Hydroponics - Part 2

There are many hydroponic growing systems on the market in various price ranges but using inexpensive canning jars is a budget-friendly option. With a little creativity, your hydroponic mason jar garden can be an essential part of your kitchen.

Follow these simple steps to make your hydroponic mason jar garden:

• Plant the seeds in the rockwool growing cubes. (See Hydroponics Part 1) 
• While they are germinating, you can prepare the mason jars. 
• Once the seedlings have roots extending out of the bottom of the cube, it’s time to plant your hydroponic garden in glass jars
• Wash the mason jars and rinse the clay pebbles.
• Prepare the mason jar by spray painting it black, coating it with tape or enclosing it in a fabric sleeve. 
• Place the net pot in the jar. Screw the band onto the jar to hold the net pot in place. 
• Fill the jar with water, stopping when the water level is about ¼ inch (6 mm.) above the bottom of the net pot.  
• Filtered or reverse osmosis water is best. 
• Add hydroponic nutrients. (for more information see Nutrients below)  
• Place a thin layer of clay pellets in the bottom of the net pot.  
• Next, put the rockwool growing cube containing the sprouted seedling onto the clay pellets.  
• Continue carefully placing clay pellets around and on top of the rockwool cube.  
• Place your hydroponic mason jar garden in a sunny location or provide adequate artificial light.

Nutrients:

Without soil, the nutrients that plants need to live and thrive must be delivered directly to their roots (or occasionally, their leaves). Doing this in a practical, effective way is the goal of any hydroponic grower. But the goal of delivering the ideal amount of each nutrient to plants is not as simple as dumping hydroponic fertilizers into the system water.

To be ‘complete nutrients’ for hydroponic plants need to have the essential elements for growth these are:

• Nitrogen (N)
• Potassium (K)
• Phosphorus (P)
• Calcium (Ca)
• Magnesium (Mg)
• Sulphur (S)
• Iron (Fe)
• Manganese (Mn)
• Copper (Cu)
• Zinc (Zn)
• Molybdate (Mo)
• Boron (B)
• Chlorine (Cl)

The levels that these elements are present in your hydroponic nutrient tend to vary between brands, since there is no one single recommendation for concentrations. Many nutrients may also contain some of the ‘beneficial elements’ such as Nickel (Ni), Cobalt (Co), Silica (Si) or Selenium (Se). While these are not ‘essential’ (plants will still grow without them), they can be beneficial to many plants.

Selecting and Preparing Nutrient Solutions:

You can create your own nutrient mix or get a Hydroponic nutrient package from the store. For beginners, I highly recommend you buy it, saving the experimenting and mixing your own nutrients when you get a bit experience.

Normally, you will see listed in the ingredients and formula of the solutions sold at the store are 3 numbers in percentages. These are the 3 most important minerals that listed above - Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K). For example, they come at the ratio 10-10-10, meaning that each the nutrient is composed of 10% of the solution. The rest of 70% is water, micro-nutrients, and other chelates that assist the nutritional process. 

Of course, that ratio will be different, depending on a variety of criteria:

• Plants types
• Plant growth stage
• Parts of plants you want to bring the most yields (leaf, fruit, root)
• Light intensity, weather, temperature, the season of the year. 

If you are to choose available solutions for your hydroponic garden, the one thing to keep in mind is that you should get the nutrient designed specifically for Hydroponics only. Forget all about the all-purpose package which can be used in both soil and hydroponics. Common fertilizers used in soil do not contain necessary micro-nutrients that Hydroponics plants require.

Second, it is recommended to use the 2 or 3 parts solution in the liquid. Normally, a liquid solution is easier to work with than powder form because it easily digests in water, and most of the liquid solution comes with pH buffers. 

And you should buy the 3 part because it does help you later when you need to blend and mix in different combinations for the plant's growth purpose, and specific stage of growth. 

Mixing a 3-part solutions example:

General Hydroponics.

