Deep Water Culture vs Kratky... And the Importance of Air Flow in Indoor Systems

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  • Опубликовано: 18 янв 2025

Комментарии • 235

  • @nicholasroos3627
    @nicholasroos3627 Год назад +84

    Showing these failures is valuable. Sure helps a lot more than "do this for massive harvests!". I had a funny parallel experience with my peppers and their leaves indoors. Vapour pressure deficit matters a lot from what I learned.

    • @adollerhead
      @adollerhead Год назад +3

      Any tips for indoor hydroponic peppers? I've got 4 Shishito plants and 3 Cayennes going but I don't seem much info at all out there about hydroponic peppers! I'm also very new hydroponics in general. Built a setup over Christmas and have planted a ton of different things to see what I can manage!

  • @denarisnoctem4562
    @denarisnoctem4562 Год назад +30

    Failures prove something happened. Now we have something to move against/towards/around to adjust the situation. Thank you for showing the difficulties you experience! I learn more from your corrections than from your perfections.

    • @Hoocho
      @Hoocho  Год назад +4

      Love this, thank.

    • @MrMaracuda
      @MrMaracuda Год назад +1

      Great content. 🎉 Keep up.

  • @rahbabakahn
    @rahbabakahn Год назад +2

    This scientific explanation about Transpiration is fascinating, because it has a direct effect in the plants utilization of nutrients in the water. I'm trying to grow strawberries in a DWC bucket. Without a fan, and air movement, the tips of the strawberry leaves turn brown. I added a fan and airflow over the plants, and the leaves stopped turning brown. Also, the new leaves stayed green. I'm so glad that you experienced the same thing with your lettuce plants, which validates what I thought was happening. Thank you so much for this video !!

  • @rossg-d7780
    @rossg-d7780 Год назад +19

    I was also going to suggest an episode on VPD but looks like someone beat me to it! From my experience with DWC it really doesn't need to be very complicated. A few years ago I started some chillies using kratky, when they got bigger refilling the kratky became inconvenient so I switched them over to DWC. At first I bought an air pump to do it the same way as you in this video, but eventually they reached a size where the air pump felt inadequate. I can't remember where but somewhere I read that water oxygenates most at the surface. When I first looked into DWC I had assumed that you'd need to pump the oxygen directly into the water, but actually the water/air contact at the top of the container oxygenates the water just as well if not better because of the larger surface area (compared to the bubbles produced by an air stone). I had a bigger water pump laying around so I just threw that in my container instead of the air pump and it worked amazingly well, I had 0 issues. I even had the pump on timer for 15mins every 2hrs and still had no issues and healthy roots.
    All this to say DWC doesn't have to be complicated, just keep the water moving so that the surface is turning over and in my experience you're good to go. Could be another test for the channel or an idea for a new system for you to play around with - one that starts out kratky and converts to a simple DWC when the plant is big enough. Anyways, great vid as always :)

    • @andrewgordonmiddleton
      @andrewgordonmiddleton 8 месяцев назад

      This comment along with this amazing video needs to have more people know about it. It helps explain plants to me in a way I never realized! They have passive circulatory systems whereas we have active pumps to do that stuff. Your comment suggests, too, that it's the movement more than the air pump that was doing the work. Have you tried two systems side by side, one with an air pump and the other with the water pump? Very curious how that would work.

  • @Swissindoorgarden
    @Swissindoorgarden Год назад +2

    Great explanation! I have been a indoor gardener for many years. This is the biggest reason most new indoor gardens fail. You nail it!

  • @fiddlebender88
    @fiddlebender88 Год назад

    I am just starting my hydroponics journey and I can't thank you enough for this very valuable lesson, especially concerning airflow and how it affects both mature plants and seedlings. Dropping small science nuggets here and there really helps to paint the bigger picture about both indoor and outdoor gardening, whether it be hydroponics or growing in soil.

  • @11hourprep
    @11hourprep Год назад +1

    The info regarding airflow has solved one of my biggest breakdowns with my Kratky method. It explains why my leggy, barely surviving kale is miraculously coming back to life and actually showing sign of, do I dare say, flourishing. Thanks Mitch for your expertise. It as opened my eyes to the hydroponic movement! I think I’m ready to give my lettuce garden another run.

