Never hesitate to post your failures! How-to guides on what to do right are great, but everyone makes mistakes. Knowing the signs to look out for nutrient deficiency is also valuable information. Entertaining and informative as always, keep up the great work!
"AND-HE-SCORES-!!!!! - ladies and gentlemen. We don't know how he does it but we love it." (Thanks, Hoocho; keep up the real work because it works. It's real gardening and real life.)😎
Can you make a "troubleshooting" video. For example, using a kratky system, what to do when the leaves are going yellow or brown. Perhaps there is a dozen issues someone may run into over the course of their 1st harvest. Would appreciate is this is something you will be doing in the near future 😊. Love the content, you're the reason I've embarked on my own journey with raised beds as well as kratky system techniques. Keep It Up!
I have a wicking bed set-up on a tiny condo patio (6’x9’). While I have regular tomatoes hanging from the ceiling, all my tomatoes in the wicking bed are micro dwarf varieties. It’s too hot at the moment and my plants have stopped producing flowers. However, I’ve had some great salads between my indoor lettuce and my outdoor tomatoes. I did come out one morning to find all the foliage stripped from three tomato plants and one pepper plant. 🤬 I found the culprits immediately, two small horn worms, and removed them. I’m currently converting a large walk in closet as an indoor greenhouse. I’m planning a tower garden with a five gallon reservoir and a 2-4 bucket DWC system. I’m still working out a ventilation system. If I can move my tomatoes and peppers inside, I’ll have room for two more citrus trees on the patio.
Nice 1 Mr Hoocho. Last year we had a so-so havest of tomatoes due to the hit and miss weather, then the king parrots helped with the havesting. This year we are thinking of a enclosure of a similar design to your to get over that problem. Keep up with the good work.
fantastic video i actually try to do this with cocktail tomatos in my aqua ponics setup worked very well till we started having colder weather as we now in the winter here in south africa. cant wait to do more in August end of winter.... but yes fantastic video your amazing grower i use alot of your ideas
Another great video Hoocho! I'd love to see a video about your camera stands, especially for the time lapse videos. That would be interesting and awesome. Hints, tips and hacks for time lapse camera angles and setups etc. Much kudos brother!
Hey Hoocho, great vid! No one ever learned anything through being successfull. I have been growing sweet 100 cherry tomatoes in my NFT (flat bottom pipe) since mid summer down here in the redlands, and theyre just starting to give some nice ripe fruit, maybe you could try growing these? Cheers 👍
For someone that is contemplating getting into this, its great to see this video. Basically because i can see that is not as "hands on" as i though it would be. Seeing that it can be as simple as what you showed give me hope that person like me that can kill anything might have a chance to be able to grown food.
If you do it right, hydroponics is very fool proof as an approach. The only real issue (if the system is working) is not changing out the nutrient regularily. As it's sucked up by the plant, the remaining liquid gets less balanced in the remaining nutrients, which could kill the plant after a while. If you want to start out without spending a lot, get a nice liquid fertilizer and do a bucket kratky system to play around with. Of course that's not a perfected system, but can teach you quite a bit about the general needs. EC and pH testing is a good next step. But you can go for a big system as well. Just a matter of money, time and expected results.
Could either of you recommend a good affordable way to test water parameters routinely? I've been toying with kratky buckets and the $7 3-way device I got online is a bit, well cheap lol. It seems to measure PH correct sometimes, until I start mixing too many nutrients, then it goes wacky. I've been trying to use that in correlation with pool test strips, which I don't always trust either, especially the tds readings. Any tips would be appreciated!
@@13panda13.... how well does liquid rock work in these systems? pH from the well is 8.2, pH at my pond is 7.8.. EC is stupid high. well 560, pond 62.. pond is just rainwater catchment..
I love watching all your videos because it's a learning experience we learned what you learned through your experience would like to see the failures so we know what we can expect if we make the same mistakes
I have watched a few of your videos now, with the intention of setting up my own hydro system. I see that your system is enclosed with poly roof and a tight screen. What do you do about pollination of plants like tomatoes? You may have answered this elsewhere, and I may not have yet seen that video. Thank you.
To find success you may need to take on a more commercial approach, meaning grafting your tomatoes onto a dewarf stock. to do better size wise in the NFT rail. That mozaic leaf virus can be bread out over some generations. It would be a cool video to go and visit a tomato breeder. I would watch that video.
So have you compared scoria to pumice with the happy sun peat your using ?? I’m interested to see how the two differ in hydro set up. Pumice is similar but has more air cavities then scoria and pumice also floats on water 🤔🤔😉☺️
Looks like the foam pucks might be a good option for stopping the algae from getting to that thick sludgy stage in the ground pvc pipe. Should allow the water to flow more easily, preventing backing up and submersing the roots. Hopefully the additional oxygen to the roots have a positive effect on the plants ability to stave off disease too.