1. Check which stages of growth your plants are in order to mix the 3 parts with the correct ratio. Check the manufacturer instruction of your nutrient products.
2. Start by adding fresh water to the reservoir.
3. Add the Micro part first to the water. It contains elements like Calcium, Copper, Boron, Iron, Manganese and Zinc and some Nitrogen. Stir the solution
4. Next is the Grow part. This contains ammoniacal nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen, phosphate, potassium, and magnesium. Stir well.
5. Add the Bloom Hydroponics solution. This contains phosphate, potassium, soluble magnesium and sulfur. Again, stir the solution.
6. It's very important to Check the pH of the nutrient mix after getting all nutrients into your nutrient tank. Plants fail to take up important nutrients when the pH level goes out of its recommended range. The ideal one is between 5.5 to 6.5 
7. Don't forget to check the temperature of the solution. About 64 to 66 degrees Fahrenheit is ideal.

Harvest:

The growth rate on a hydroponic plant is 30-50 percent faster than a soil plant, grown under the same conditions. The yield of the plant is also greater. Scientists believe that there are several reasons for the drastic differences between hydroponic and soil plants.

Resources:

Recommended Varieties for Hydroponic Growing

Even in upstate New York’s frigid winter weather, this lettuce harvest is crisp and bountiful

pH Guide for Hydroponics

Home Hydroponics

Hydroponics - Part 1 of 2

Hydroponics means “working water” (hydro means water and ponos means labor). Many different civilizations have utilized hydroponic growing techniques throughout history. As noted in Hydroponic Food Production by Howard M. Resh: "The hanging gardens of Babylon, the floating gardens of the Aztecs of Mexico and those of the Chinese are examples of 'Hydroponic' culture. Egyptian hieroglyphic records dating back several hundred years B.C. describe the growing of plants in water." While hydroponics is an ancient method of growing plants, giant strides have been made over the years in this innovative area of agriculture.

Throughout the last century, scientists and horticulturists experimented with different methods of hydroponics. One of the potential applications of hydroponics that drove research was growing fresh produce in non-arable areas of the world and areas with little to no soil. Hydroponics was used during World War II to supply troops stationed on non-arable islands in the Pacific with fresh produce grown in locally established hydroponic systems.


Later in the century, hydroponics was integrated into the space program. As NASA considered the practicalities of locating a society on another planet or the Earth's moon, hydroponics easily fit into their sustainability plans. By the 1970s, it wasn't just scientists and analysts who were involved in hydroponics. Traditional farmers and eager hobbyists began to be attracted to the virtues of hydroponic growing. 

Where can hydroponic grow?

Anywhere. Indoors, in a greenhouse as well as outdoors. Any plant can be grown with hydroponics, though some are more delicate than others. If there is enough light for the plant to grow, you can probably bet somebody has grown it using hydroponics. 

Supplies needed to grow hydroponic plants in a jar.

You’ll also need a way to block light from entering the mason jar in order to prevent algae growth. You can coat the jars with black spray paint, cover them with duct or washi tape or use a light-blocking fabric sleeve.

Steps for starting seeds with Rockwool Cubes:  

1.    Preparing Rockwool Cubes

a.    Rockwool Cubes have a PH of roughly 7.8. This is pretty alkaline, yet plants prefer to grow in a slightly more acidic environment (between 5.5 – 6.5). In order to prepare our Rockwell cubes for the seeds, we need to soak them in some PH adjusted water, that way they have everything the seeds need to germinate and sprout; water and a slightly acidic environment.  

b.    Fill the container/bowl with water from your tap. You may also choose to use water filtered through a Britta or reverse osmosis (R/O) water, I’ve had success with all 3 of them so whichever you have on hand will work fine.

c.    Using either a PH test kit or a Ph meter, determine the Ph of the water. Water comes out alkaline, usually around 7.4, so you will need to acidify it a little bit to bring that Ph down to the desired level. Aim for as close to a Ph of 5.5-6 as you can get.

d.    To accomplish this, use either Ph down chemicals, or lime juice (as it’s acidic). Add these to the water in small increments (VERY SMALL) and test the water to see where the Ph is. Continue doing this until you have a Ph of 5.5-6.

Important: Do not let the PH of the water go below 5. A Ph this low will damage the fibers of the Rockwool Cube

e.    It’s time to stabilize and hydrate the Rockwool cubes in it. Insert the Rockwool Cubes into your container and let them soak for roughly 1 hour. Once the hour is up, the cubes will be big and fat with water. Take them out of the bowl of water and put them somewhere you don’t mind getting a little wet. Save the remaining water for step 3.

DO NOT SQUEEZE THEM TO DRAIN ANY WATER 
f. Rockwool Cubes are designed to maintain the correct water to air ratio and squeezing them may damage their structure. 

