.

One also needs a quite varied array of hydroponic equipment in order to succeed. This can be very costly and is often the deciding factor that turns away many enthusiastic beginners into the world of hydroponic growing - they simply cannot justify the startup costs.

For those lucky enough to be able to afford the right equipment you then have the problem of expertise. The popularity of hydroponic growing is still fairly recent and so there is a general shortage of good literature on the subject that is aimed at taking someone with a basic interest in the field through to being a self-sufficient hydroponic gardener. Places like Amazon and eBay do help people get hold of various books but choosing the right book can be critical and is beyong the scope of this article to go into.

In closing then, we would simply recommend that you do not spend a single penny on hydoponic equipment until you have read around the subject sufficiently and have seen several working hydroponic growing setups and have spoken with some experienced hydroponic gardeners. Only then will you know if you still have the motivation and interest to make a good go of it.

Discount Hydroponics

The evolution of Hydroponics as a hobby, a business and as a phenomenon has been blindingly apparent in recent years. Hydroponic Stores have been popping up in prime shopping locations, advertising billboards are now carrying Hydroponic advertisements and general awareness of Hydroponics has almost reached "mainstream" status.

The increase of hydronic stores has lead to increased competition amongst vendors and what this always means is that prices inevitably drop. Vendors are prepared to take a small profit and they rely instead on increased sales to cover the bills and put food on their table at home. When competition becomes particular fierce amongst vendors we see discount hydroponics being offer. This is a situation where prices are dropped significantly below the manufacturer's own RRP price. Discount Hydroponics therefore can be seen as a good thing for the consumer because it means hydroponic supplies can be found at lower prices.

But what does this means for the vendors?
Discount hydroponics practices have been blamed for the close of several high profile stores in recent months. They were left with no option but to drop their prices inline with the current price cuts but due to slow sales they could no longer keep up with their outgoings and withing 3 months of getting into trouble, they had ceased to open their doors to customers.

Government legislation doesn't really provide any protection against this kind of aggressive pricing. Technically you are allowed to SELL at below-RRP prices but you are not allowed to ADVERTISE at below-RRP prices. However, loopholes exist to make this whole situation mute and thus discount hydroponics are still prevelent on the market today.

If you want to make a difference, don't simply buy from the store who offer discount hydroponics, instead buy from those who have an obvious passions for the field and a commitment to customer relations. It is these stores that deserve and need the support of the everyday hydroponic gardener.

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Hydroponic Stores

Hydroponic Stores are popping up all over the place and this is a sure indication that the whole Hydroponics industry is on the rise (not that it takes a genius to work that out anyway). The obvious plus points of this are that prices come down, availability goes up, informative professionals go up and as a result of all this your life gets easier and your yields get higher.

Forgive me for saying this next part eBay is a driving force in the world of hydroponic stores. Not only are the well-established hydroponic stores listing their products on there but smaller, independent, "cottage industry" stores are also listing their products. And guess who is cheapest? Yes, its the small guy because he doesn't have to maintain a large, well-situated shop premises.

This is a threat to the retail trade of of hydroponics equipment etc. but is a massive boost for the consumer who gets their products cheaper and quicker than relying on their local hydroponic stores to have the relevent stock in on demand.

So you have 2 options:
1. Support your local hydroponic stores
or
2. Look after your wallet and shop with eBay etc.

Far be it from me to tell you which buying method to go with. That's one for you to work out alone!

Happy Growing!

Hydroponic Equipment

"Give a man the right tools and he can feed his family for life"

Not exactly the PERFECT quote for this page but hopefully you get my point... your hydroponic yields will only be as good as your hydroponic equipment. So be careful about the equipment you select and the brands you choose to purchase.

Sure, it can be tempting to just buy what the shop-keeper advises you to buy but in the end, you REALLY should make a note of the kind of hydroponic equipment he has in stock and then go away and do your own research into those products. You will definately end up with a better collection of hydroponic equipment this way. You may end up spending more money but that will be because you will end up buying superior quality equipment.

