Getting the Most out of your Hydroponics

It has become difficult to determine what advise about hydroponics is worth listening to. This is in part due to an abundance of useless products on the market as well as naivety surrounding the subject.

Water temperature Your nutrient solution should feel COLD at 21oC NOT WARM. 21 degrees centigrade is the ideal temperature, it's warm enough to stimulate good growth while cold enough to be able to carry the maximum amount of oxygen (O2) for our purposes. As the water rises above this temperature the water can carry less and less oxygen.

Timers on NFT systems Once the roots are out of your 3" cubes or baskets, you should run your nutrient pump 24 hours a day, certainly never have it off for more than 15 minutes at a time, even during lights off. Otherwise brown coloured cell damage may occur on the root surface as the cooling caused by evaporation of moisture off the roots damage it's surface. By running the solution constantly, it can be used to moderate the temperature around the roots.

CO2 and Carbon in your nutrient solution The vegetative leafy part of the plant above the surface feeds on Carbon dioxide. The roots feed on and in association with Oxygen. There is no benefit to putting carbon or carbon dioxide into the nutrient solution on it's own. However some of the additives do contain some carbon based compounds in association with other ingredients.

Nutrient meter reading cF properties of water vary from locations to locations, often dramatically. As such it is impractical to simply state an optimum reading to aim for. cF meters are more useful for maintaining the correct strength on a day to day basis in re-circulating hydroponics systems once the optimum has already been determined. After evaluation of the plants reaction to the strength, small adjustments can also be made using the meter.

Feed strength Not all plants feed the same amount, not even close relatives of the same varieties so don't believe anyone who tells you otherwise! Environmental conditions also affect feeding, more light = more food. As a general guide use 1/4 to 1/2 strength hydroponics nutrient solution for young plants, and to strength for larger plants. Most manufacturers full strength is equivalent to about 1200ppm or cF17 (with water cF 0), this is good for most species and varieties of plants. Some tomatoes may need a bit more, and lettuces would require a chunk less but you realy need to experiment with the specific variety of plant you are using to determine the optimum feed strength.

Leaf colour loss and associated rusty spots These two things, particularly when associated together are usually caused by some environmental factor and NOT a nutrient deficiency. Unless you are seriously underfeeding or overfeeding, the feed strength you use will generally not be the cause. It is more likely to be the light too close, nutrient too warm, not enough air exchange, too cold nights, wind burn, grow room too dry or another environmental factor. Don't always believe the worst and assume that your feed strength is wrong.

Stretching Plants can stretch or elongate. This if often the case where you have too much or not enough light or heat due to the positioning of the bulbs. Or it may be just genetics. There is no single reason that can be pinpointed as the cause of your plants stretching don't believe anyone who tells you there is!

Input Air As a hobby grower, for the best results, ideally use indoor air as input air for your grow room and expel to the outside. Outdoor fresh air inputted into the grow room can cause temperature, humidity and bug problems. Indoor air from a house has a better temperature and higher CO2 content, the extracted air should then ideally leave the building or be extracted to another room or area. Don't assume that input air from outside will be "cleaner" or better for your plants it's simply not the case!

Air Cooled Shades In line fans attached cool shades/ Jetstreams/ air cooled lights must blow through the shade. Sucking air through the shade will NOT work as well at cooling your lamp.

pH Adjustment in re-circulating systems in re-circulating hydroponics systems including gro-tanks and particularly when using systems with rockwool slabs and hard water, the pH will often rise on a daily basis. Don't adjust it right down every day or you may end up with nutrient lock out from excess phosphoric acid. Instead don't be afraid to let it drift up for a day or two, this may be the lesser of the two evils. The plants are fragile and as such will be damaged if you attempt to adjust them. Disturb them as little as possible!

Cold Too cold a nutrient solution or air temperature at night (lights Off) can seriously affect your yield. Your yield will benefit by keeping the temperature at stable 21 C.

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Norfolk A Beautiful Holiday Destination

Norfolk is acclaimed as one of the UKs most beautiful areas, and it has always been a popular destination for visitors. With its mix of lovely coastline, unique fenland and ancient heritage, theres plenty to do and see, no matter how long youre staying.

Norwich Cathedral

Norwich is the largest town in Norfolk and it is famous for its beautiful Cathedral, which is more than 900 years old. It has the second tallest spire in England, and the largest monastic cloisters. It is free to visit and open every day of the year for worship as well as for general visitors. Set in the middle of the city, it is an oasis of peace and tranquillity.

Extreeme Adventure

Looking for something different to do with your day? Extreeme Adventure is a high ropes course set in Wesaenham Woods. With swings and jumps at 20ft and 40ft and a 1,000 ft long zip wire, adults and children over 10 are sure to enjoy a thrilling day.