    2.    Plant the Seeds

a.    Most Rockwool cubes come with holes in them, if yours did not, than create a hole in one side that is approximately a quarter inch (0.75 cm) deep.

b.    Take 1-2 seeds and insert them carefully into the holes. Use a toothpick or similar object to push them down to the bottom, as you want them to be at the bottom of that hole. Rip or push a piece of the Rockwool over the hole (you don’t have to fill it completely), so that the seed can germinate in a dark moist environment.

c.    If you can, place them in a tray with a dome on it. This will help create a little humidity in there which seedlings like. This is not mandatory, but it helps.

d.    Put the container in a cool dark place and leave them alone. The temperature should be roughly 68 degrees F.
e.    Check in 2 or 3 days, if seedlings sprouted and are touching the dome, remove dome.

   3. Let them Grow

a.    If you put more than one seed in your cube (just in case one didn’t make it), than you probably have several seeds sprouting up in each cube at the end of 2~3 days. Once the first true leaves emerge, we want to select for the strongest one (the one that grew the tallest) and cut off the tops of all other seeds that are growing next to it. Do not pluck them out, as you may uproot it’s neighbors. Simply cut it off as close to the hole as you can without messing with the stronger one that you plan on keeping alive.

b.    Depending on how hot it is (and other factors) you may need to water your cubes 1-4 times a day. Use the Ph adjusted water when doing so (that’s why I had you save the leftovers from step 2). If you already threw that water out, go make another batch of Ph adjusted water and keep it in a separate bottle or container for watering. Note: Do not over water and Do not add any nutrients to your Rockwool Cubes.
    

  4. Transplant

About 2-3 weeks after germinating, you are ready to transplant these babies into the hydroponic system of your choice. A good rule of thumb to go by is that you want to transplant them once the first roots begin poking out of the Rockwool cube. Don’t wait too long though, as eventually the roots will begin tangling around the cube since it is their only source of water. You want to catch them right as they pop out, so that when you transfer them into your hydro system the roots will grow down into the system, and not just try to feed off the Rockwool cube alone.

See Part 2 for steps in creating a Hydroponic Glass Garden

Growing Asparagus Requires Planning, But Gives Many Years of Reward

Asparagus is a shining gem of springtime in Southwestern Idaho. Packed full of nutrition and boasting a delightful flavor, asparagus will give you 15 years or so of production from one well thought out planting. When mature, one plant produces about ½ pound of asparagus a year. It is an early producer, so you can plan on fresh vegetables gracing your table much sooner than neighbors who haven’t established asparagus in their garden planning. Getting this productive perennial started growing in the right spot and with the right preparation, is the most important step for the home gardener with regard to their plans to grow asparagus. 

Where to Plant?

Due to it being a perennial, planting it at the side or center of your garden can be ideal so it doesn’t interfere with plot preparation and cultivation of annual crops. It can grow to a height of 3 to 8 feet tall, so a bed on the north or east side of your regular garden plot in a spot that gets approximately 7 hours of full sun each day is ideal. Because asparagus roots can be deeper than 6’, even raised beds are an option. Consider that a 25’ to 50’ row will supply the typical family with enough asparagus for regular use.

Site Preparation

Asparagus prefers deep, well-drained loam or sandy loam with a pH of 6.5 to 7.5. If the soil retains too much moisture, asparagus can die from root rot. It will grow in soil conditions that are not ideal, but the life of the plant and the production will be reduced. It is best to begin site preparation in the fall by breaking up the soil to around 18” deep and working in rich organic matter like mature compost or aged manure. Simultaneously, add 4 to 5 pounds of 5-10-10 fertilizer per 100 square feet. Prepare an area that is 3’ to 4’ wide and as long as necessary to supply the amount of asparagus you wish to reap from your harvest each year, after plants mature.  

Planting

You can start growing asparagus from seed or crowns. Most choose to start with one year old crowns to get to harvest faster. Choose large crowns that have not dried out - male crowns are more productive than female crowns. Older crowns can be purchased, but they are more expensive and much harder to plant successfully. If you are working with prepared good soil, dig a trench 12” to 18” wide and 6” to 8” deep. If you are working with heavier soil, use the more shallow depth. Spread mature compost or aged manure in the bottom and cover with about an inch of garden soil. Place crowns in trench about 18” apart, while spreading roots to insure they lie flat. During the growing season, continue adding soil or aged manure until the trench is full, being careful not to cover foliage. 

