1. How to get the best yield out of your individual crops.
Lettuce- 18-20 seeds per pot yeilds maximum growth. All pots in the system can be used with no decline in production.
Tomatoes/ Peppers- 5 to 8 seeds per pot yeilds maximum growth. It is reccomended that you use the 4 corner pots only for manimum growth. Note that a flowering nutrient is needed for the second stage of this plants growth in which it bears fruit.
Leafy Greens- 10-12 seeds per pot yeilds maximum growth. All pots can be used in this system with no decline in production.
Herbs- 12-15 seeds per pot yeilds maximum growth. All pots in the system can be used with no decline in production.
Microgreens- 15-20 seeds per pot yields maximum growth. All the pots in the system can be used with no decline in production.
2. How improve efficency through companion planting.
When looking at all the seeds possible to plant, it can be quite overwhelming. You might want to plant all of them at once so that you get as much as possible from your harvest, but sometimes you can potentially overplant. When using the method of companion planting, you are have to consider the harvest times of each plant and their nutritional needs. For example, a tomato plant will need flowing nutrients about a month after planting.
With this in mind, you could still plant vegetables together like letttuce, microgreens, and tomatoes all at the same time. You can grow 12 plants at a time in your Sucseed garden. As an example, you plant 4 pots of microgreens, 4 pots of lettuce, and 4 pots of tomatoes. When you go to harvest your microgreens (2-3 weeks) , you can then spread your lettuce and tomatoes out so they have room to grow. Once your lettuce is ready to harvest (3-4 weeks), then you can move your tomato plants to the 4 corners of the container to bear fruit. Your leafy greens would be ready to harvest before you have to add the flowering nutrients, so your harvest would not be affected!
Keep in mind that some plants actually inhibit the growth of others, so be sure to do your research before companion planting!
3. Checking you PH.
This is one of the easiest ways to ensure your plants are getting everything they need. If the PH is too high or low it can change the plants ability to absorb nutrients. Using the litmus paper that was provided in your kits, ensure your PH is between 6.5 and 7.5 before you add your nutrients.
After your nutrients are added, the PH of your water will be slightly more basic. Check it again with your test strips, this is the level you want to keep your water for ideal growing (5.5 to 6.5). You should check your PH once a week to determine your plants are getting the levels they need to ideally grow.
3. Nutrient deficencies and what to look for.
- Magnesium- Magnesium deficiency can take place often in pepper and tomato plants. It often presents as yellowing leaves with the stems staying mostly green. You will see this mostly in old foliage. You can remedy this problem using something you probably already have at home; Epsom Salts! You will need about 1 TBSP for your whole system.
- Calcium- Calcium deficiency affects newer leaves before it will affect older leaves. These leaves will have dead spots, and will be smaller in size.
- Potassium- Potassium deficiency in your hydroponic nutrients cause the edges of your leaves to look blackened or “burned.” These signs typically show on the older leaves first.
3. Temperature Matters.
Did you know that by keeping a more consistant temperature can actually improve your yeild? By keeping your system in a protected area of your room and avoiding drafty areas, you can improve your growth by up to 30%!
4. Keeping your system clean.
Starting with fresh water and nutrients every time is the best way to ensure that you set your plants up for seccess. When you start with a fresh balance, your plants are getting exactly what they need to thrive and grow.
5. Check your pump and airstone weekly.
Airstone is a key compontent in our system. This ensures that the DWC (Deep Water Culture) system gets proper oxyganization to the roots. You can check your airstone by simply lifting up the top of your sucseed bin and checking that the water is still bubbling.
6. How does the DWC work?
The SucSeed Grow Garden is a deep water culture (DWC) hydroponic system that is simple to assemble and easy to maintain.The method is called Deep Water Culture for two reasons. The first reason is that you typically grow with a reservoir that can hold a decent amount of water.
More water means more stability in your nutrient solution, which means less monitoring and maintenance for you. The second reason is because of how much of the root mass you submerge in the water. In deep water culture, most of your plant’s root system is submerged 24/7 – hence the name! There are many benefits to this sytem, including:
- Very low maintenance, Extremely fast growing
- Very little moving parts and assembly
- High yields, Enhanced flavours
- No mess
There are three critical parts to this solution:
Oxygen: Because the roots are submerged in water and not soil, the water needs to be well oxygenated so the plant doesn’t drown. This is accomplished with an air pump and air stone.
Water: Think of this system as if you’re growing in soil and permanently watering your plants – this is one of the reasons growing hydroponically is so beneficial – you never need to ‘water’ again.
Nutrients: Because we do not use soil, we need to supplement the oxygen-rich water with nutrients so our plants can grow healthy and strong.
