Getting set for the off-season, 2020-2021

[pepperhead212]

I got my two deepwater hydroponics systems set up last week, and got the nutrients tweaked, and added some mycorrhizae and a small amount of mosquito dunk (to prevent fungus gnats). So last weekend I got some coir in the baskets I'd plant seeds in, and my cloner set up for things I start cuttings for, and hopefully, they'll root. Turns out, most rooted in 4 or 5 days, though some just starting. Surprisingly, the Thai basil rooted best, though this is still early. And no sign of roots on peppermint cuttings.
Cloned Thai Siam Queen Basil, after about 4 days. 10-01 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Cloned Serrata basil, 10-01 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Cloned Gecofure Basil, 10-01 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Cloned Red Epazote, 10-01 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

These have to get much larger, to transplant to the hydroponics.

Today I dug up a parsley plant - I rinsed the dirt off, then rinsed the plant with an H2O2 solution. Then I soaked the roots briefly in a rooting solution, then put it in the hydroponics.
Parsley, going to the hydroponics, 10-01 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Parsley, set in the hydroponics clay pellets, 10-01 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I planted some seeds in the coir baskets; some greens that I always grow, like lettuce and mizuna, and some herbs - cilantro, Chinese parsley (leaf celery), and a couple I had old seeds for: hoja santa, and summer savory. Not even sure there would any viable in these last two, but I'd try. The mizuna is pretty old, too, but it was the first to germinate in 3 days! The youngest lettuce was up in 4 days, and the older one is just beginning to poke through.
Some really old Mizuna seeds sprouting in 3 days! 10-01 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I didn't like the floating styrofoam holders for the baskets these last two years, so I went back to the solid plexiglass, like I use for the larger one.

Soon, I'll be bringing the curry tree, kaffir lime trees, and bay laurel indoors until next spring.

 

[larry_stewart]

Ill Probably get some basil going in my aquaponics system. Nothing like fresh basil in the middle of the winter. Also thinking of getting some LED grow lights from some of the plants I take indoors for the winter. I dont really have any South facing windows, so they get minimal light . They all usually survive the winter, but take a good beating.

 

[pepperhead212]

Larry,

Harbor freight has some good deals on LED lights now. They had just the one bulb, 5,000 lumens, which I got as a coupon special at $16.99, but now they have a 2 bulb, 5,500 lumen, even lower wattage, for $39.99, but they already have a $10 coupon for this on their app. And the highest output fixture is 10,000 lumens, using 4 bulbs, and 100w, which is selling for $69.99, but maybe some day they will have the coupon for this one, too.
https://www.harborfreight.com/5500-lumen-4-ft-linkable-led-shop-light-56781.html

 

[blissful]

Cool cuttings. I have crazy peppermint, it did really well this summer. If you end up needing some with roots, I'll uproot some and send it to you, for the cost of postage.


For winter, I mostly sprout seeds in quart jars, and also trays of dirt, with soaked seeds and get them a little bigger, then cut them off and put them in our food. I have south facing windows in half the house. We use them for overwintering things that can't take the cold, and starting our peppers next spring.

 

[pepperhead212]

Thanks for the offer, blissful. However, one of the peppermint cuttings rooted by the time I looked today! And several of the others had increased considerably, in just 12 hours or so. I figured that those peppermints would root first, the way they always grow! Like many of these herbs, I have to trim them, even when I don't need them, when growing in the hydroponics.

 

[bbqcoder]

I got my two deepwater hydroponics systems set up last week, and got the nutrients tweaked, and added some mycorrhizae and a small amount of mosquito dunk (to prevent fungus gnats).

I have zero knowledge of hydroponics. Do you have a recommendation of a good website to read about it? What is your electricity usage? Just LEDs and a pump?

Do you overwinter rosemary indoors?

 

[pepperhead212]

I have zero knowledge of hydroponics. Do you have a recommendation of a good website to read about it? What is your electricity usage? Just LEDs and a pump?

Do you overwinter rosemary indoors?

bbqcoder,
Most of my hydroponics was trial and error, as it was before there was much online (or otherwise) about it. I got a few books on it, but I couldn't really recommend one in particular, as it was just bits and pieces of info from each. Unfortunately, much, if not most, of the info you'll find online these days will be on sites selling things. We all know how that is! Here are a link I found when checking quickly that gives some good general info:
https://www.trees.com/deep-water-culture

The main power consumption is from the lights, but the LEDs have become incredibly efficient in recen years, as well as affordable. When the last
florescent lights I have start dying, I'll bite the bullet, and replace with some of the new LEDs.

Fortunately, I had a bunch of air pumps and powerheads in my aquarium "hoarding cabinet" - things people had given me when moving, or when they got tired of keeping their aquariums. I keep an airstone in each tub, running off the same pump, which I think is 8 watts. The small tub (10.5 gal) also has a small powerhead (9w, with 60 gph), with a sponge filter attached. The large tub (26.5 gal) has a little larger powerhead (15w, with 110 gph) with a sponge filter. I "prime" these sponge filters with beneficial bacteria - a few days after setting up, when the chlorine is out of the water, I clean one of the sponge filters from one of my aquariums, and put some of the gunk in each tub. This, and the Hygrozyme I'll mention later, helps digest any dead plant material in there.

The nutrients are nothing special, when all you are growing is herbs and greens. Two good ones are Maxi-Gro and Foliage-Pro I got some free samples from a hydroponics store that opened in a strip mall, that was on my route, and discovered some things this way, like using silica, to strengthen plant stems, which I use for seedlings, as well. These things sound like they would get expensive, but small amounts are used, and containers last many years, even when I use them in some of my Earthboxes, outside. And I stocked up on some things when an online place - Wormsway - went under.