More oxygen will only cause more algae and it doesnt prevent RR. The problem that needs addressing is either Temp, Light, or a combo. That is what causes the algae. Using the pucks was a no brainer.
Great vid as usual Mitchell! Watching the ups and downs you go through makes me giggle a bit because I can totally relate, Im trying to get so much done and have silly goofs like forgetting to turn OFF my watering system for the in ground tomatoes or forgetting to turn on taps coming off of the main from the IBC, I feel like I need an assistant and I KNOW you could use one as well lol, Happy Hydroponicing mate!
@@13panda13 I'm setting up mostly on gravity and let it do the work for me but I still want to build some NFTs and some verticals so I will have to add power eventually, I already have my lights indoors automated with gravity feeds as well.
@@brandonlantier Hi, could you, 13panda13 or anyone explain what you mean by gravity feeds? And how it relates to your lighting? Sounds quite interesting.
You can do it. Maybe just adjust your parameters a bit, topping with water more often, but I bet the arid climate would be fantastic as there'd be less pests, molds. fungus etc. We can get pretty dry during draughts here in the midwest and the tomatoes only seem to thrive as long as their roots can take up water.
I was wondering the same thing. When I’ve tried growing tomatoes in a vertical system, the roots clogged the base of it. So I’ve been growing them in Dutch buckets instead and the root system is pretty extensive.
Just seeing the starter trays makes me wonder what I am not doing right. My plants seem to plateau really fast in the starter trays and they do great once I move them into my kratky systems. Should I add nutrient into the starter trays after plants have grown up a bit to help them mature a bit more?
Seedlings dont need nutrients, the seed has it all built in, but once rooting begins, feed at half strength. Once you pot and establish them, raise them to normal strength.
@@13panda13 that's kinda what I meant. It's been a month and they've stopped growing. I assume it's cause water and sunlight isnt enough to keep growing. Thanks
@@nodwas11 I wonder, how are you starting your seedlings? When I've tried peat pots in the past, I'd have a little luck, but seemed like most of my plants would just sort of stop doing much after a few days or a week, often turning yellow. Sometimes I'd get them to snap out of it and grow again after adding garden lime and adding them to garden or potting soil. The funny thing is, I never understood why I or others use peat pots, as to my understanding peat is very acidic, 3.0-4.0 ph is what google tells me, while most plants like the 5-7 range. But still yet, my wife just planted a bed of zinnia starters grown in peat plugs and they seem to be doing fine, shot their little roots right through the peat. I guess I'm just always confused lol. Anywho, that's just my own experience with starters that seem to "plateau" as you say. I'm yet to start from seed and ad to hydroponics so I wouldn't know, but if we're talking about regular soil planting, the stuff called "Pro-mix" is pretty good for getting starters off to a decent pace out of the gate.
Hi mate, been watching the show for a while now, and now I have a little green house ready to go, (in Bundaberg) but I cannot find a supplier of the nutrients you use, can I ask where you buy and exactly what nutrients your using (I know it's diamond,, something) cheers.
Did a quick google... In bundy. E.E. Muir & Sons Agrochemicals supplier Address: 30 Ellen Dr, Thabeban QLD 4670 Ask for 25kg Campbells diamond Spec t and 25kg Campbells nitrocal
Hi, I'm Nino, I'm writing to you from SICILY, I'd like to start growing with a hydroponic system and I'd like to buy rectangular pvc pipes, but I don't know where, can you give me an address? Thank you very much
Hoocho Giday Mate I’m just now becoming financially able to purchase a good quality Ph & Ex meter but notice the link you offer from Amazon isn’t working. Can it be refreshed please 😢 Thanks from Perth WA
My current meter (which I love) is a hanna HI9813-6 About to start working with bluelab, which are also high quality and more competitively priced. Big Truncheon fan. You can't go wrong with either of these brands. IMO
@@Hoocho @Hoocho Cmon, dude are u serious? They are basic simple pH/EC meters. That Bluelabs model was released 19 years ago😅😅 and their products are retadardly overpriced for fools who like to extort their wallet and time 😅. My meter was $100, it does Temp, EC, TDS, Salinity, proportion and pH, all at once, 24/7\365. Its WiFi so you can check anywhere, in the world, at anytime, it also sends notification alerts to your phone for whatever parameters you program if they go out of range. E.g high or low pH, or high or low EC, or high or low temp, whatever! It can also control, by wifi, switches, lights, fans, pumps whatever you want according to your parameters programmed. It always records all this data, and displays in a graph, the hour, day, month, year, statistics. But its not a mobile unit, pasee, its to be mounted per res. It uses a wall mount p/s, low voltage 5v, but to run from any usb, for e.g. battery/solar, you need to change the pinout of a usb cable, which is easy. DID I MENTION it also can export all this data to a .xlsx file? And it does this for free! 😊 And replacement probes are $20-30. With a choice of single or double salt bridges. Bluelabs, trunchen😅😅😅ffs get real.