The Norfolk Broads

You can explore the renowned Norfolk Broads either by hiring a boat for the day, or taking a guided boat trip. There are many reputable boating companies with boats for hire, or which operate a boat trip and this is one of the best ways to view the landscape and the wildlife of this area.

Sheringham Park

Sheringham Park is a large landscaped park, which is famous for its azaleas and rhododendrons, which flower from May to June. There are a number of marked walks around the park, and viewing towers offer fantastic views of the inland landscape as well as the stunning coastline.

Sandringham Park

Still the country retreat of the present Queen and her family, Sandringham Park was originally built by The Prince and Princess of Wales in 1870. The ground floor rooms are open to the public and display a wonderful collection of art and objects dart. There is also a tearoom, large visitor centre and access to the 600 acre country park.

Banham Zoo

Set in 35 acres, Banham Zoo is a fantastic collection of almost 1000 animals. Designed so that children can enjoy learning about and interacting with the animals, there are feeding talks and displays, a free Safari roadtrain and an adventure play area.

These are just some of the attractions that Norfolk has to offer. To find out more, plan your next UK holiday with Norfolk in mind.

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How to Save Gas in the Kitchen

In my previous articles, I have discussed many ways to save fuel for your vehicle. I have mentioned steps like adopting good driving habits, maintaining your car in peak condition, planning your trips, carpooling, avoiding traffic jams, driving smaller vehicles, choosing more efficient cars, adding energy saving devices and many others.

By following some of the items listed above, you should be able to get a very good performance from the fuel you fill up into your tank and save on your vehicle fuel costs.

Today, we are going to discuss more ways of saving fuel, but this time in our kitchens. Saving cooking gas requires a different approach from saving vehicle fuel. This is because the gas stove uses external burning of fuel, unlike engines that uses internal combustion of fuel.

Gas fuel like liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or natural gas (Methane) is commonly used for cooking at home because it is clean and easily available. If we are able to control the usage, we could possibly save considerable amounts of money too.

With the world's oil and gas prices at such a high level, many of us are hard-pressed to try to squeeze the maximum work out of the fuel we use. One of the best strategies to use is to avoid wastage that can lead to loss of energy.

Below are some of the ways you can save gas in the kitchen:

1. Light up your stove only when you are ready to cook and the ingredients are within reach. This requires good coordination and planning by the cook. This means that heat is not wasted during the waiting period. The flame is only used for doing useful work - heating the food.

2. Use pressure cookers because they require less fuel for heating and thus reduce cooking time. There is a scientific explanation for this. Water boils at 100 degree Celsius at normal atmospheric pressures. When the cooking pot is pressurized above atmospheric, the water boils at a higher temperature. At that higher temperature, whatever meat or other ingredients inside the pot get cooked faster.

3. Avoid using too much water when cooking as it wastes fuel and it takes a longer time to evaporate. Water boils at 100 degree Celsius in a normal pot. It remains at this temperature no matter how much more you heat it further. It just evaporates, and the heat is lost through the evaporation of the steam. The temperature will not rise further in the water. The more water there is, the more the fuel required to bring it to boil.

4. Reduce the flame when boiling starts to save fuel. This relates to item 3 above. A small flame is sufficient to maintain the boiling of the water at 100 degree Celsius. A big flame will not bring the water to a higher temperature.

5. Cover cooking pots and pans with a lid to prevent heat from evaporating. This again relates to item 3 above. By covering the pot with a lid, the energy supplied to the water is prevented from being lost through evaporation of the steam. In fact, the useful energy contained in the steam is utilized and transferred to cook the food.

6. Use a small burner as it consumes 6% to 10% less gas than a big burner. To be efficient, as much of the heat from a flame must be transmitted to the pot. With a big flame below a relatively small pot, the hot gases flowing along the sides of the pot has less chance of being extracted. Only hot gases in contact with the pot have any chance of being extracted. Any hot gases not in contact with the pot are lost to the atmosphere.

7. Clean the burner if you see an orange, yellow or non-uniform flame. This means there is incomplete combustion of the fuel. Usually this is due to some obstruction in the air or gas passages in the gas stove. Incomplete combustion means that some of the fuel is not burnt but is deposited as carbon. That's a waste of the total heating capacity of the fuel.

You do not have to understand thermodynamics in order to save fuel in your cooking stove. However, many of the strategies outlined above is derived from the understanding of the properties of water and steam, principles of heat transfer like conduction, convection, radiation, combustion of fuel, venturi and gas burner design.

For the cook in the kitchen, just remember - reduce wastage and maintain efficiency.

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