  • @FlinFarmer
    @FlinFarmer Год назад +4

    That airflow tip is a game changer for me. never thought something so simple could be preventing nutrients from getting into the plant.

    • @Hoocho
      @Hoocho  Год назад +2

      I know, Blew my mind. too...

  • @LollipoPSSTore
    @LollipoPSSTore Год назад

    Finally someone who explained the Kratky in depth the way I understood
    Thx g

  • @juliemcgugan1244
    @juliemcgugan1244 Год назад +1

    LOL! Your dog was making sure you were doing everything right! Well done, Poocho!

  • @simboodamn
    @simboodamn Год назад +6

    Very interesting! Thank you for taking the time to do those time consuming experiments for us. I've started DWC indoor with your help (believe it or not) and my romaine lettuce is just about to be harvested and was doing awesome until I saw brown tips recently! I didn't make a big deal of it since I'm harvesting the whole batch tomorrow and starting anew. I will definitely add some airflow! Superb video work

  • @davedave3631
    @davedave3631 Год назад +1

    Excellent tutorial, Hoocho. I like how you explain things so everyone can understand them. I also like how you design, create and share 3D printed parts to help solve issues you see in your systems.

  • @seanmcgrath6447
    @seanmcgrath6447 Год назад +1

    Came for the timelapse. I also figured out how much of a difference airflow makes. I use cpu fans to provide airflow, super efficient. Now that I have the airflow, I was literally able to double the light flux, increasing growth rate, while eliminating tip burn. Great vid!

  • @jaypeabee
    @jaypeabee Год назад +1

    You’re very honest about your lessons. It’s awesome to learn from your mistakes. I’m looking forward to getting my Kratsky going

  • @CapricaSoul
    @CapricaSoul Год назад +8

    Great episode! Please consider making an episode about VPD. What it is, what levels you should aim for, and how to regulate indoor systems to maintain it. 🤓

  • @williamedgar7327
    @williamedgar7327 Год назад

    Hello Hoocho and thank you for your channel. I wanted to comment on the use of the air stone and air pump. I am coming at this from an aquarium point of view. My experience has taught me that it is important to keep the air pump higher than the air stone, in the event of power loss the air lines can fill with water and siphon off the nutrient fluid in bucket adding to the problems already associated with a power outage. Simple inline check valves will also help but as a word of caution they occasionally fail as well so simply keeping the pump higher than the container is the best practice. Best wishes.

  • @belleomalley1022
    @belleomalley1022 Год назад

    Brilliant! Thank you for sharing when things don't go well and your lil pup!!

  • @kaytrim
    @kaytrim Год назад +2

    This was a very valuable lesson. Thank you for sharing your failures and research into them. This may explain why the leaves of my tomatoes are wilting off as the plants grow. I'll have to get a fan on them.

  • @Solarpunk87
    @Solarpunk87 Год назад +1

    Wow I had the same problem with the tips I thought it was nutrient burn but it's such a simple fix. thank you and to the person who suggested this.

  • @victoriadegand2393
    @victoriadegand2393 Год назад

    Thank you for showing failures. It is very helpful. You solved one of my problems I found just today!

  • @unclereefer37
    @unclereefer37 Год назад

    Love the left turn this took, just like everything I try to do in a day, start with one destination in mind and ending up somewhere completely different

  • @kevinbarnes133
    @kevinbarnes133 Год назад

    Wow. Thanks! Great info for us indoor growers. And the clarity of your presentation is wonderful.

  • @billbarnes5137
    @billbarnes5137 Год назад

    I really enjoy your teaching moments. This one, regarding air flow, was particularly enjoyable. 😊

  • @TheHayruss
    @TheHayruss Год назад +3

    In my experience DWC has never been a set and forget process I will check the nutrient levels, concentratrions and pH and adjust once a week, with a DWC system like this you might be able to get away with 2 weeks unmanaged maybe a bit longer. also having the airstones raised reduces the volume of oxygenated nutrient water available to the roots and once the level falls below that of the airstones then it turns into a Kratky method which the plants may not like due to a larger root mass expecting to be submerged. With the Kratky method a little bit of maintenance and water level management would have seen a much better end result after fixing the transipration issue. Possibly a nutrient drip could be setup to both setups to continually add a small amount of nutes and water after say week 2, just to keep both methods at a functional water level. Depending on water uptake 50ml - 250mL/ day for each method? Ahhhh forget all of the drivil I just mentioned as I suppose all it really needs is just a larger container and volume of water. It would be interesting to see how the nutrient concentration and water changes from week to week especially if tested against a fan and no fan scenario. Just my thoughts and reading back through my ramblings it sounds a bit critcal sorry for that. Love the time lapse really show the plants dancing and reacting to their environment.