One thing I learned about from one of those early books was the Conductivity CF/EC/ppm meter, which makes setting the nutrients in the water much easier, as well as keeping track of them (they need replaced surprisingly seldom). Here's the one I have:
Continuity tester, for approximation of nutrient level of the water. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

There are also similar electronic tests for pH, but when I got one, it had to be re-set each time, using a standardized solution set at a specific pH, and it didn't seem to work that well, so I returned it (this was years ago, and I see a lot more now, so maybe they've been improved). The simple test tube method was easier, and cheaper. And this is something you have to watch closer than the nutrients, once those are stabilized.

Most things I used to read said you had to change 50% of the liquid once a month - a myth I think started by the sellers of the nutrients! I thought, even with aquariums this much change isn't necessary, and the plants are using any waste in the water as fertilizer! So I just top them off, as needed, and that's it! However, one thing I discovered, by one of those free samples way back, that helps keep the tank clean is Hygrozyme, which is a substance which helps any dead roots dissolve quickly, to add more fertilizer! A very small amount is needed (less than 1/2 tsp/gal, every few months)- I just bought the my second 500ml bottle of it I've ever needed. After 8 or 9 months, when I clean these things out, they are incredibly clean, with only some insolubles as a sediment - the sponge filters have "digested" pretty much all of the dead material, returning it to the water, which is what you want to remove in a fish tank, but it's fertilizer here!

Something I have seen mentioned on a gardening forum I'm on a lot is an "easier" method of growing hydroponics, called the Kratky method, though I cannot imagine it working, mainly because of my background with fish, which would die in stagnation like this! I think maybe it be more for a one time harvest, not the repeated harvest over several months, like I do. This is basically without an airstone or water pump, to aerate the water. But some swear by it.
https://www.trees.com/the-kratky-method

Have I interested you yet? Or scared you off?

Here are a few photos showing some of the herbs starting, as well as growing like crazy, in the hydroponics:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/91097628@N06/albums/72157710578587486

As for the rosemary, I found a cold hardy variety at Richter's a few years ago, when mine died when I couldn't cover it, due to an injury. It's called Hill Hardy, and it's supposed to be more cold resistant than Blue Atlas, which is the best known cold hardy variety, but the flavor is not as good, IMO. This tastes like regular; however, it has only gone down to 8° twice in the last 2 winters (nothing like it would go down to in your area!), and one I covered with a trash can, and the other uncovered, which survived, but wasn't as large. Last winter it only went down to 17°, so both were never covered. I also have a rooting I made the first summer, and put in a 5 gal fabric pot. I am surprised at the growth late this summer! I made this originally to bring on the back porch, in case the others died! This hasn't been necessary, but I've used more off of this, since I am lazy!
Rosemary, about 2 years rooted in a 5 gal fabric pot, 10-03-20 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

 

[pepperhead212]

After all that trimming outside today, I came inside (it's darkening too early now! lol). After getting something to eat, and I went downstairs to check the plants out. I got 5 of the clones set in the clay pellet baskets tonight - hopefully they will take. I put both Thai basils, and one each of the Gecofure and Serrata, plus one peppermint. Hopefully, I won't need the extras!
The two Thai basil clones. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The Thai basil clones, set in the clay pellets. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Two Thai, a Gecofure, and a Serrata basil, plus a peppermint clone, set in the clay pellets, 10-04 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Here's that parsley, that was put in 3 days ago, showing growth in that center core, which was just barely started before.
Parsley plant, showing the growth in the center core, 10-04 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Dill, chives, and the old lettuce seeds have come up, plus a couple of weeds! Plants on the edges, plus they weren't what I planted in the baskets.

 

[pepperhead212]

That parsley isn't doing as well as it looked like it would, so I dug up the other plant - the larger one, which is why I took the other, as I figured I could get more of the roots of the smaller one. I tried to get more of these, and not cut off any of the tap root, and I definitely got more of these.
A larger parsley plant, dug up for the hydroponics. 10-07 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Here it is, getting it into the basket, and getting ready to put the clay pellets in, to hold it in place.
Parsley roots, threaded through the basket, for the hydroponics. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Here it is next to the smaller one, which is turning yellow. Only one you yellow leaf on the large plant - hopefully, the last!
The new, larger parsley plant, next to the one not doing well. 10-07 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The other clones already seem to be starting to grow, but it's still early. And I just started some clones for green perilla, which I got in an Asian market a few days ago. I grew that in hydro a few years ago, and there was no flowering, so they must have a variety that doesn't flower (I've grown it from seeds, and it bolts early), like tarragon, rao ram, and one of the sage plants I have.

 

[pepperhead212]

Late last night, when I went down for one last check on the hydro, I discovered something that I couldn't believe actually sprouted - some Hoja Santa! It's a Mexican plant, which I grew a few years ago, and vacuum packed a bunch of it, to freeze, and I'm down to the last pack of it (it kept well all this time, vacuum sealed). I tried starting some seeds in spring, with no luck, and this was sort of a hail Mary - if this didn't work, I figured I'd have to order new seeds. These are the smallest seeds I have ever seen - like dust! I just sprinkled all of the seeds on the moist coir, and pressed them against it. And this sprout, that I noticed last night, after 8 or 9 days, was like an elongated white speck of dust - I used a 15x eye loupe to confirm that it was, indeed, a sprout. I don't recall how fast those things grow, but the plants eventually get very large (about 4' in diameter) - I'll have to transfer them to regular pots, but this is how I started them before growing outside a few years ago.

Hoja santa is in the same genus as black pepper (and many other plants) - Piper - and is often called "pepper leaf".