Ask The Gardener

Our garden is often buzzing…with birds and bees and questions.  Here is what we’ve been hearing.  If you have a question about your garden you may find the answer here.  And if you don’t, just ask and we will get right back with you.

THE LOCAL BZZZ…

Beginners and experienced gardeners love to come in and talk about their gardens.  Through the years we have collected a lot of good information and are happy to share it with you.

1. Rating: +0

   

   What does the term ppm, or parts per million, mean?

   PPM is a common unit of measurement, in gardening it is typically used to quantify small concentrations of nutrient concentration. One ppm is one part by weight of the mineral in one million parts of solution. Testers are available to measure the strength of the nutrient solution you are using.

2. Rating: +0

   

   How important is fresh air in my grow area?

   It is an extremely important, and often overlooked, factor in success. Adequate ventilation in the grow room is important for a number of reasons – temperature, humidity, disease and odor control, and fresh/stale air exchange. If there's not enough ventilation in your grow room, your plants may die! Ventilation is about controlling the

   To achieve a high quality of air in your grow room, you need to ensure that there's a sufficient amount of air exchange. The amount of air exchange required will vary according to the temperature outside. But as a general rule, maximum winter ventilation rates rarely exceed 12-20 air changes per hour; however, maximum summer air exchange rates can go up to 60 air changes per hour.

   To achieve sufficient air exchange, we recommend that you purchase a good ventilation system.

3. Rating: +0

   

   What are the differences between fluorescent, Metal halide (MH) and High Pressure Sodium (HPS) lamps?

   Indoor lighting allows you to garden year-round, extend the growing season, or get a jump start on seed starting before spring. Whichever you desire, the goal of indoor lighting should be to replicate natural sunlight as best as possible. Just as humans need a balanced diet, plants need balanced, full-spectrum light for good health and optimum growth. The quality of light is as important as quantity. Choosing a lighting system depends on the type of plants you intend to grow, the space you have to grow in, and your budget. Three of the most commonly used grow light types are:

   Fluorescent lighting systems: Traditional, low intensity, lighting like T12 fluorescents are low output and best used for seed starting and as single-source lighting for low intensity plants like orchids, violets, herbs and houseplants (only).

   New, full spectrum, T5 fluorescent lights are a better light source for intensive growing applications. T5s operate cooler, save energy and bulbs are less expensive to replace. Cooler burning lamps enable the plants to grow closer, greatly reducing the risk of burn and greatly decreasing lumen loss from the bulb to the plant. T5s high output fluorescent grow lights are available that produce high lumens, similar to 400W Metal Halide systems, at a fraction of the cost. The average life expectancy of T5 high-output fluorescent lights is 20,000 hours and they produce 75 to 90 lumens per watt.

   Metal Halide (MH) lighting: Produces a white-blue-violet light spectrum, which looks blue to the eye, and is valuable to vegetative growth. Plants grown under a Metal Halide will be compact and leafy. The average lifespan of this type of high output lamp is about 10,000 hours. Metal halide lamps produce up to 125 lumens per watt.

   High Pressure Sodium (HPS) lighting: A high-output yellow-red-orange spectrum light that triggers hormones in plants to increase fruiting in plants. Thus it is recommended for use during the flowering or budding stage of plant growth. Using HPS as a primary vegetative light source will result in stringy growth and a reduction in internodes. The average lifespan of HPS bulbs is about 18,000 - 24,000 hours and they produce up to 140 lumens per watt.

   The ideal situation for full spectrum growth and flowering is to use a combination of MH or T5 fluorescent lighting for growing and HPS lighting for flowering.

4. Rating: +0

   

   What is the proper amount of light I need for my grow area?

   Light level is one of the important variables for optimizing plant growth. The grow area will determine that wattage of the system you should purchase. Grow areas can be expanded by adding a light mover and/or adding supplemental lighting.

   Primary artificial light coverage (no natural light) for various wattages is as follows:
   100 watt: 1.5ft x 1.5ft
   150/175 watt: 2ft x 2ft
   250 watt: 3ft x 3ft
   400 watt: 5ft x 5ft
   600 watt: 6ft x 6ft
   1000 watt: 8ft x 8ft

5. Rating: +0

   

   What are the benefits of hydroponic gardening?

   Growers all over the world are using hydroponic techniques due to the lack of a large water supply or fertile farmland. Home gardeners have adopted hydroponics on a smaller scale to grow fresh fruit and vegetables year round and to grow plants in smaller spaces.

   Hydroponic (soil less) gardening offers many advantages to the home gardener. Since a sterile medium is used, there are no weeds to remove, and soil-borne pests and diseases are minimized, if not eliminated completely. Properly grown hydroponic plants also are healthier and more vigorous because all the necessary growth elements are delivered to the root system and readily available. The plants can mature faster, yielding an earlier, and more bountiful, harvest.