  • @Liam-Breen
    @Liam-Breen 10 месяцев назад

    Came for the yield comparison and tune, left wiser about the air flow problem I was having ❤😊

  • @montanateri6889
    @montanateri6889 Год назад

    Wow. The information in this vidoe is absolute solid GOLD. The science is totally clear, understandable and so valuable. I'm so glad this test failed as we got so much valuable information out of it. I now understand fans, the value of wind. My mind is expanded and my potenial for better growing is expanded.
    thank you Hoocho!!!

  • @MrArboretus
    @MrArboretus 7 дней назад

    I just learned something new about airflow and plants. Thx

  • @DasAlbatross
    @DasAlbatross Год назад

    I just got back from the store buying fans for my indoor plants! Thank you for the video!

  • @lauriedmills7581
    @lauriedmills7581 Год назад

    Great to see a fellow Aussie and Queenslander! Learning a lot from you - thanks. :)

  • @barbarastefani254
    @barbarastefani254 15 часов назад

    Thank you for all the questions I need answered

  • @AznDumbum
    @AznDumbum Год назад

    This is valuable to watch.

  • @TheOneSpam
    @TheOneSpam Год назад +10

    Thank you, THANK YOU for posting this video. I think it's my favourite one on your channel. I haven't seen a video on your channel that I can relate to as much as this one. Learned SO much from this one! We learn so much from our mistakes. We learn almost nothing when things go well. It's a lot harder to know for sure what went right and whether it was a fluke or not (or even if things could have gone better) Like, if you did the kratky vs dwc, and they both did just fine, what would we have learned? I AM interested to see this comparison revisited, but I am very grateful that you posted this failed experiment because we learned things that are relevant for ANY indoor system. Thanks again!

  • @patdodrill9411
    @patdodrill9411 Год назад

    Mate you are just the best!! I look forward to every experiment you go through. You help me tune up my system regularly 🤙🤙

  • @SnakeAndTurtleQigong
    @SnakeAndTurtleQigong Год назад

    Appreciate the reminders!!

  • @MKSouthernStar
    @MKSouthernStar Год назад

    Thank you, I have learnt heaps in this episode.

  • @varmoes
    @varmoes Год назад

    Hydroponics is the perfect balance between science & engineering. So enjoyable!

  • @davidw1324
    @davidw1324 Год назад

    Good lesson with great information. Thank You.

  • @danieldewindt3919
    @danieldewindt3919 Год назад

    Nice and surprising result :)

  • @quixoticgeeks
    @quixoticgeeks Год назад +7

    Would be really interesting to see an experiment on how much air flow is needed. And does it need to be all day,or just when the lights are on ?

  • @robcitizen6169
    @robcitizen6169 Год назад

    Thanks Hoocho REALLY Great stuff Love ya work !

  • @MattGarver
    @MattGarver Год назад

    Clever 3D holder for the air stones, I like those. Your indoor grows are looking better. Simplicity and great results..., repeat.

  • @jlewis300
    @jlewis300 7 месяцев назад +1

    I use 1/4" soaker tubing rather than a stone. I can make a coil which surrounds the roots with bubbly goodness. I drill a couple of bigger holes as well. Works great, I struggled with my stones getting clogged

  • @jonathanporter9983
    @jonathanporter9983 Год назад

    I've been having the same exact issue with my indoor kratky system. Thank you so much for the explanation and I can't wait to add some fans!

  • @diogosilva2475
    @diogosilva2475 7 месяцев назад

    Fantastic video !!!!

  • @MR-ri1qp
    @MR-ri1qp Год назад +1

    Love the setup and the science lesson. Love the zapper at the end, bad boy sounded like bacon sizzling... haha

    • @Hoocho
      @Hoocho  Год назад +1

      Poor little fella… unless he was eating my plants… in which place, he got what he deserved.