Maintenance

For ongoing high spear yields, it is recommended to fertilize before plants start growing each spring and again in the fall after harvest using 1 ¼ pounds of 5-10-10 fertilizer per 100 square feet each time. A deep watering once every couple of weeks during dry season is plenty due to the deep root system. Weeding should be done somewhat regularly, but do not cultivate deeply as you can encourage disease if crowns are damaged. Adding a thick layer of mulch will help reduce weeds. You may use herbicides approved for asparagus, but mulching and hand cultivating is favored. Take the time to learn about dealing with pests like Asparagus Beetles and diseases like Fusarium Wilt and Root Rot.

Harvest

The reward for taking the time to plan and prepare your plot, and the patience you exhibit for several years is the harvest! It is recommended not to harvest any asparagus until the third year to allow the crowns to be mature. You may remove a small harvest for approximately 3 weeks during the third year. You can harvest for 6 to 8 weeks for every year after that. Harvest in the morning when spears are crisp. Spears should be 5” to 7” when harvested. Snapping the spears is advised over cutting to avoid damaging emerging spears. Refrigerate spears promptly after harvesting. An excellent, simple recipe for asparagus is Oven Roasted Asparagus

Turf and Tree Summer Season

New season for Turf and Tree team 2019

This is Turf and Tree teams 3rd season where we meet every Monday morning to go through local residents call-ins or emails asking for help with their turf or tree problems. So far we have stayed quite busy with site visits to clients properties throughout the county and steady stream of call-ins/emails to extension office.  Unfortunately the team is having to struggle again with a small group of dedicated members to get through a long list of clients needing help. But we have been able to manage and so far the folks we have visited and talked with on the phone seems very much appreciative of what we are doing for them.

This update will cover a couple of site visits we did recently that took us to large acre home site in south Caldwell and winery in Sunnyslope area. We’ll cover what looks to be our biggest issues so far this season.

      

  The cottony scale name comes from the shape and color that is on the tree branches that looks like cotton balls glued to branches. These so called cotton balls are egg sacks filled with harmful insect. This issue seems to be more prone to silver and red maple trees. There are multiple ways to control this issue by cultural control or Biological control. 

                

The other big issue we are seeing is either severe over watering or having your water emitters/sprinklers in the wrong spot. The picture on the left shows maple tree where the water emitter is in the wrong spot for the tree to take in water. It should be at the tree's dripline near the end of the branches where they extent out. This is where our trees are taking in and release vidal water and nutrients. The picture in the middle shows this tree under stress and trying to protect itself by releasing sap to try to drive the attacking insects out. The picture on the right shows signs of severe overwatering causing iron nutrient not to be taken up through tree roots that causes iron chlorosis. 

         

           Emitter in wrong spot       Sap from tree     Over watering causing 

Iron chlorosis 

Above data from following sources:

From Ohio State Extension: On Cottony Scale

From University of Idaho extension: Proper watering needs for your lawn

From Utah State extension: Placing your water emitters

From Idaho Growin blog: On Iron Chlorosis

From US forest division: On Iron Chlorosis

Earwigs are invading my garden

Earwigs are in my garden.

 Why do we have so many earwigs this year?
 Well for one thing it has been a wet and slightly warmer spring. These weather conditions have made better that ideal living and growing media for the earwig. They like wet damp hiding places and with a little mulch or lose compost to hid in during the day.


 How to identify good earwigs from bad earwigs.
 They are all the same so to speak. They are opportunistic eaters. They live on dead decaying matter, eat aphids and other small prey and love young growth of certain plants, like Marigolds. This is shown in the picture with all the cans full of earwigs and decimated marigold plants. The cans were placed next to plants that the earwigs thought were there most tasty.


 Simple home remedies used to lower the earwigs population.
 There are quit a few methods you can use depending on your preference and patience. I prefer a little beer in a small cat food can but there other preparations you can put in the cans.


 Predatory insects that help control the earwigs.
 Believe it or not, there are other insects and animals that prey on the earwigs. Since the earwigs are nocturnal, hungry birds have to hunt them out in their hiding places during the day. Evening birds and amphibians will be able to find them out and about in the duff on on their favorite plants.


Follow the reference links for more in-depth information.

