Hydroponic and Organic Gardening

Indoor hydroponic gardening involves careful management of complex biological systems. When you garden indoors, you are essentially taking over the roll of mother nature. You provide the sun, the food, and the air that your plants need to flourish. The idea is to optimize each of these systems so that you are doing a better job than nature can. This involves a delicate balancing act that can be difficult to maintain at times. When things start to go wrong, it can be difficult for a beginner to diagnose the exact cause and decide on a course of action.

There are many sources online that are at your disposal when searching for answers but the sheer amount of information can be overwhelming unless you are able to search for the exact problem. It also helps to establish a relationship with your local hydroponic or organic gardening store. They are experts and enjoy sharing their knowledge with those interested in the hobby.

Whether you are searching online or asking a local expert, there are some general questions that you will be asked:

• What is happening in your garden?
• When did the problem first occur?
• What size is your grow room?
• How many lights and what type are they?
• What type of hydroponic system are you using?
• What type of grow medium is being used?
• What is the day and night time temperature?
• What is the temperature of your nutrient solution?
• What is the pH of the nutrient solution and the medium?
• What is the strength of the nutrient and what type?
• What stage of growth are the plants in?
• Did the problem start on one plant and spread or where all plants affected at the same time?
• What do the leaves look like?
• Are only certain areas of the plant effected?
• Have you seen any bugs on the bottom or top of leaves or in the medium?
• Have you done anything different?
• Have you sprayed the plants with anything recently?

Knowing the answers to these questions will make your search for answers much easier. Who knows, you may even figure out the problem yourself.

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 17th, 2008 at 9:36 am and is filed under General Gardening Tips, Hydroponic Basics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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