Can try Bugs for Bugs who have bugs that attack spider mites. Spider mites need multiple treatments with chemicals because their eggs hatch about every two weeks and develop resistance to chemicals quickly.
Never hesitate to post your failures! How-to guides on what to do right are great, but everyone makes mistakes. Knowing the signs to look out for nutrient deficiency is also valuable information. Entertaining and informative as always, keep up the great work!
Absolutely right! I like seeing fails. Not to laugh at them, but it's nice to know that not everything is perfect and anything can be improved upon.
"AND-HE-SCORES-!!!!! - ladies and gentlemen. We don't know how he does it but we love it." (Thanks, Hoocho; keep up the real work because it works. It's real gardening and real life.)😎
Can you make a "troubleshooting" video. For example, using a kratky system, what to do when the leaves are going yellow or brown. Perhaps there is a dozen issues someone may run into over the course of their 1st harvest. Would appreciate is this is something you will be doing in the near future 😊. Love the content, you're the reason I've embarked on my own journey with raised beds as well as kratky system techniques. Keep It Up!
Appreciate you allowing us to learn with you. Its very refreshing.
I have a wicking bed set-up on a tiny condo patio (6’x9’). While I have regular tomatoes hanging from the ceiling, all my tomatoes in the wicking bed are micro dwarf varieties. It’s too hot at the moment and my plants have stopped producing flowers. However, I’ve had some great salads between my indoor lettuce and my outdoor tomatoes. I did come out one morning to find all the foliage stripped from three tomato plants and one pepper plant. 🤬 I found the culprits immediately, two small horn worms, and removed them. I’m currently converting a large walk in closet as an indoor greenhouse. I’m planning a tower garden with a five gallon reservoir and a 2-4 bucket DWC system. I’m still working out a ventilation system. If I can move my tomatoes and peppers inside, I’ll have room for two more citrus trees on the patio.
Thanks Hoocho, I learn more when you upload Good and bad. 👍
Super helpful video, thanks!
Nice 1 Mr Hoocho. Last year we had a so-so havest of tomatoes due to the hit and miss weather, then the king parrots helped with the havesting. This year we are thinking of a enclosure of a similar design to your to get over that problem. Keep up with the good work.
Amazing as always
There is more knowledge in your failures than in you successes, thank you for sharing. Respect.
Very good explaination like usal ! Well done Mate!
fantastic video i actually try to do this with cocktail tomatos in my aqua ponics setup worked very well till we started having colder weather as we now in the winter here in south africa. cant wait to do more in August end of winter.... but yes fantastic video your amazing grower i use alot of your ideas
You are sharing your mistakes, and that helps us a lot. Really 💪💪
Another great video Hoocho! I'd love to see a video about your camera stands, especially for the time lapse videos. That would be interesting and awesome.
Hints, tips and hacks for time lapse camera angles and setups etc. Much kudos brother!
Still an interesting video. I love watching how other people do things, and seeing their successes.......and failures.
For people in the States, the square plastic fence posts from Home deport work great for NFT!
"Without the failures, there wouldn't be much content anyways..." Haha, that's great!
Hey Hoocho, great vid! No one ever learned anything through being successfull. I have been growing sweet 100 cherry tomatoes in my NFT (flat bottom pipe) since mid summer down here in the redlands, and theyre just starting to give some nice ripe fruit, maybe you could try growing these? Cheers 👍
Heavy roots on Toms, maybe 6inch pipe with the style of sytem 🤔 Mr H.
I’ve got a bato bucket x5 to setup and I’m gathering everything for on NFT system also. My potatoes need to go to dirt. Busy busy 🍺🍺
Lucky the backup tank was on.
What did you use for spider mites.
@@jqc5 I think he said he removed the foliage
Try running a thin layer of cloth inside the pipe along the bottom, to slow the flow and have roots grip to it?
Not necessary, roots just want air, food and water. Flow is controlled by a tap.
For someone that is contemplating getting into this, its great to see this video.