So without further ado, here is a list of hydroponic equipment manufacturers. We have quoted the below information from the excellent homeharvest.com website.

American Hydroponics (www.amhydro.com)
A 'most excellent' website, as well as a very progressive company... located in beautiful Arcata, Cali. An excellent resource for commercial hydroponic information.

General Hydroponics (www.genhydro.com)
The graphics on this site alone are worth a visit. General Hydroponics is one of the oldest manufacturers of hydroponic equipment in the world. Lots of product information.

Green Air Products (www.greenair.com)
Another grandfather in the hydroponic equipment industry, Green Air has been pumping out quality environmental control products since before we can remember... if you need any information about any of their products, this is the place to look. Lots of other hard-to-find, important information as well.

Hanna Instruments (www.hannainst.com)
Hanna produces testing equipment for virtually anything you can think of you would want to test. Incredible product information.

HydroDynamics, International (www.hydrodynamicsintl.com)
HydroDynamics, Int'l., manufacturers of Ionic Plant Nutrients, Green Fuse Plant Stimulants, Clonex Cloning Gel and Cloning Solution, Fossil Fuel Humic Acids, the IGS - Indoor Growing System, The Truncheon, The pH Truncheon and much more.

Hydrofarm (www.hydrofarm.com)
Over twenty-five years of quality, incredible customer service and a devoted staff have made Hydrofarm an industry leader in plant grow lights and hydroponic equipment manufacturing.

Sunlight Supply (www.sunlightsupply.com)
A relative newcomer to the industry, Sunlight Supply has demonstrated a committment to quality products and offers many choices in lighting systems not available elsewhere.

Technaflora Plant Products, Ltd. (www.technaflora.com)
Founded in 1995, Technaflora Plant Products, Ltd. is a Canadian owned and operated company located in Vancouver, British Columbia. Boasting a full line of exceptional plant nutrients and additives, Technaflora Plant Products has emerged as a leader in the specialty gardening industry

Hydroponic Nutrients

When you mention the phrase "Hydroponic Gardening" to someone, the question that normally follows is "what's that?". And the invetible answer is that Hydroponics is the practise of growing plants in solution/water rather than in soil.

This then leads on to the logical assumption that one must mix some sort of nutrients in with the water to replace the plant food normally found in the soil.

And so it follows on that Plant Nutrient (and knowing what to do with it) is a key element in the search for a successful hydroponic project.

So this page will serve to provide some reliabel resources which you can use when investigating which hydroponic nutrients to use with your own hydoponic system.

It would be foolish of me to list the current "best" hydroponic nutrients products currently on the market because this article would then go out of date rather quickly as new products hit the market. So instead I shall simply give advice on where to start looking for your hydroponic nutrients.

It is quite rare that a relative "newbie" to hydroponic gardening will know exactly what hydroponic nutrients they should be using. So a period of research ensues. Google, is the first place people often think to look but in my experience, getting hold of some recent hydroponic publications/magazines is one of the best ways to go. After that you should have built up a basic working knowledge of hydorponic nutrients and from there you may wish to discuss what you have learn with other gardeners online or you may be ready to pop to your nearest hydroponic nutrients store and start buying.

Either way, remember the following:

* Always ask questions. Ask the shopkeeper, ask the hydroponic internet forums and ask the ebay sellers about their products. This is really the best way to learn so be brave, and start asking

* Never settle for average results. Always experient with different hydroponic nutrients combinations and strengths. Record what you learn in a chart for future reference

I hope this helps you on your way just a little bit :)

Hydroponic Systems

This page deals briefly with the question of Hydroponic Systems - What is available? What Price will I have to pay? Where can I buy starter systems from. We hope you find it useful.

Hydroponic Systems come in a variety of styles aimed at different end users with different budgets and ambitions. Growell is a company that produces a variety of Hydroponic Systems that you may consider. Here are just some of their products. You can see full details and full current product lists at www.growell.co.uk

AquaFarm & WaterFarm Systems
These are Self contained drip through systems

The EcoSystem Vertical Growing System
This is tipped as being the future of hydroponic growing

Coliseum Vertical Growing Systems
300 plant site vertical system in a compact space. Very exciting system well worth a closer look.

