Started my solo hydro grow and was looking for a decent water chiller for maybe two plants. Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated. TIA

Looking to get a small indoor smart garden, and this is all new to me. While it appears the most mainstream option is the Click & Grow, I see other options—presumably off-brands—on Amazon and other places, seem to have the same features (light, pump, wifi app), be made of stainless steel, and often will have as many as 12 cups, compared to the Click & Grow that holds 3 for the same price. Is there something else I should be looking for, or are these alternatives as good of a deal as they seem to be?

I bought a 12 pod MUGFA system. The only place I really had was on my window sill but it has a radiator underneath like lots of NYC apartments which I've turned as low as I can but it won't go off. Will this destroy (or help) the plant growth?

I’m based in Colorado and have some extra space in my barn that I thought might make a good home for a hydroponic system. I’m not really sure where to start though. Because the temps are pretty extreme I’m thinking I want to get a grow tent to insulate my crops and keep my growing season as long as possible. I was looking at some AC infinity systems that look nice but realized quickly that I’m not even sure where to start this process. Any tips on just the over all planning? I know this is a broad question but the more I read and research the more I feel like I’m missing some steps. I don’t want to get all the way to set up and realize I’ve overlooked something critical. TL;DR where do I start and what steps should I be following to get started on a hydroponic setup? I want to keep the area around 4-6 feet wide.

Still going strong!

Hi all! I’m looking for an indoor hydroponic system for my gf for Christmas. I’m curious if there are better options than the Gardyn or similar companies that make you use their own seeds or supplies. I’ll admit I’m ignorant in this subject but thinking this would be a good gift as my gf as she has a whole apartment full of plans already. I don’t mind spending the money on a decent system but imo it feels wrong to be locked into one ecosystem of whatever brand you get.

Thank you for your time!!

Howdy All!

I have a shady wooded half acre lot and want to start working on some hydro. Are shipping containers a good option? Heating/cooling? Whats a good bang for my buck way to go about this?

-Josh

Hey everyone! Recently dived into hydroponics and have limited knowledge when it comes to plants. Decided to tackle growing Carolina reapers and everything has been going well up till this point. Does anyone have any idea what this could be? Deficiency, nute burn, disease or anything else?

Thank you for your help!

I feel like I have not been having the best of luck with hydro overall. Learning lots though. After trying various methods including drip feed and DWC, I am doing a mixture of Kratky, Kratky with air stone and Kratky until the level drops and then keeping it there. I am growing lettuce. Starting EC 1.5 and pH 6. 2 inch net cups and hydroton media.

I am having constant trouble trying to efficiently get the seedling going. I have good germination rate when using a raft over plain water. I use a small cotton pad on top of the clay balls and push the net cups down into the styrofoam raft until the pad gets visibly wet. This seems to work but then when I transfer into the system there seems to be quite a long time for the plants to get going. Also plants raised like this often seem more leggy even if I transfer with just 2-3 true leaves.

Recently I tried to sprout directly in Kratky. Same method and starting with the nutrient solution high enough to wet the cotton pad and putting straight under lights. This has been less successful - about half of the recent batch seems to start to sprout and then die before a leaf was produced. The other half in the same grow bed and same height in the net cup seemed to work though. This means I am trying to play catch up to fill these holes in the grow bed before the level drops which is not ideal with Kratky.

The net cups were about 1 cm deep in the solution and cups were about 3/4 full with clay balls. Not sure if it is the water level was too high and drowning them or the nutes killing them off but I know it isn't the seeds. Dr Kratky mentions in various videos that you can sprout directly in the system but doesn't seem to demonstrate this. If you read recommendations from nutrient manufacturers they usually recommend a dilute nute mix for first few weeks. I'm trying to achieve a routine that is effective and not labour intensive but am failing. I don't mind the idea of a staging area to sprout and then transfer.

I have also done trials with peat/perlite mix but had poor results and found it too messy. Currently I am also trialling the hydroton with a mop thread wick down the centre and seed sitting on top in the hope it might give a bit more height and space for air between the seedling and the water by not relying on the poor wicking ability of the hydroton to provide the moisture.

Anyone got any tips for a better method? Does anyone have good success sprouting directly in their system?

For my DWC setup, I like to scrub the revivor down every couple of months but it's a PITA to disconnect the air lines. Anyone know of good quick disconnects for aquarium airline tubing?

Hear me out.
I need some advice.

Short: Used to do this with aerogarden's all-in-one solution but the price just keeps going up for a jug. Can I mix up a nutrient solution using the flora series, toss it into a 5 gallon bin with air stone and just top up with water as my greens grow? (Think lettuce, bok choy, chard, kale and so on)

Long: I was gifted an aerogarden a few years ago, this started me on the path to where I am now. The aerogarden was too small to really grow lettuce or bok choy or whatever. So I got a couple shallow plastic bins that hold several gallons of water and drilled holes in the top that fit the aerogarden baskets. I made two of these. Then I made some with larger baskets and rockwool/lava rocks. I've been successfully growing various greens.
Bought flora micro/grow/bloom jugs. I've watched the video on how to mix up a batch of solution so nothing precipitates out. Does it really need to be changed every 7-10 days? What's different with this stuff vs the aerogarden's jug where you just top it up with a bit every couple of weeks and add water as it gets low? I'm lazy, I'd love to stay lazy.

I'm just trying to grow a bit of fresh food for myself here folks.

I’ve had a variety of Chinense peppers in DWC for 2 weeks after sprouting them in seed starter mix and waiting for their first set of true leaves.

Seedlings are in Rockwool cubes and 3” net pots with Hydroton. Up until now I have had the nutrient level high enough that the singular root reaches the water, though I think the level of my aeration is keeping the Rockwool pretty wet.

Either way, they has been nearly zero growth of the roots.

Should I drop the nutrient solution an enough that it doesn’t soak the Rockwool and just go to top-watering once a day, and hope the roots pick up speed?

Also, I’ve read that skipping the Rockwool all together and putting seedlings into straight Hydroton in the net pots may be a better route to promote early root growth in seedlings?

Hello everyone I’m an iOT fan and I’m currently in the process of creating a real fully automated hydroponic smart garden from the automated lights height , time and color adjustment depending of the plants cycle also the nutrients balance and the maintaining of it’s mixed status also it ensure the correct nutrients based on the plant current cycle It also predicts the health plants possible problems using cameras and Ai (this feature will be paid extra as a subscription as it requires servers running constantly) The subscription will include a monitoring of the plants from your phone or computer I want to depending on your honest thoughts what should the system be sold at in the retail price and what should the subscription price be (the subscription can include the pre planted seeds but it’s optional) My goal is not to become rich or make tons of money but i wish to make the indoor planting hassle free and accessible for every house

Help

Hi everyone!

I’ve recently come across a smart indoor gardening system called Vext, and I’m curious if anyone here has tried it or heard about it. It seems to be a European brand that uses some fog-growing technology and has an app for controlling light schedules and monitoring water levels.

It looks sleek, and I like the idea of having something modern and stylish that doesn’t take much effort to maintain, I also like the closed nature of Vext as I have a cat which I don't want eating my plants, but it seems there aren't many out there yet, so I wanted to ask.

- What are your first impressions, could it be worth trying?

- How does it compare to other smart gardens like Click & Grow, Rise Gardens, or Gardyn?

P.S. I’m in Europe, so I’d also love to know what other smart garden options are available here.

Would really appreciate any thoughts or experiences you can share. Thanks in advance!

I recently got an Aerogarden and am struggling with what to grow first.

I feel like most things aren't worth the effort in taste and quality to grow over buying at the grocery store.

What are some of your favorites that have been worth it?