Indoors hydroponics 2023

[pepperhead212]

Not a whole lot going on outside here, but my hydroponics are taking off big time! The old basil was the one thing I had trouble with this year, but I got some new seeds recently, and hopefully it will catch up. I've been eating small salads, with just a few leaves from each of several plants, but I'll have to harvest a bunch of it, and make a dish with all of it. That unknown lettuce I save the seeds from was the fastest to germinate, and to grow. Two old packs of lettuce were not germinating, and a second variety finally took off. The arugula was the fastest, and had the most roots every time I would look at them. The "White Stem" bok choy is listed as 8-10", so not one of the larger varieties, and it's not getting overgrown, so that's good. A few other new things, too.
Arugula, in the hydroponics, 1-13 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Wasabina mustard greens, the bright green, 1-13 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Some leaf lettuce, with some parsley and Thai basil to the left, 1-13 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

White Stem bok choy, a little larger than Toy Choy, but still good for inside. 1-13 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Red epazote, finally getting going, 1-13 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Leaf lettuce, from saved seed, fastest growing, 1-13 by pepperhead212, on Flickr


A couple of cilantro plants, and a couple of Russian Red kale plants, above the chives. 1-13 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

@GinnyPNW What do you have growing this year?

 

[larry_stewart]

Not a whole lot going on outside here, but my hydroponics are taking off big time! The old basil was the one thing I had trouble with this year, but I got some new seeds recently, and hopefully it will catch up. I've been eating small salads, with just a few leaves from each of several plants, but I'll have to harvest a bunch of it, and make a dish with all of it. That unknown lettuce I save the seeds from was the fastest to germinate, and to grow. Two old packs of lettuce were not germinating, and a second variety finally took off. The arugula was the fastest, and had the most roots every time I would look at them. The "White Stem" bok choy is listed as 8-10", so not one of the larger varieties, and it's not getting overgrown, so that's good. A few other new things, too.
Arugula, in the hydroponics, 1-13 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Wasabina mustard greens, the bright green, 1-13 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Some leaf lettuce, with some parsley and Thai basil to the left, 1-13 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

White Stem bok choy, a little larger than Toy Choy, but still good for inside. 1-13 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Red epazote, finally getting going, 1-13 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Leaf lettuce, from saved seed, fastest growing, 1-13 by pepperhead212, on Flickr


A couple of cilantro plants, and a couple of Russian Red kale plants, above the chives. 1-13 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

@GinnyPNW What do you have growing this year?

You have quite a set up. Looks great. My basil in my hydroponics is growing, but at a snails pace. Eventually it will be harvestable. Hopefully before my outdoor basil is ready lol. I usually like planting basil indoors during the winter, cause basil is one of those things that symbolizes summer for me, so its a nice thing to smell when there is snow on the ground.

 

[pepperhead212]

I usually start my basil from cuttings, but this year the early cold triggered every stem to get flowers, and nothing was usable for rootings. And the Siam Queen was the only early seeds that produced, at least that grew. I just bought a pack of seratta, and they came up in just a couple of days, and hopefully will grow well, like the greens!

 

[pepperhead212]

Those days I did a lot outside, one of the things I did was to clean out one of the sub-irrigated planters (SIPs) that had degraded in 8 years, so it was breaking every time I'd move it. I moved the soil mix into a couple of trash cans, totally filling them, then I took the "workings" out of the insides of that, and another one, I emptied in the fall. Then I used those, for making 2 more SIPs, using some 18 gal tubs, from Ollies.

I finished those two SIPs today, after going to Harbor freight to re-stock on a number of items. I cleaned the watering tubes from those old SIPs, that I took apart, then cut the screen to cover the shelves and line the wicking columns. Here's one of them.
Shelf for the first Sub-irrigated planter, with the supports attached with cable ties. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

First SIP almost completely assembled. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished SIP, with screens cut out for the wicking columns and shelf. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The hydroponics is going crazy! I usually just harvest a couple leaves per plant, as it doesn't take much more as a salad, or something to add to a soup or a curry. The bok choy has to be harvested, as it is is flowering. The arugula bolted early - always a problem for me, no matter what variety I grow. But I cut it totally back, a week or so ago, and it seems to be growing, w/o any flowers.
Bok choy, just started to flower, so I'll harvest all of it soon. Epazote on left, getting huge. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Leaf lettuce and mizuna in the hydro, almost covering the cilantro. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Wasabina mustard greens, in the hydro. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

 

[larry_stewart]

Looks great! Do you have multiple hydroponic units? If so, does each unit require its own pump? or doo you have some kind of centralpumping system that be used with multiple units? Ever any pest issues with the Hydroponics?