Dutch Dripper Kit
Holland's favourite system... and the Dutch really do know how to do their Hydroponics properly.

Where to buy?
It's hard to give advice regarding buying because this website has viewers from all corners of the globe. But in general you should try searching ebay, google and looking in hydroponic gardening magazines for stores near to you that you can visit.

Other general advice regarding Hydroponic Systems would include taking a trip to your local store and just asking as many questions as you can think of and reading as many magazines as you can. It's good to get exposed to as many different systems as possible before you actually jump in and make a purchase - especially as you can easily spend thousands!

Good luck!

Hydroponic Supplies

In years past it has been very difficult to find any reliable, well-stocked Hydroponic Supplies stores. Thankfully with the dawn of consumer hydroponics for the common man this has meant that hydroponic supplies can now be found in many high street shops & stores. It is still early days so you can still expect availability to increase, prices to drop and shop numbers to increase.

So where can we currently buy Hydroponic Supplies from?
There are a number of reliable hydroponic supplies outlets currently available. Here are just a few of them:

Hydroponic Supplies on eBay
You might raise your eyebrows at this suggestion but it does make perfect sense really. For people who are perhaps a little bit too busy for visiting physical retail outlets ebay provides a genuinely excellent service. The drawbacks are that postage costs can often be quite costly and you don't REALLY know the quality of the item until it arrives and you unwrap it. But for those who know exactly what they want, ebay can be a great option. To get started, just visit www.ebay.com or www.ebay.co.uk for example and search for "hydroponics" or anything else you can think of

Hydroponic Supplies on Google
Another strange suggestion perhaps but again it makes perfect sense. Just go to www.google.com and search for "hydropnics" or "hydroponic supplies" and you will soon see that there is a wealth of online stockists who can deliver to your area. I would recommend actually phoning the shops you find to get the best possible information and advice. This Google advice is good because it helps support your local suppliers. eBay can often cut out the suppliers making shops struggle to stay in business. So where possible, support your local shops.

Hydroponic Supplies in Magazine Adverts
This is another good way to get good products whilst also supporting the hydroponics industry. A good place to start could be with the magazine found here:
www.hydroponics.com.au - it is Australian but I'm sure the articles discussed will be equally valid wherever you live. There will also be international advertisements placed by global vendors.

We hope this brief guide has been of use to you. Good luck with finding your local hydroponic supplies store.

General Hydroponics - Products, Price etc

General Hydroponics has long been considered the leading manufacturer/supplier of Hydroponics equipment. It should come as no surprise therefore that they do indeed have a wide range of products available on the market. This page simply serves as a brief guide to the range of products that you can expect to find at your local stockist.

General Hydroponics provide some of the following ranges of products. For full, current information you should visit www.genhydro.com:

General Hydroponics - Drip Systems
For growers who want top results without much effort should look at the WaterFarm, MegaFarm, PowerGrower or EcoGrower. Each of these systems can be operated as single stand-alone modules, or interconnected in groups of two to sixteen modules with the optional controller systems. Waterfarm, Megafarm and Ecogrower are 3 such drip systems offered by General Hydroponics

General Hydroponics - Aeroponics
If you are looking for high growth rates, look no further than the AeroFlo2 or the RainForest. Running an AeroFlo2 or a RainForest is like driving a very fast car, the grower must look ahead and anticipate what's to come. AeroFlo2 Series and Rainforest Series are to such Aeroponic systems offered by General Hydroponics.

General Hydroponics - For Propagation
For propagating cuttings or quick-starting seeds, transplants or seedlings, there is no hydroponic system that will match the performance of the RainForest. Or try the best organic rooting plug available, the Rapid Rooter. Rainforest Series and Rapid Rooter Series are two currently available hydroponic systems for propagation

General Hydroponics - Larger Systems
Serious growers who want a larger system should look at the EuroGrower. The EuroGrower comes with 8 individual 2 gallon pots that fit together on top of the 40-gallon Panda reservoir. The Eurogrower comes complete with our famous Flora Nutrients and all the hardware you need. Eurogrower, Waterfarm controller and AeroFlo2 Series are 3 such available larger systems, but be prepared to open your wallet wider than usual for these ones!!