Powdery Mildew

Does something not look right on your plants or in your lawn and garden? 

What if I told you that it could possibly be a fungus that is infecting them all?

 Powdery Mildew could be the suspect we are looking for. Powdery mildew looks like white to gray spots with a talcum powder like growth. The mildew is host specific, i.e., the mildew that can be affecting your lilac and elm trees would not affect your grass, or mildew on grapes would not affect your lilac. Mildews thrive in warm dry climates. When plants have high humidity, poor air circulation, or are located in shaded areas, it allows the mildew to have an ideal growing environment.

What can we do to fix it?

The simplest and easiest option is to buy plant/seed varieties that are resistant to powdery mildew, i.e., roses, cucumber, squash, and beans.

 Not everything we want to plant will have an available resistant variety; therefore powdery mildew needs to be managed culturally and chemically.

Cultural practices:

·         Prune with good air circulation in mind.

·         Do not over fertilize and possibly look into slow release fertilizers for future applications.

·         Do not overhead water to help reduce humidity and reduce chances of spread of other fungus problems.

Chemical practices:

●   Fungicides- function as protectants, eradicants or both.  A protectant fungicide is a preventative to protect against new infections from occurring. An eradicant fungicide kills an actively growing infection. For highly susceptible plants, apply protectant fungicide before disease appears. Eradicants should be applied at earliest appearance of disease.

 ●    Horticultural oils- can be an effective eradicant in plants with mild to moderate symptoms and has some protectant effects with products such as Saf-T-Side Spray Oil, Sunspray Ultra-Fine Spray Oil, neem oil or jojoba oil.

●    Sulfur- usually a spray that is only effective before the symptoms have appeared. Copper may also be used in the same manner. It has a lower effective rate.
●    Bacterial Fungicides- made of a pathogen that kills the fungus and helps prevent future infections. These are also safe for beneficial insects, pets, and people. 

 With applying any chemicals, you want to make sure that you are reading the labels and ensuring that you have correct target pest on plants, proper protective equipment, and applying at correct rates. The label is law and we do not want to damage the environment with an application applied incorrectly. Now with our new knowledge on how powdery mildew works, we can better manage it in our gardens going forward.

 Consider signing up for land and garden pest alerts at the Pest Alert Network in order to find out about pests as soon as they are found in our area. These are the alerts for Powdery Mildew.

Iron Chlorosis is in my Tree

WHAT I THINK ABOUT IRON CHLOROSIS

Strolling the grounds of my one acre “estate” on a warm summer day, I was distressed to see something wrong with two of my Sycamore trees.  While two of the trees looked great, nice dark green leaves everywhere, the other two had sections of leaves that had yellowed. Upon further inspection, I noted that the veins of the leaves were still green, but the areas between the veins had turned yellow.  In some cases the edges of the leaves were brown. “What is wrong?” I wondered.

What is wrong with my trees was something called, Iron Chlorosis. This problem is apparently common in places that have high alkalinity soil (pH above 7.0). My soil was significantly above this level. It is believed that there is a link between alkalinity and iron in the soil. The problem isn’t a lack of iron, but the inability of the plant to benefit from the iron that is there. For some reason, higher pH changes the chemical reactions which then render the iron unusable to the tree.                                 

So, now that I know what is causing the trees’ problem, is there anything I can do about it? Yes, there are a number of things that can be done to deal with this problem.  The best solution is prevention. Do a soil test to determine the soil pH and then select a species that will do well in a particular soil.

DIY soil test kits can be purchased from many garden outlets or your local U of I Extension Office can point you in the right direction to get the the test for a fee. There are several reputable labs that do a great job and send you the results and they are reasonable in cost. However, if the trees are already there, like mine, you have several options.  According to North Dakota State University (NDSU) one option is to add elemental Sulfur to the ground around the tree. The Sulfur will help free up iron for the tree to take up. This is a slow process and may take a year or more before seeing results. Another option from NDSU is to inject iron directly into the trunk. This involves drilling a series of holes in the tree. This procedure should not be done more than once a year.  Finally, the foliage can be sprayed with an iron solution. This usually provides the quickest results, however as new leaves come on they most likely will exhibit the problem.

Solving the problem of iron chlorosis is a difficult and time consuming challenge.  Research and careful planning and follow up are keys to your success. Saving your beautiful plantings are worth the effort.  Good luck!