 

[pepperhead212]

Looks great! Do you have multiple hydroponic units? If so, does each unit require its own pump? or doo you have some kind of centralpumping system that be used with multiple units? Ever any pest issues with the Hydroponics?

I have a 27 gal tub (so about 25 gal water) and a 12 gal tub (and just over 10 gal), and each has a small powerhead in it, attached to a sponge fitler, plus an airstone in each. And once I get them set up, I never change the water, just replace it, as it is used up quickly, by the large greens!

The only pests I have had were some herbs I tried that would get spider mites, despite never getting them outside, so I just never grew them again. Sage, plus some of those strange Asian greens, so no big deal. And aphids on scallions and spearmint (but not peppermint) - other things I have never seen outside. The spearmint I tried for 3 years, same result, and the aphids would end up coating their stems, but not on the leaves! When I've removed the plants with the problems, I never seen any of the pests on anything else.

 

[larry_stewart]

I have a 27 gal tub (so about 25 gal water) and a 12 gal tub (and just over 10 gal), and each has a small powerhead in it, attached to a sponge fitler, plus an airstone in each. And once I get them set up, I never change the water, just replace it, as it is used up quickly, by the large greens!

The only pests I have had were some herbs I tried that would get spider mites, despite never getting them outside, so I just never grew them again. Sage, plus some of those strange Asian greens, so no big deal. And aphids on scallions and spearmint (but not peppermint) - other things I have never seen outside. The spearmint I tried for 3 years, same result, and the aphids would end up coating their stems, but not on the leaves! When I've removed the plants with the problems, I never seen any of the pests on anything else.

It's funny you should mention aphids on scallions. My out door scallions usually survive the winter ( for the most part), but not in large numbers so I do purchase scallions from the story when I need them for a dish ( other than garnishing, which the ones outside are more than enough). Anyway, I usually use most of the store purchased scallops up, but keep the bottom 2 inches or so from the roots, and either plant them, put them in the hydroponics or even just a jar with water for them to regrow. I had some left over potting soil in the garage, so I figured Id make a small pot of scallions to keep me going for the winter from these saved roots. Worked out well, but since I cook a lot and use up scallions quickly, I had to purchase more from the store , saved the roots and did the same thing a second time. I planted them in the same soil. used for the first batch, but knowing I was going to away for 3 or 4 days, I cover the pot with some clear plastic to keep the moisture in, masa I knew I wouldn't be able to water them and wanted the roots to set.

Anyway, not getting to the point of this post, when I came home, I checked on them and each scallion ( of that second batch, covered with plastic) was covered with aphids. They were inside my " Plant room". my first thought was how did they get there, as none of the other plants ( which are tropical plants I take in and out seasonally ( probably about a dozen ) had any aphids on them . Some fungus gnats flying around, but no aphids. My second fear was that they aphids would jump ship and contaminate the other plants. I quickly got those scallions outside and left them out there in a 'what ever happens, happens'. I think we had a real cold night and they died, or et leas died back a bit.

The only thing I can think of is the aphids came from the soil which was in my garage. The post was clean and the scallions were store bought and appeared to be clean. Im actually away again visiting my daughter in Maryland, I really hope I dont come home to an aphid - infested plant room.

 

[pepperhead212]

I sterilize those scallion "sets" in a dilute H2O2 solution - same with any cuttings I take of herbs, to root. Don't remember where I read about doing that, but except for those two things - the mints and scallions - never saw any, even after I removed the infected plants. The aphids just disappeared, and no other plants got them. I just put the scallion sets and rooted cuttings in those clay pellets, so it wasn't the soil they came from!

And for those fungus gnats - something I forgot about, it's been so long since I saw them - I buy a 20 pack of those Mosquito Dunks (which last for a long time) and put a small pinch off one for each tub, when I set them up, then again maybe every month, and it keeps those gnats out. I use that in my rain .barrels outside, once those are in use, to stop mosquitos. It doesn't take much in each one out there, either - one of those dunks supposedly treats up to 5,000 gallons! I also have a liquid form of that B. israelensis, to treat my potted plants, when I bring them inside in the fall.