  • @mistyjohnson4794
    @mistyjohnson4794 Год назад

    Thank you so much for explaining the science in this. It makes so much sense I appreciate it. Also shows the importance of nature & being outside in its natural habitat therefore we should do our best to try and replicate that environment as much as possible when we can.

  • @michaelgoff9671
    @michaelgoff9671 6 месяцев назад

    Learned from watching a ton of RUclips before I started anything. Airflow is the easiest way to deter pest, strengthens the plant, and reduces humidity which helps VPD.

  • @charlesraeclark7141
    @charlesraeclark7141 Год назад

    This explains some of my own burnt ends. Thank you for sharing!

  • @karimhayes3134
    @karimhayes3134 Год назад

    just love your explanation

  • @amydolby1010
    @amydolby1010 10 месяцев назад

    Amazing, didn't know any of that! Thanks!!

  • @TNBNaturals
    @TNBNaturals Год назад +1

    You do such an amazing job!

  • @bobby.schlueter
    @bobby.schlueter Год назад

    I have the OXYPOT XL as my first DWC reservoir for indoor growth and had planned on some 3D prints to duplicate the air stone placement just like you have shown here. I think this will be a perfect compliment to my grow towers. As always, appreciate your trial and errors to help us avoid the same in our grows.

    • @atomizer2665
      @atomizer2665 Год назад +1

      The oxypots have the airstone holders molded into the base of the reservoir. This is prolly where Hoocho got the idea from :)

  • @garys6583
    @garys6583 Год назад

    Awesome video and info , thank you

  • @JoeKissell81
    @JoeKissell81 Год назад +6

    Regarding the Stomata, I read that birds chirping in the morning trigger the stomata into opening. And, that is the reason why people growing indoors see improvement when playing classical music to their plants. The theory is that classical music simulates birds chirping and therefore improves respiration through the stomata. I would love to see an episode where you run tests on playing music to your plants.

    • @ThePrimeMinisterOfTheBlock
      @ThePrimeMinisterOfTheBlock Месяц назад

      I would expect a recording of birds chirping would have the effect you're looking for? After all, without birds to chirp the playing of classical music would not have any effect?

  • @andrewislas7742
    @andrewislas7742 Год назад

    This was so amazing to see man
    Thank you

  • @rw-xf4cb
    @rw-xf4cb Год назад

    At the end - ah the serenity!

  • @YZ13555
    @YZ13555 Год назад

    Very informative Thanks!

  • @austinscottful
    @austinscottful Год назад

    Thank you so much for this. I have had similar failures and your video has really opened my eyes to the ... Root cause.

  • @charlesdang2557
    @charlesdang2557 Год назад

    Great info, my friend

  • @Hatchmade
    @Hatchmade Год назад

    Thanks for sharing. I appreciate your knowledge and experience.

  • @gpsawyer
    @gpsawyer Год назад

    Amazing video, thank you for showing a failed experiment and using the opportunity to learn and teach!

  • @bennythepetty
    @bennythepetty 8 месяцев назад

    Do you have a video of the tiered NFT system you built at 0:48 ?

  • @buban88
    @buban88 Год назад

    thanks for every Video

  • @wayne8113
    @wayne8113 Год назад

    Thanks Hoocho

  • @claudiolenz6178
    @claudiolenz6178 Год назад +1

    Thanks again for the nice experiment and of course the great time laps. I've already noticed the airflow thing myself and got better results with fans, but your explanation was very helpful to understand the context in the right way. thinking about it, it's kinda obvisouly plants do need some air, like in nature. I run my setup with some 120mm PC fans (30 min on/off), which are very cheap and mostly powerful enough.
    Looking forward to your next comparison video. It would be interesting to see if different air on/off intervals or diffirent intvervals during day/night cycles would affect plant growth.
    By the way i think dwc has only an advantage to bigger plants with fruits.

  • @daphnetilling6034
    @daphnetilling6034 6 месяцев назад +1

    not sure if this has been covered elsewhere but how did you create the pucks? I am currently looking into setting up hydroponics and the idea of not using the cup things appeals to my skint lifestyle.

  • @wiaanhaasbroek8561
    @wiaanhaasbroek8561 Год назад +1

    Awesome!

  • @grannygooch706
    @grannygooch706 Год назад

    Thank you.

  • @theresalarson9416
    @theresalarson9416 Год назад

    Super helpful info! Thx 👍

  • @danielneukomm4097
    @danielneukomm4097 Год назад

    Very good video!!