   Another huge advantage to hydroponics is the ability to automate the entire system with a timer, thus reducing the time it takes to maintain the garden, giving flexibility to the gardener who doesn’t have to feed or water on a set schedule.

6. Rating: +0

   

   My plants look unhealthy. The leaves are small and seem to be curling around the edges. They are also turning colors. What could be happening?

   Visual nutrient deficiency symptoms can be a very powerful diagnostic tool for evaluating the nutrient status of plants. It is important to watch your plants as they develop keeping aware of any changes. This scenario sounds like there is a deficiency within the essential elements in your feeding solution. Identifying the color which the leaves are turning, can help signify which nutrient is low. Keep in mind that many of the classic deficiency symptoms such as tip burn, chlorosis (general term for yellowing of leaves through the loss of chlorophyll) and necrosis (a general term for brown, dead tissue) are characteristically associated with more than one mineral deficiency and also with other stresses.

   Here is a list of the essential micro nutrients and the associated symptoms plants might exhibit during a shortage of nutrients:

   Nitrogen: Foliage becomes yellow (older leaves affected first). Some crops (corn and tomatoes) may show a reddish color instead of yellow. The young leaves at the top of the plant maintain a green but paler color and tend to become smaller in size. Branching is reduced resulting in short, spindly plants. Recovery of deficient plants to applied nitrogen is immediate (days) and spectacular.

   Phosphorus: Plants are dwarfed within the stems and small leaves and develop very slowly. Some species such as tomato, lettuce, and corn develop a distinct purpling of the stem, petiole and the under sides of the leaves. Under severe deficiency there is also a tendency for leaves to develop a blue-gray luster. Also under very severe deficiency, older leaves can develop a brown netted veining of the leaves may develop.

   Potassium: Older leaves are yellow with scattered dark spots, followed by tissue death. The veins remain green and the leaves tend to curl and crinkle.

   Calcium: Shoot tips yellow and die-back, young shoots have abnormal growth and eventually die-back. New leaves have distorted leaf growth. Root tips die leaving short stubby roots with black spots. Plants under chronic calcium deficiency have a much greater tendency to wilt than non-stressed plants.

   Magnesium: Interveinal chlorosis developing first on the older leaves. Withering old leaves. Can resemble potassium deficiency.

   Sulfur: Plant shows a general overall chlorosis while still retaining some green color. The veins and petioles show a very distinct reddish color. The visual symptoms of sulfur deficiency are very similar to those of nitrogen deficiency. However, in sulfur deficiency the yellowing is much more uniform over the entire plant including young leaves. With advanced sulfur deficiency brown lesions develop and the leaves tend to become more erect and often twisted and brittle.

   Iron: Interveinal chlorosis beginning on younger leaves. Strong chlorosis at the base of the leaves with some green netting. The most common symptom starts out as an interveinal chlorosis of the youngest leaves, evolves into an overall chlorosis, and ends as a totally bleached leaf. The bleached areas often develop necrotic spots.

   Manganese: Symptoms begin with a light chlorosis of the young leaves and netted veins of the mature leaves. As the stress increases, the leaves may turn brown and eventually drop.

   Boron: Deficient plants show a light general chlorosis. The leaves are unusually brittle and tend to break easily. There is often a wilting of the younger leaves.

   Zinc: Shortened internodes, young leaves are small and interveinal chlorosis is obvious.

   Molybedum: Interveinal chlorosis beginning on older leaves and moving up to younger leaves.

7. Rating: +0

   

   What is the proper pH level of the nutrient solution for my plants

   pH value is a measure of soil acidity or alkalinity. The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14, with 7 as neutral. Numbers less than 7 indicate acidity while numbers greater than 7 indicate alkalinity. Soil pH directly affects nutrient availability.

   For most plants, the nutrient solution should be slightly acidic with a range of 5.5 to 6.5. Plants that do well at a low pH (4.5 to 5.5) include azaleas, buttercups, gardenias, and roses. Plants that do well with a higher pH (7.0 to 7.5) include potatoes, zinnias, strawberries and pumpkins.

8. Rating: +0

   

   I’ve noticed white, cottony webbing on the undersides of leaves in my garden. What could this be?

   To detect pest or fungus infestation you must thoroughly inspect the plant you suspect to be affected. You may need a magnifier to inspect your plants on this level, but it is very important to do so. Do you also see very small white or red spots on the leaves? Do they move? If yes, you probably have spider mites.

   Spider mites are common in this area because warm, dry temperatures make the perfect climate for the spider mite’s reproductive cycle. Getting rid of spider mites though natural controls is possible, though it is a tough battle. If you believe that your plant is affected by spider mites, immediately isolate the plant and begin taking steps to exterminate the spider mites. If you do not immediately begin steps to minimize the spider mites, eventually the leaves will start to turn yellow/brown along the veins and drop, foliage will wilt and general health of the plant declines.

