Update Day #21

Wow 17 days later!!! VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Notice now the amount of white roots that have formed these are all new roots; the older ones are brown and darker colored. It has been 3 weeks since I switched from this tomato plants vegetative cycle to the flowering. I added 3 more tea spoons each of the Sensi Bloom A & B bringing the total PPM to around 1000. I added around 8 pitchers more of water to replace the water that has been used by the plant.

****Its  Important not to add more nutrient solution when you are refilling a low reservoir unless you are trying to increase the PPM ; the plant will not use even 20% of the nutrients in the time the water is low. Add water and wait until the plant uses up all the nutrients so as not to waste them.

**Do It Myself Hydroponic 50$ Bubbleponics DWC***

Materials needed

1. Black Plastic tub. $8.99 at target. I don't know how many gallons but it's measurements are 18" x 14" and 11" tall. You can use a 5 gallon bucket. I have kind of a height restriction in my cabinet so I needed to keep the rez as low as possible. Also, after you modify a 5 gallon bucket to DWC, it really only holds 3.5 - 4 gallons of your solution. This holds 6 gallons. It doesn't seem like that much of a diffrence now but when the plant gets big it will drink a ton. This just makes maintaining the rez easier.IMO.



2. Aquarium air pump. double outlet. $10 at wal-mart.



3. 4' Standard aquarium air line, 2 airstones, 2 .Plastic T-valves, 1 airline suction cup. $5 total also at wal-mart.



4. Net cup. 10 for $5.



5. Exacto knife & lighter ( I'm sure you have one of these)



6. Power drill & 17/64 drill bit.



The first thing that you want to do is trace a circle, in the center of the lid, Using the bottom of the net cup as a guide.

Next heat the tip of the exacto knife for a minute or two.

Very carefully cut the hole in the lid. You might have to heat the knife a few times. Remember you can always come back make the hole bigger, but if you make it too big, your fucked. So take your time and make sure you stay within the lines.



Put the netcup in the hole . It should be a tight fit.



Drill 1 hole in the side of the tub about an inch from the top. This is for the airline. Do not drill the hole in the lid because you will be taking the lid off to maintain the proper nutrient level & it will be a pain in the ass each time.

Cut 2 pieces of the airline about 4" long each and connect them from the airpump outlets to the t-valve.



Cut another 2 pieces of airline, these about 2-3' long and connect the airstones to the t-valve. Then connect a 2' long piece of airline to the t-valve.



Stick the airstones to the bottom of the tup with the suction cup.



Run the line through the hole you drilled and connect it to the airpump.



The last thing to do is fill the net cup about a third of the way up with grow rocks, lava rocks or any similar medium. Place a cutting of your favorite stain on the rocks, then fill the rest of the cup with your medium.



The nutrient level in your tub should be at the bottom of the net cup. You might have to pour some of the solution through the top for the first few days until the roots grow out. Once they do let, them grow into the water. The airstones will provide enough oxygen. when the plant takes off she will drink a lot of water, so make sure you top the reservoir daily if you have to. If the level goes down too low you will have ph and overfertilizing issues.

The growth rate is amazing! These pics are of a 5 week old mother plant. The last is of the stem after I took over 40 clones.

Aeroponic Update day #4

 

The simple aero system VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

This system four days later has exploded with new root growth.

4 days 3 nights growth VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

This is very typical and I feel like the plant likes its new home much better than in some dirt – Wouldn’t you agree?

Tossing the Soil ** Starting DWC **

 

After 1 Month DWC VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

This plant 1 month ago was simply a leafless plant with only vines. This was before hydroponics; it was in a basic 2 gallon pot with soil doing somewhat ok until left out in the sun.Where it dried and lost many of its cells.

  I transferred this plant into a DWC system to allow for the dirt to be removed and to provide some much needed oxygen and moisture to the root zone. This was what happened after 1 month – all the white roots are new growth , the soil born roots were stained a dirty brown.