Basically because i can see that is not as "hands on" as i though it would be. Seeing that it can be as simple as what you showed give me hope that person like me that can kill anything might have a chance to be able to grown food.
If you do it right, hydroponics is very fool proof as an approach. The only real issue (if the system is working) is not changing out the nutrient regularily. As it's sucked up by the plant, the remaining liquid gets less balanced in the remaining nutrients, which could kill the plant after a while. If you want to start out without spending a lot, get a nice liquid fertilizer and do a bucket kratky system to play around with. Of course that's not a perfected system, but can teach you quite a bit about the general needs. EC and pH testing is a good next step.
But you can go for a big system as well. Just a matter of money, time and expected results.
EC and pH are the first step!
Could either of you recommend a good affordable way to test water parameters routinely? I've been toying with kratky buckets and the $7 3-way device I got online is a bit, well cheap lol. It seems to measure PH correct sometimes, until I start mixing too many nutrients, then it goes wacky. I've been trying to use that in correlation with pool test strips, which I don't always trust either, especially the tds readings. Any tips would be appreciated!
@@13panda13.... how well does liquid rock work in these systems? pH from the well is 8.2, pH at my pond is 7.8.. EC is stupid high. well 560, pond 62.. pond is just rainwater catchment..
I love watching all your videos because it's a learning experience we learned what you learned through your experience would like to see the failures so we know what we can expect if we make the same mistakes
Hi greats videos just wondering where you get the reservoir container you use I,m at Gympie thanks
great content hoocho
@Hoo_cho. keep your price mofo
I have watched a few of your videos now, with the intention of setting up my own hydro system. I see that your system is enclosed with poly roof and a tight screen. What do you do about pollination of plants like tomatoes? You may have answered this elsewhere, and I may not have yet seen that video. Thank you.
Hoocho. How cool is 'cool enough' with your outdoor reservoir water? Are you adding anything to inoculate the water from diseases like root rot?
To find success you may need to take on a more commercial approach, meaning grafting your tomatoes onto a dewarf stock. to do better size wise in the NFT rail. That mozaic leaf virus can be bread out over some generations. It would be a cool video to go and visit a tomato breeder. I would watch that video.
Good use of King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard!
So have you compared scoria to pumice with the happy sun peat your using ?? I’m interested to see how the two differ in hydro set up. Pumice is similar but has more air cavities then scoria and pumice also floats on water 🤔🤔😉☺️
I am trying to grow some tomatoes using a hybrid cratky method. Yours look a hell of a lot healthier than mine does 😂
Tomatoes in WW were almost $13/ kgs last week. Puppies thought plants needed calcium
😂
More like ammonia
Looks like the foam pucks might be a good option for stopping the algae from getting to that thick sludgy stage in the ground pvc pipe. Should allow the water to flow more easily, preventing backing up and submersing the roots. Hopefully the additional oxygen to the roots have a positive effect on the plants ability to stave off disease too.
More oxygen will only cause more algae and it doesnt prevent RR. The problem that needs addressing is either Temp, Light, or a combo. That is what causes the algae. Using the pucks was a no brainer.
Flashback Hoocho to when he had hair…classic ;)
You obviously end up with a fair amount of excess produce/plant matter. Do you compost/do regular gardening too?
I like your video
Great vid as usual Mitchell! Watching the ups and downs you go through makes me giggle a bit because I can totally relate, Im trying to get so much done and have silly goofs like forgetting to turn OFF my watering system for the in ground tomatoes or forgetting to turn on taps coming off of the main from the IBC, I feel like I need an assistant and I KNOW you could use one as well lol, Happy Hydroponicing mate!
To automate or to be a slave, that is the question!
@@13panda13 I'm setting up mostly on gravity and let it do the work for me but I still want to build some NFTs and some verticals so I will have to add power eventually, I already have my lights indoors automated with gravity feeds as well.
@@brandonlantier Thats sounds great. I live on a hill and my garden is below me so gravity is on my side. What type of control do you need?
@@13panda13 Sorry didn't see your comment, I just use small float valves in my containers to keep the levels up.
@@brandonlantier Hi, could you, 13panda13 or anyone explain what you mean by gravity feeds? And how it relates to your lighting? Sounds quite interesting.
i like your video
WTF - You're awful at this! LOL Thank you for the experience. I enjoyed the journey.
Do you think your methods would work in a low-humidity environment? I live in an arid desert and worry about excess evaporation
You can do it. Maybe just adjust your parameters a bit, topping with water more often, but I bet the arid climate would be fantastic as there'd be less pests, molds. fungus etc. We can get pretty dry during draughts here in the midwest and the tomatoes only seem to thrive as long as their roots can take up water.
