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Post by ftlaudmom on Jan 18, 2024 11:40:07 GMT -5
I have a URUQ 12 pod system that came with AB fertilizers. This is my first hydroponic garden and I'm on day 23 of growing herbs. I added the recommended dosage of A&B once I saw sprouts (around day 4) but have not added anything more since. AG systems have a countdown timer to let you know when to add AG nutrition approximately every 14 days, but my system instructions says to add nutrition when adding water. I have not had a need to add water and the water is clear and clean so no need to R&R either. How do I know when I need to add more nutrition and how should I do it if I don't need a water change? I have not found been able to find any guidance on that online and maybe I'm not using the right search terms. I am seeking guidance from the more experienced users who do use AB fertilizers. Thanks.
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patlab
AGA Sprout
Gardening is cheaper than therapy…. And you get tomatoes!
Posts: 80
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Post by patlab on Jan 18, 2024 14:11:48 GMT -5
I’ve never used them so I can’t give you any advice. I do have a few sitting on my shelf, so I’d like to know how to use them as well.
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pfunnyjoy
AGA Bounty
Made more grow room in my office!
Posts: 791
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Post by pfunnyjoy on Jan 18, 2024 15:26:29 GMT -5
I've no experience with the AB nutrients, so take this advice with a grain of salt.
If your garden does not have a timer, then you should probably monitor feeding manually!
A simple solution is to take some blue painter's tape and a Sharpie, and write the date you added nutrients on a bit of tape, stick it on the garden somewhere. Or set up a reminder on your preferred calendar app. Or both if you are forgetful like me, LOL!
Sprouts usually don't need much water the first couple of weeks, so you are likely fine at the moment.
After two weeks, a water change is a good idea, and it won't hurt the plants, even if the water seems fine and the plants have only just begun to barely drink. Up to you though. Some folks just add nutrition and only change out the water monthly. For what it's worth, changing water out is easy if you have a siphon!
My own tap water is a bit tricky, so I prefer the every two week schedule so pH doesn't get out of line.
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Post by ftlaudmom on Jan 18, 2024 17:06:08 GMT -5
Thanks for your suggestion. I was thinking to change the water every two weeks as per your recommendation since that's pretty easy given the small size of the tank. Since AB doesn't seem to be the nutrient of choice for the seasoned growers on this forum I think I'll look for another option when my initial supply is all used up. I will start a new thread to solicit recommendations.
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Post by lynnee on Jan 19, 2024 10:10:56 GMT -5
ftlaudmom, if you change the water in a garden before 6 weeks, the seedlings may fall over flat and need propping up for a few hours afterwards. This happened to me again just last week with a tomato seedling, although I replaced the water immediately after siphoning the old water out. Some seedlings are very sensitive to having their roots exposed, or to any change in water temperature. My seedlings always recover, as long as I prop them up with a little trellis made of coated plant-tie wire, or with a grow dome.
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pfunnyjoy
AGA Bounty
Made more grow room in my office!
Posts: 791
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Post by pfunnyjoy on Jan 19, 2024 22:28:29 GMT -5
ftlaudmom , if you change the water in a garden before 6 weeks, the seedlings may fall over flat and need propping up for a few hours afterwards. This happened to me again just last week with a tomato seedling, although I replaced the water immediately after siphoning the old water out. Some seedlings are very sensitive to having their roots exposed, or to any change in water temperature. My seedlings always recover, as long as I prop them up with a little trellis made of coated plant-tie wire, or with a grow dome. This is good to know! I haven't had it happen so far, but mostly, except the smaller LED gardens, I'm siphoning, putting water in, running the garden for a couple minutes, siphoning out, then adding my nutrients. It goes really fast and so far, no plants have noticed. I worry more with the Harvest Slim Elites and the Harvest 360 with the cherry tomato, as I've been lifting the grow decks out to be sure the roots aren't interfering with the pumps. And I suppose eventually, I'll have to do that with the Bountys, but I was lazy and didn't bother when I did the kale the other day. I'm prepared for flop, as years and years ago, I made my own little temporary props of plant-tie wire to prop chard with and still have them.
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Post by lynnee on Jan 20, 2024 3:29:42 GMT -5
The AG blog used to have a post showing how to make individual wire trellises. I don't know whether it's still up.
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pfunnyjoy
AGA Bounty
Made more grow room in my office!
Posts: 791
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Post by pfunnyjoy on Feb 3, 2024 16:48:26 GMT -5
The AG blog used to have a post showing how to make individual wire trellises. I don't know whether it's still up. Hah! I designed my own back in 2009 to prop chard until the stems thickened up. (A fan helped with that, and once they stood on their own, the support is easily removed.) Here ya go, as I saved pictures ... and the supports, though they are no longer the pretty green they were, having discolored to more of an olive green with age. I'm not sure about modern gardens, but the pod baskets in old gardens stick up just enough to get the wire under, if you strip off the foam coating.
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Post by lynnee on Feb 4, 2024 11:48:04 GMT -5
pfunnyjoy, Yesss! Your props look almost identical to the ones that I remember from the AG blog. (Better, actually.) These work beautifully whenever a spindly seedling needs a bit of help standing up.
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slw
AGA Bounty
Posts: 846
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Post by slw on Feb 4, 2024 12:48:40 GMT -5
The cages come in different colors; I bought white ones. They will probably work best for supporting seedlings or herbs.
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veng1
AGA Sprout
My logo is from a spectroradiometer I designed to measure a Sprout.
Posts: 51
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Post by veng1 on Feb 5, 2024 18:39:32 GMT -5
You can print the plant guide yourself or order them printed as the design is public:
I'd guess they cost me about $0.25 to print.
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