Here is foliage all new 1 month VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

All that was necessary to remove soil and have Deep Water Culture Envrionment!! VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Notice Only the:

1. Air Pump + Tubes

2. Air Stone

3. Water and nutrients

4. Tote ( container ) Much smaller is needed for DWC than in soil.

5. Net Pot or something to hold plant in place above water ( Lid with hole and plant inside netpot.

Were all that was necessary to totally blow soil out of the water – Pun intended !!

So why settle for muddy food with unknown amounts of fertilizer available in soil??       

If You Have that basic system understood ……

   I then allowed the plant to sit in water like I said for 1 full month – Next I rinsed the plant roots further to remove what soil had loosened and could be rinsed off.

Further Rinsing to start Aeroponic System VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

 

   The roots being grown around the soil may make it necessary to rinse several times and even place back into the DWC for further soaking . Make sure to clean your container with max ; 10% bleach to 90% water and rinse thoroughly. Insuring that you are removing any soil contaminants or pathogens from the environment the plant came from previously.

  Spraying the leaves also helps the stomata underneath breathe and the top have full access to light for photosynthesis.

  Now you can set up an aeroponic system in which oxygen is provided at ideal levels for maximum plant potential. This only requires a few more items also.

1. A pump around 250 gph + fittings

2. like 4 pieces of pvc piping – One corner , one long one , 2 caps

3. 360 degree micro sprayers – very cheap at amazon - to the side >>

4. A drill bit fitting your sprayers holes – Must be exact for pressure to build and allow water to be released from emitters effectively.

5. And a timer is needed – also very cheap available at amazon   >>>>

  I have personally grown 4 foot tall plants in a matter of weeks with this system , the roots explode in growth and you will only need to add water because of how fast your plants grow they will need a top up almost daily!!!!

Seriously this is all that is Necessary !!! VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

 

2 days Later…..

  After Placing this DWC saved plant into an improvised Aeroponic System , the plant can be seen thriving.

I also changed the fertilizer to Sensi Bloom to stimulate Flowering and fruit production ; **** this is an all year flowering plant otherwise I would have to change the light cycle to shorter fall hours + add Sensi Bloom. This plant only needs different ratios of fertilizer -

During Flowering plants require less nitrogen and more potassium and phosphorous.  Also known as N-P-K ratio.

Advanced Nutrients Sensi Grow has ratios of:

Part A :   5 parts N -  0 parts P  - 0 parts K

Part B :  2 parts N  Nitrogen - 2 parts P Phosphorous – 5 parts K Potassium

Combined in water its NPK is : 7 – 2 – 5

whereas:

Advanced Nutrients Sensi Bloom has ratios of:

Part A : 4 – 0 – 4

Part B : 1 – 5 – 6

Combined in water its NPK ratio is: 5 – 5 – 10

Changing to Sensi Bloom VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

  Advanced Nutrients has recently come out with a perfect PH product where PH is never a problem. You should keep your PH at 5.8 ; though I have never worried about it and always been fine.

  In my DWC I kept my PPM or Parts per Million at around 800 for initial feeding and for it to get used to its new DWC home. I would not recommend starting a plant this high but because it is a tomato plant and was already bearing tomatoes before it dried out I started it higher. I recommend starting at about 300 - 400 PPM.

Advanced Nutrients is very scientific and is one of the top brands for research and marketing. http://advancednutrients.com/hydroponics/oregon/calc/index.php << Here is a calculator to determine your parts per million without the need for a meter.

I added 7 tsp. of Part A and Part B = about 1000 PPM

***Never Combine Part A and B together directly – add to water and mix well or I also add more water after part A to ensure this happens – Then add part B**

This is plenty of food to begin flowering – ** ALWAYS START LOW then progress up with how your plant responds.

Now For the Results of This method 3 Days Later….

Notice .... The Changing Already !! VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

For More info on aeroponics go HERE