  • @victoriao1828
    @victoriao1828 24 дня назад

    Thank you

  • @MikeParentLeap
    @MikeParentLeap Год назад

    Great information. TY. Now run that Kratky vs DWC TEST PLEASE. 😉

  • @leannekenyoung
    @leannekenyoung Год назад +2

    That is really interesting and I guess intuitively I just must have known this because I’ve always had a fan running on my indoor grow systems(not my seedlings though). I never knew why it worked I just knew it did and I was having amazing results with all my leafy greens and everyone was always amazed at the colors. To me it was normal and I was always cutting the outer leaves off every 7-10 days so I never gave the plants an opportunity to not get their required nutrients. But it’s very interesting my initial thought was to keep good air flow to prevent any mold or fungus issues but I’m blown away to learn how it actually helped the plants to pull in the nutrients needed. One question-on your video time lapse you said that your pak Choi ran out of nutrients and that was why they were weathering and dying but did they also run out of water entirely? Because it’s been my experience as long as they have water they will continue to survive and they will grow slowly but the intensity of the green leaves will be quite light in color but they won’t die down the way yours did, so was it nutrients and water that was lacking?🥰❤️🙏🏻🇨🇦

  • @benwhiting7173
    @benwhiting7173 Год назад

    Just wondering where you got the XPS board from?

  • @rmcnasty7319
    @rmcnasty7319 Год назад

    Another good Video

  • @KenjaajneK
    @KenjaajneK Год назад

    Great Video on several levels..... Thanks for being you... I so enjoy the fact that you showcase All the journey so as to be able to learn from the mishaps and "Grow" from the learning experience along the way. #GreatGrowInfo

  • @tradermunky1998
    @tradermunky1998 Год назад +1

    Ha, I'm test running a 2x4 foot lettuce kratky indoors at the moment. You were smart going with smaller bins, I didn't think this through as I have to clean out the whole thing at once which is not ideal.
    I guess I better get a fan 😆

  • @Grudg
    @Grudg Год назад +1

    Can anyone point me to any studies that cover health info of consumption of hydroponic food please?

  • @hereslukas
    @hereslukas Год назад

    Hey mate, just FYI - Bunnings has deleted that EPS foam from their inventory. Got told by them a few weeks ago, half way through insulating my shed.

  • @tjoppanz8848
    @tjoppanz8848 Год назад

    What foam do you use? Brand name perhaps? Trying to find some across the ditch but can only find extruded polystyrene, is it the same thing?

  • @michaeleyeisha2003
    @michaeleyeisha2003 Год назад

    What lights are those on the shelf? Where can I find them? Thanks

  • @nodwas11
    @nodwas11 Год назад +1

    I need a Hoochos starter guide (beyond lettuces albeit I know they are the right place to start) and summary of nuances between different plants. There's so much information to digest.
    My goal is to have a small variety of systems and plants for a level of self sustained food production and I know it'll grow, some pun intended, from there

    • @Hoocho
      @Hoocho  Год назад

      What would you like included in the starter guide?

    • @nodwas11
      @nodwas11 Год назад +1

      @@Hoocho that's a really good question. I think my sticking points today as I'm trying to dive into hydroponics are recommendations on what system might be easiest to start up with different varieties of plants and watchouts.
      I'm working my way through the various textbooks and I haven't seen any sort of guidance yet on nutrient differences between plant families, certainly the lettuces need different nutrients from potato or strawberry? Maybe they don't.
      I'm going to start with small samples of different things but it would be nice for a Hoochos quick start guide for newbies.

  • @seansmith3422
    @seansmith3422 Год назад

    In my indoor DWC you can definitely see the effect of the air movement right now it’s a little overgrown and the plants not getting as much airflow have the expected brown tips. I usually rotate the plants every few days, been busy and didn’t the last week and it is showing.

  • @mattpedler4517
    @mattpedler4517 Год назад

    23:50 What's Stomata with you?

  • @kencrypt2535
    @kencrypt2535 Год назад

    You're amazing thank you

  • @Dasedandconfused314
    @Dasedandconfused314 Год назад

    Love it! If you use a heat gun on the 3D print for a couple seconds, all the stringing will disappear.

  • @gutrali
    @gutrali Год назад

    Are the white cameras you're using everywhere Wyze cams? Which ones ?