   One way to eradicate spider mites is to spray the leaves and stems of the plant with pressure water, like from a hose or faucet. Spray down as much of the plant as possible. Another option to remove webbing and mites is to carefully vacuum them away. To be effective, repeat either pressure spraying or vacuuming several times a day and again whenever necessary. Increased humidity around the plant and knocking off the mites and eggs with a forceful spray or vacuum will help curtail the problem effectively but not eliminate it.

   Natural and chemical solutions for spider mites are also available. Neem oil is an excellent, natural, first line of defense and can be made into a solution with dish soap to be sprayed amongst your garden. Be sure to thoroughly cover all plants surfaces where you see, or suspect, spider mites to be. Repeat thorough spraying every week.

   A wide variety of chemical remediation also exists, and it will be up to you whether you want to introduce pesticides or not. Keep in mind that any chemicals need to touch the spider mites to kill spider mites. You will need to make sure that the plant is thoroughly covered in the chemicals in order to be effective.

   You may also want to consider an integrated pest management approach to garden pests such as spider mites. Predatory mites are, in many new age gardeners’ opinions, the best way to control spider mites. Predatory mites are mites that do not feed on plants but on other mites, like the spider mite, for instance.

   All Season Gardener is happy to order beneficial insects, such as predatory mites, lacewing and lady beetles, from a reputable insectary in Colorado if you need them.

   Whichever pest management approach you decide upon, control strategies must take into account the fast development time of this pest, especially when eggs are laid continuously (usually during warm weather). Just targeting the adults will do little good and repeat treatments are almost always necessary.

9. Rating: +0

   

   I see a variety of grow medium is available, which one provides the best nutrition to my plants?

   Hydroponics grow medium acts as an anchor to the plant so it does not fall over as it grows, provides good drainage of nutrient solution and allows for the flow of oxygen to the plants’ root system. The three main types of medium listed below are all porous, light, and coarse, which allows oxygen and nutrients easy access to the plants roots.

   Coconut Coir: Produced from the brown husk that surrounds the coconut shell and this is the first totally "organic" growing medium that offers top performance in hydroponic systems. It is composed of millions of tiny micro-sponges, which absorb and hold up to eight times their weight in water. Coconut coir is sold in small compressed bricks which expand (6 to 8 times in volume) when you add water.

   Coconut coir is a sturdy substance, with superior water retention and aeration. Because it breaks down after several uses and doesn’t have superior drain quality, it is often mixed with other media for improved quality.

   LECA stone: (Lightweight Expanded Clay Aggregate) is made by heating clay under very high heat until it puffs up, like popcorn. This results in a very coarse medium with superb drainage.

   Advantages to LECA stone are that it is light, yet hold moisture relatively well, the pebbles stay put and don’t float away in the grow container, and they can be sterilized and reused many times, making them the most sustainable option.

   Rockwool: Rockwool is manufactured by melting basaltic rock and spinning the melt into fibers. Immediately following spinning, the fibers are compressed and cured into large slabs. The resulting product can be broken down into cubes of varying sizes. Larger blocks can be used to grow a plant to full size and the smaller cubes can be used to start seeds or added, in quantity, to grow pots or bags and used to grow plants to full development.

   Rockwool provides a very sturdy medium for hydroponic growing plants. Since it’s porous and lightweight it retains water well, providing valuable moisture and nutrients to the root system, while offering good drainage. It’s porous nature gives great support to developing roots, which at the same time being a good heat conductor and regulating the water temperature. Using rockwool will likely raise the pH of the grow environment so it is important to test the level and adjust as necessary.

10. Rating: +0

    

    Can I use hydroponics to grow vegetables and/or herbs year round?

    YES! One of the major benefits of growing indoors is that you can reap the benefits all year round, even during the coldest, darkest days of winter. Your job will be to chose the right hydroponic system, lighting and vegetables or herbs for your grow space, knowing that we are here to help you. This winter we enjoyed harvesting tomatoes, dill, lettuce, parsley, eggplant and basil. Come in to All Season Gardener and see what we have growing. The possibilities are endless!

11. Rating: +0

    

    How can I choose a CAN Filter/Fan combination that is right for my grow room?

    Here are the four easy steps:
    1. Determine the volume of the grow room by multiplying LxWxH (e.g. 10' x 10' x 8' = 800 cubic feet).
    2. Choose a Can-Fan that will clear the room in 1-2 minutes (e.g. 400-800 CFM fan for an 800 cubic foot room).
    3. Choose a Can-Fan that is compatible with the fan you chose in the previous step; it will be listed in the "Recommended Can-Fan" section of the filter description (in many cases there will be more than one filter that is compatible with the fan you chose).
    4. Choose a Can Flange that matches the Can-Fan you chose (e.g. 6" Can-Fan requires a 6" Can Flange).