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Hydroponic Systems

Hydroponics Systems are mint innit!

There are a quite a large variety of hydroponic systems available on the market today and it can be quite difficult to distinguish between them. Which ones are high quality? Which ones are over-priced? Which ones are the most reliable? Well we have attempted to simplify the whole situation for you by providing a hydroponic systems guide for you below.

Which Hydroponic Systems are the best?

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

State police raid marijuana operation

A 24-year-old Jericho man was cited last week for operating a major marijuana growing operation inside his home on Browns Trace Road.

Vermont State Police executed a search warrant following an investigation by the Northern Vermont Drug Task Force. Inside, police said, they discovered a "sophisticated hydroponics grow operation." Police seized 74 plants as well as an undetermined amount of processed marijuana. Popp's live-in girlfriend, Dawn Majewski, 26, also was cited on felony charges of possession of marijuana and cultivation of marijuana.

Story Quoted from:
www.timesargus.com

Friday, March 03, 2006

Blaze exposes DIY Marajuana factory

A DIY Marajuana factory has been discovered by chance in a quiet Coventry street.

Firefighters stumbled on a huge haul of cannabis plants while attending a fire at 16 Stanway Road, Earlsdon, yesterday afternoon.

They found 149 plants in bedrooms and the attic.

Police were called and they recovered hydroponics equipment, ultraviolet lighting, transformers, thermometers, fans and other equipment.

Sergeant Steve Arnold, of Chace Avenue Police, said it appeared nobody was living at the house and it was solely being used to cultivate cannabis.

Story from:
http://iccoventry.icnetwork.co.uk

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Hydroponics Lab Found Inside Coral Gables Home

A 26-year-old man was arrested Wednesday after police found a hydroponics lab inside the home he rented.

Rolando Abreu is charged with drug trafficking.
Coral Gables police and Drug Enforcement Administration agents searched the home, acting on a tip.

They found 30 plants of high-quality marijuana inside the home located on Tangier Street near Red Road.

'The entire right-hand side of this house is a complete hydroponics system set up,' said Mike Frevola, of Coral Gables Police Department. 'We have 30 plants, approximately 90 to 100 pounds of marijuana, with a street value of $200,000.'

Frevola said the investigation is ongoing

article originally shown on www.nbc6.net

Monday, February 27, 2006

Marajuana Bust!

An elaborate marijuana-grow operation was uncovered early Saturday when 409 plants were confiscated with a street value of more than $250,000, according to Hurley Chief of Police Dan Erspamer.

A bond hearing for two Illinois men, Dale Maki, 41, and Robert Vedernack, 56, each charged with two Class I felonies of manufacturing marijuana and possession with intent to manufacture-deliver marijuana, was scheduled for later today.

Additional charges are pending, Erspamer said.

When officers from the HPD, Iron County Sheriff's Department and Ironwood Public Safety Department executed a search warrant at 1:43 a.m. at 209 Cary Road, scales, lamps and other paraphernalia used in a hydroponics growing operation were also confiscated, he said.

Additional search warrants relating to the case were executed in Ironwood and Ironwood Township, with negative results, Erspamer said.

The search warrants were executed by officers from the IPSD and Gogebic County Sheriff's Department, he added.

Saturday's arrests and seizure followed a month-long investigation by HPD Sgt. Chris Colassaco, patrolman Don Packmayer and ICSD Lt. Tony Furyk.

The investigation was funded through a Cannabis Enforcement and Suppression Effort annual grant which the ICSD has been receiving since about 1996, sheriff Bob Bruneau said.

"This is the largest and most elaborate growing operation I have seen in Iron County," Bruneau said. "Lt. Furyk, Sgt. Colassaco and Packmayer did an excellent job."

Erspamer said he would like to "thank all of the law enforcement agencies for their cooperation. This is a good example of our entire area working together."

From www.ironwooddailyglobe.com