  • @victoriadegand2393
    @victoriadegand2393 Год назад

    Thank you for all your information, but as a newbie to this I’m frustrated. I probably follow you more than anyone, because of your explanations of the good bad & ugly.
    So, my growing is about 1/4 your rate. I’m using master blend. I start my seedlings in either a propagation box or the aero system. Both do well. It’s when I transfer to Kratky that things slow down. I have the red/white/blue grow lights. Use MB, some foods are in coco noir, lava balls or a combo or coco noir/vermiculite/perlite. I wash & all before using & soak in nutrients as well.
    My plants are also exposed to South windows & I have a fan going.
    Yet my plant growth is so slow. Nothing like your time lapse & I feel like I’m doing all you are doing EXCEPT perhaps I do not have the proper humidity or heat levels.
    We recently moved to an area where food gardening outside is not allowed. I have planted some lettuce & other items between flowers but that’s all I can do without being discovered.
    Is the answer what I think? Humidity & heat?

  • @chrisschultz1580
    @chrisschultz1580 Год назад

    I just discovered your channel yesterday and subbed this morning. I've been binge watching earlier episodes. I'm a died in the wool organic soil grower and am just starting to get interested in hydroponics. I'm considering trying indoor lettuce using the Kratkey system, but it was very disheartening to watch the Kratkey plants wither away after running out of nutrients.

  • @danielsanderson-brown4960
    @danielsanderson-brown4960 Год назад

    HI,
    What's the nutrient solution that you use?
    Thanks

  • @bbdoll1234
    @bbdoll1234 Год назад

    Does anyone know where he's bought the foam board

  • @rburn99
    @rburn99 8 месяцев назад

    so why did both trays stop growing? You said they ran out of nutrients? What could be done to keep that from happening? Can you add nutrient enriched water periodically?

  • @toastrecon
    @toastrecon Год назад +1

    Fascinating! So the transpiration acts like a discharge or outlet so the water and nutrients coming up from the roots can happen, or happen more quickly. Faster than a mechanism like osmotic pressure.
    Question: is there a way to produce starts using kratky that would eventually be transplanted into soil? I live in a cold climate and want to start some larger plants that I don’t have room for indoors, but that would get killed by occasional frosts in the spring. Would the air/water roots live in soil?

    • @Hoocho
      @Hoocho  Год назад +2

      I’ve replanted into other substrates with success. But only into hydroponic media… unsure about soil. The plant will need more water than usual for a time.
      The difference being the plant will need to reestablish the roots to contact the soil, rather than hydro where the nutrients are aqueous in the provided water.

    • @toastrecon
      @toastrecon Год назад

      @@Hoocho cool! I might give it a shot and do half and half - some sprouted and started in a soil planter and then some in a kratky and then transplanted.

    • @MB-co6qj
      @MB-co6qj Год назад +1

      @@toastrecon yeah it'll work! Make sure you water it in really well, as the roots aee used to water. Then gradually diminish the moisture. You'll have to play around a bit to know when is the time to treat it like a real soilplant.

  • @krassimirharalanov5158
    @krassimirharalanov5158 Год назад

    Are the black containers available for purchase in US?

  • @5innista
    @5innista Год назад

    Fresh episode yeeeew!🤙

  • @TimCheney-l9m
    @TimCheney-l9m 5 месяцев назад

    I made a kratky wishing well that holds 2 30 gallion tubs.growing 6 cucumber plant's. Using master blend nutrition did very well till hot dry winds it is partially shaded from 12pm till 4 pm I have had to add 15 gallions to each tub

  • @drfrostybuds5288
    @drfrostybuds5288 Год назад

    What's the name of the song and band playing during timelapse 2?

  • @brian420pm
    @brian420pm Год назад +1

    The airstone positions can be improved. Currently they will affect the two center plants twice the amount of the 4 corners. Just move them 1/3rd the distance to each closest end. That will shrink the disparity of those center plants from 100% to just 8%.

  • @CrankyCoder
    @CrankyCoder Год назад

    what do you use for your timelapse cameras?

  • @timnic3850
    @timnic3850 Год назад

    I've added the KNF Jadam Organic Pest and Disease solutions to manage my pest and disease issues. It is cheap to make, organic and doesn't affect my vegetables and improves the leave's moisture absorption too.