Any problem w the tomato root system blocking water flow? Thanks.
I was wondering the same thing. When I’ve tried growing tomatoes in a vertical system, the roots clogged the base of it. So I’ve been growing them in Dutch buckets instead and the root system is pretty extensive.
Love you
No homo
Just seeing the starter trays makes me wonder what I am not doing right. My plants seem to plateau really fast in the starter trays and they do great once I move them into my kratky systems. Should I add nutrient into the starter trays after plants have grown up a bit to help them mature a bit more?
Seedlings dont need nutrients, the seed has it all built in, but once rooting begins, feed at half strength. Once you pot and establish them, raise them to normal strength.
@@13panda13 that's kinda what I meant. It's been a month and they've stopped growing. I assume it's cause water and sunlight isnt enough to keep growing. Thanks
@@nodwas11 I wonder, how are you starting your seedlings? When I've tried peat pots in the past, I'd have a little luck, but seemed like most of my plants would just sort of stop doing much after a few days or a week, often turning yellow. Sometimes I'd get them to snap out of it and grow again after adding garden lime and adding them to garden or potting soil. The funny thing is, I never understood why I or others use peat pots, as to my understanding peat is very acidic, 3.0-4.0 ph is what google tells me, while most plants like the 5-7 range.
But still yet, my wife just planted a bed of zinnia starters grown in peat plugs and they seem to be doing fine, shot their little roots right through the peat. I guess I'm just always confused lol.
Anywho, that's just my own experience with starters that seem to "plateau" as you say. I'm yet to start from seed and ad to hydroponics so I wouldn't know, but if we're talking about regular soil planting, the stuff called "Pro-mix" is pretty good for getting starters off to a decent pace out of the gate.
14:34 is that a frog? hahahaha
Hi mate, been watching the show for a while now, and now I have a little green house ready to go, (in Bundaberg) but I cannot find a supplier of the nutrients you use, can I ask where you buy and exactly what nutrients your using (I know it's diamond,, something) cheers.
Did a quick google...
In bundy.
E.E. Muir & Sons
Agrochemicals supplier
Address: 30 Ellen Dr, Thabeban QLD 4670
Ask for
25kg Campbells diamond Spec t
and
25kg Campbells nitrocal
Bunnies have manutec hydroponic nutrient that is a good starter if secialt isnot available.
@@gardnep cheers, yes thats what I'm using, but once used up I want to try cambells diamond. thanks again
@@Hoocho Perfect, thank you, have been to every store in Bundy but this one, and none of them told me about this supplier cheers.
Hi, I'm Nino, I'm writing to you from SICILY, I'd like to start growing with a hydroponic system and I'd like to buy rectangular pvc pipes, but I don't know where, can you give me an address?
Thank you very much
Hoocho
Giday Mate
I’m just now becoming financially able to purchase a good quality Ph & Ex meter but notice the link you offer from Amazon isn’t working. Can it be refreshed please 😢
Thanks from Perth WA
My current meter (which I love) is a hanna HI9813-6
About to start working with bluelab, which are also high quality and more competitively priced.
Big Truncheon fan.
You can't go wrong with either of these brands. IMO
@@Hoocho @Hoocho Cmon, dude are u serious? They are basic simple pH/EC meters. That Bluelabs model was released 19 years ago😅😅 and their products are retadardly overpriced for fools who like to extort their wallet and time 😅.
My meter was $100, it does Temp, EC, TDS, Salinity, proportion and pH, all at once, 24/7\365. Its WiFi so you can check anywhere, in the world, at anytime, it also sends notification alerts to your phone for whatever parameters you program if they go out of range. E.g high or low pH, or high or low EC, or high or low temp, whatever! It can also control, by wifi, switches, lights, fans, pumps whatever you want according to your parameters programmed. It always records all this data, and displays in a graph, the hour, day, month, year, statistics. But its not a mobile unit, pasee, its to be mounted per res. It uses a wall mount p/s, low voltage 5v, but to run from any usb, for e.g. battery/solar, you need to change the pinout of a usb cable, which is easy. DID I MENTION it also can export all this data to a .xlsx file? And it does this for free! 😊 And replacement probes are $20-30. With a choice of single or double salt bridges. Bluelabs, trunchen😅😅😅ffs get real.
@@13panda13 What meter do you use?
How do you treat your spider mites? They always come back on me.
Honestly, still working on that.
White oil, pyrethrum and butanol oxide…
Can try Bugs for Bugs who have bugs that attack spider mites. Spider mites need multiple treatments with chemicals because their eggs hatch about every two weeks and develop resistance to chemicals quickly.
this guy wants to sell t shirt