My winter indoor hydroponic/late crop grow log.

[DFBrews]

I am going to make this thread my grow log will update at least once week

Updated 9/10/12

I finally have tomatoes and peppers from the garden this year and a side by side comparing them to even vine ripened tomatoes is night and day. my yeilds dropped way down so I had to go to a grow store because the crappy potting soil in my raised bed ran out of CaMg so the tomatoes i have are flowering but not setting fruit. The store was filled with all sorts of hydroponic goodness. picked up the fertilizer i needed and came home the whole night the gears started turning wondering the feasibility of doing a indoor garden over the winter. Spent the greater part of the evening googling researching/obsessing.

I am going to try a deep water culture 5 gallon bucket. one for tomatoes and the other some variety of hot pepper. Deep water culture is basically a bucket with a net pot in the lid that uses a air pump to oxygenate the water that has nutrients in it. I can not afford the light system that i need at the moment so i decided to do a test run spent less than 40 dollars on a little system that will be perfect for starting cuttings and lettuce when i get the big plants going. all parts except the net pot can be bought at the Depot but i bought them all from the grow store to save time.

I am going to start the cuttings in this one and plant them outdoors with a wall of water type thing and than plant some lettuce

lettuce has a fairly low light requirement so i found an old t5 size aquarium ballast this will be the light source for this little one i will need to get a 200 watt high pressure sodium light for the maters and peppers... need some OT first.



liquid thinking serum also know as homebrew Altbier


IMAG0974 by post_james86, on Flickr

the finished product


IMAG0975 by post_james86, on Flickr

air pump 7.3 l per minute


IMAG0976 by post_james86, on Flickr

bubble bubble bubble


IMAG0977 by post_james86, on Flickr

airstones that need to be attached somehow a wrench suffices for now


IMAG0978 by post_james86, on Flickr

the net pots 2" in size these would be to small for maters but perfect for cuttings which is in there now and lettuce


IMAG0979 by post_james86, on Flickr

[jerrymrc]

keep us updated. never done winter/indoor stuff.

[HoneyBadger]

How important is it to oxygenate the water? You should look into hydroponics... Leaves out the soil and most of the mess.

[Irving]

Only done this with an Aerogarden. Got great results. Please keep us updated, as fresh tomatoes, peppers, and lettuce would be pretty bomb.

[DFBrews]

How important is it to oxygenate the water? You should look into hydroponics... Leaves out the soil and most of the mess.

Critical to have oxy water.... And this is hydro

[HoneyBadger]

Critical to have oxy water.... And this is hydro

I thought hydroponics was growing plants in just a water solution, no soil involved?

[DFBrews]

I thought hydroponics was growing plants in just a water solution, no soil involved?

The plug is made of recycled tree bark. It is a lot like a sponge very absorbing this will be done with no soil. If my cuttings survive I will use the clay balls to support the plant

[Ralph]

I read that tomatoes wont set fruit if the temperatures exceed 86 degrees F.
Is this true?

[HoneyBadger]

The plug is made of recycled tree bark. It is a lot like a sponge very absorbing this will be done with no soil. If my cuttings survive I will use the clay balls to support the plant

Oh neato. Thanks for the info. Good luck! I've been growing cooking herbs inside my house for about 2 months with a similar set-up. The multiple 100+ degree days and the almost constant 20 mph winds here were just killing everything I tried to grow, so I moved it all into a more controlled environment. Because space is limited, I haven't tried growing anything more than herbs though. Right now I have basil, oregano, mint, parsley, cilantro, and rosemary. I'm growing enough to dehydrate and save a bunch of it, but now that I moved it inside, I can keep it alive through the winter and keep my cooking ingredients fresh!

My wife and I LOVE cooking.

[Wulf202]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9f068rVb790
if you want a simple air based ebb and flow system


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugc71...eature=related
window garden