Zenbaas' General growing and Hydroponic thread
 

So I thought I would create a thread for my small balcony "garden" where I try and grow a few tomato varieties as well as a few other things (lettuce, herbs, some Asian greens etc)

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At the moment the Dutch buckets have Black from tula, Cherokee purple, Brandywine OTV and Brandywine Sudduth. There is also some cherry varieties in smaller earth containers.

Very nice set-up and it looks like you get some good sun on the balcony. For you that's north or northeast, is that right?

Yes that's pretty accurate. :D Will also add some more pictures of how I do my irrigation as well.

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Some of my other cherry container tomatoes growing merrily along. The 200 litre blue container is filled with water with a small aquarium pump inside which switches on for a minute in the mornings and waters all the tomatoes.

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The blue drum (also 200L)supplies my Dutch buckets with nutrients. I learned two years ago that tomatoes need a big reservoir as they become very thirsty later in the season.

The large plant I have the middle of my tomatoes in the Dutch buckets is a peppadew plant that I overwintered from last year. Hoping to see some peppers this year..!

Double post.

That's a very nice setup-it looks like you can grow a tremendous amount in a smaller space. Everything looks extremely healthy!

You sure look young for such a complex set-up!:))

I was intrigued to know what a peppadew is, so I googled it and found out.

[url]http://www.chowhound.com/food-news/135384/what-the-hell-is-a-peppadew/[/url]

Good luck with your growing!

[QUOTE=Salsacharley;505938][B]You sure look young for such a complex set-up![/B]:))

I was intrigued to know what a peppadew is, so I googled it and found out.

[url]http://www.chowhound.com/food-news/135384/what-the-hell-is-a-peppadew/[/url]

Good luck with your growing![/QUOTE]

Yes my little man can't resist playing in/near the water.

Yes peppadew(otherwise known as pepperdew peppers) were originally discovered in South Africa and subsequently trademarked by the company. Getting the "original" seeds seems to be quite a difficult thing.
[IMG]http://www.finest-foods-germany.net/img/content/peppadew-dose-normal-gross.png[/IMG]

They are delicious and not hot at all.

With space at a premium you have to try your luck with these things. It's also nice to have all the green foliage around you once everything starts growing nicely. Makes you forget that you live in the middle of the City (Johannesburg). :)


[QUOTE=greyghost;505932]That's a very nice setup-it looks like you can grow a tremendous amount in a smaller space. Everything looks extremely healthy![/QUOTE]

Thanks..! I'm not yet entirely convinced that I like this setup just yet. I think the tubing is a bit on the small side and don't allow for enough root space for the plants. That said I will continue with it for this season and then re-evaluate next year.

I set up a system very similar to yours 2 years ago, but I used Alaska Grow Buckets ([url]http://www.alaskagrowbuckets.com/[/url]). I used a float valve and had very good success. The Alaska Grow Buckets (AGB) allow for much more root space as well as air.

There's some pics of my set up on this thread.

[url]http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=30435[/url]

[QUOTE=Salsacharley;505979]I set up a system very similar to yours 2 years ago, but I used Alaska Grow Buckets ([url]http://www.alaskagrowbuckets.com/[/url]). I used a float valve and had very good success. The Alaska Grow Buckets (AGB) allow for much more root space as well as air.

There's some pics of my set up on this thread.

[url]http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=30435[/url][/QUOTE]
Yes I've actually have almost exactly the same setup by my in laws that I still need to finish up (still need to install the float valve).

The double Dutch buckets work very well (Brock Hughes idea on YouTube) so I have no issues there. It the white NFT (nutrient film technique) system that I'm unsure of.

Below is a picture of my indoor grow space for getting my seedlings up and going. Inside the red container I have a pump with 4 mist spraying nozzles which works great no matter how small the seedlings. I have two 120w CFL 6500k bulbs that I adjust up or down as needed. Also on the right you can see a small orange fan for some airflow.

It works pretty well :)

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Still growing nicely despite the Dutch buckets not running for the last two days as I developed a leak in my reservoir which was only noticed 100 litres of water later.

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All plants have now recovered nicely after I switched my nutrient to another brand and corrected the high pH. :)

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I don't think it's possible for your plants to look more lush or green, but maybe the beneficial microbes will surprise. What a great setup. I'm gonna try my luck and say it's "lekker."

One of these days I'll make it to your town, just for the cool linguistics workout it represents. I figure if I can stay safe in my city, Jozi shouldn't be a problem.

Cheers.

[QUOTE=Gerardo;507335]I don't think it's possible for your plants to look more lush or green, but maybe the beneficial microbes will surprise. What a great setup. I'm gonna try my luck and say it's "lekker."

One of these days I'll make it to your town, just for the cool linguistics workout it represents. I figure if I can stay safe in my city, Jozi shouldn't be a problem.

Cheers.[/QUOTE]
Hahaha thanks your post put a nice grin on my face! Lekker indeed :)

Jozi in the most sense is no different to any other city really. Keep your wits about you and you'll be fine.

On the issue of the Myco. I am dead curious to try them on my Dutch bucket tomatoes! That and of course I'll be germinating some black cherry, Sungold F1 and Ambrosia Orange UBX (and Orange Russian 117 hopefully) :D

Exciting times..!

Bit of an update.

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Cherry tomatoes starting to get their groove on finally. Some issues with blossoms falling off but I'm supplementing with bloom formula and manual stimulating the blossoms for better pollination.

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The Dutch bucket tomatoes are doing really well. I'm changing out my nutes almost weekly now and the heat is dripping the reservoir by at least 60 litres this last week. We've been having very temperatures of late.


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I also have some tomato seedlings that I've put in this NFT system that have completely grown too large now :/ will try and transplant them into soil but I foresee a lot of transplant shock.