This week’s focus: Grow Lights
#8 – Enhanced Spectrum Bulbs
Enhanced Spectrum bulbs produce a richer and more complete spectrum of light that is more accessible by plants. An enhanced spectrum HPS bulb (like the Lucalox – PSL or the Hortilux) is one that puts off more Blue light when compared to a standard High Pressure Sodium, which only emits Red and Orange light. An enhanced spectrum Metal Halide bulb puts either more Red or Orange light when compared to a standard MH (as in the SunMaster Warm Deluxe) or conversely a deeper richer spectrum of Blue light (for example, the SunMaster Cool Deluxe or the Hortilux Blue . Enhanced bulbs will either promote more Fruit and more Flowers, help with the overall vitality of the plant, or it keep the internodes tighter, and the leaves larger and greener.

That’s all for today folks. Come back tomorrow for tip #9 when we focus on Full Spectrum “Dual Arc Tube” Bulbs. Visit http://www.igrowhydro.com for the best selection on all your grow lights needs.

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This week’s focus: Grow Lights
#6 – HID Bulbs
Many bulbs on the market are not suitable for high yield rooms. Incandescent lighting (ordinary light bulbs,spot lights, “plants lights” etc.) shouldn’t really be considered. They are inefficient, not bright enough and have an incorrect color spectrum. If you want to grow plants using artificial light, HID grow lights are the best way to go.

There is one rule to follow when using HID bulbs. That is that HPS bulbs must be used with HPS lights and MH bulbs must be used with MH lights. there are numerous ways of getting around that rule and getting the kind of light you need from your fixture.

That’s all for today folks. Come back tomorrow for tip #7 when we focus on Conversion Bulbs. Visit http://www.igrowhydro.com for the best selection on all your grow lights needs.

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This week’s focus: Grow Lights
#5 – Digital Lighting
Electronic (Digital) Ballasts are ushering in the new age of indoor grow lighting, proving equal or increased light compared to the conventional core and coil Magnetic ballasts. Digintal ballasts do this at a more afforadable cost (due to their greater efficiency and less power usage.) Digital Ballasts offer less heat production and virtually silent opperation. They are also much lighter and smaller than their archaic hulking brethren. There are many different Digital Ballasts to choose from on the market today. All come from China (not a single Digital Ballast is made in the U.S. or any other country for that matter,) and most are faulty or poorly crafted. Stay far away from the FutureBrites or the Global GreenHouses (or any other Digital ballast with a fan – the good ones are at least Resin Sealed) We think the Lumateks are easily the best Digital Ballast on the market today. They are resin sealed, and produce the least amount of EMI (electro- magnetic interference) of any electronic ballast and conform to all international Electro-magnetic emission standards. What makes them really special is that they are 15-20% brighter than Standard Magnetic Ballasts and also most Digital Ballasts as well. Next to the Lumateks, nothing else really compares, but we had to choose another ballast it would be the Galaxy.

That’s all for today folks. Come back tomorrow for tip #6 when we focus on HID Bulbs. Visit http://www.igrowhydro.com for the best selection on all your grow lights needs.

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This week’s focus: Grow Lights
#4 – HID Grow Lights
High-Intensity Discharge lights come as close to natural light as technology allows. However, they’re not so sophisticated as to completely reproduce the full spectrum. Consequently, tw…o types of HIDs have been created to blend into a cohesive spectrum — the Metal Halide and the High Pressure Sodium. These lamps produce four to six times as many lumens as any incandescent light of the same wattage– and they last much longer. As close to natural sunlight as possible and even safer than a star? We guarantee these lights will never burst into a supernova or collapse in on their own gravity becoming a black hole and destroying the earth. Nope. Never ever.

That’s all for today folks. Come back tomorrow for tip #5 when we focus on Digital Lighting. Visit http://www.igrowhydro.com for the best selection on all your grow lights needs.

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This week’s focus: Grow Lights

#1 – Introduction to Light
Light is the most important factor in any indoor growing environment. It is also the limiting factor in any indoor growing environment. Without good and plentiful light, a plant will not be able to perform photosynthesis, the nitty-gritty process that occurs when a plant converts food into energy. Fortunately, plants are able to use artificial light, as long as there is plenty of it and it is of the correct growing spectrum.

#2 – Spectrums
Plants are under the spell of the seasons, and subject to seasonal changes in light. The blue end of the spectrum is associated with spring and lengthening days, promoting vegetative growth and short stocky stature. The red end of the spectrum is reminiscent of autumn, with shortening days and long harvest sunsets. Autumn usually promotes plants to finish up, creating flowers and seeds. It also gives plants a sweet, poetic feeling, like one gets upon seeing a beautiful sunset. We are not making this spectrum stuff up. Ask any plant.

#3 – Photosynthesis
Of the many light-absorbing pigments within a plant’s leaf structure, the most active of is chlorophyll. Chlorophyll absorbs light from the blue and red wavelengths of the visual spectrum, turning plants into that stunning green our eyes have come to know and love. The absorbed radiant energy is used to convert ingested carbon dioxide, water and nutrients, to make carbohydrates which nourish the plants and promote new cell growth. This allows for strong, vigorous tissue production and the release of the oxygen. Correct lighting will result in healthy, happy, plants that are resistant to infections or colonizing hordes of insectoid pests.

That’s all for today folks. Come back tomorrow for tip #4 when we focus on HID Grow Lights.

Visit igrowhydro.com for the best selection on all your grow lights needs.

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Azatrol’s multiple modes of action also make it virtually impossible for insect resistance to develop. Azatrol acts as an anti-feedant, and insect growth regulator (IGR) and as a repellent and ovipositioning deterrent. Azatrol provides all the benefits of azadirachtin, a proven natural anti-feedant, insect growth regulator, anti-ovipository and repellent, as well as a toxin to soft-bodied insect larvae.

Anti-feedant: Insects will feed less or not at all on treated foliage, ultimately starving to death.

IGR: Insects will fail to mature and reproduce.

Repellent/Ovipositioning deterrent: Infestations on treated plants becomes highly unlikely, offering a preventative aspect to treatment programs.

Tank-mix combinations of Azatrol and other insecticide products have been shown to significantly enhance the effects and broaden the spectrum of other insecticide products. Azatrol is a natural fit into IPM programs.

Azatrol offers an array of effects by acting as a repellant, molting inhibitor and preventing insect larvae from developing into adults. In addition to low toxicity to humans, Azatrol is a sensible alternative to conventional insecticides in IPM programs for the protection of ornamentals and turf.

Recommendations: Use alone or in tank-mix combinations for control of chewing or sucking insects on indoor or outdoor ornamental plants, trees, shrubs, flowers, fruit and nut trees and garden vegetavles.

Benefits

• Four hour re-entry; can be applied day of harvest
• Excellent insect growth regulation activity
• Highly effective anti-feedant activity
• Anti-oviposition activity
• EPA-registered for use on a wide variety of ornamental plants, shrubs, turfgrass, trees and garden vegetables
• No pest resistance concerns
• Good emulsion formation with water
• Sticks and spreads better on plants
• Promotes uptake into plants for systemic activity with drench applications
• Controls chewing and sucking pests
• Azatrol EC Insecticide is OMRI listed.

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BioBizz Top Max fuels prolific blooming while enhancing the flavor of herbs and vegetables in your garden. Top Max is perfectly suited for soil but can be used in other growing media as well. Top Max has the threefold purpose of facilitating the uptake of nutrients within the plants, dramatically increasing the actual size and weight of floral clusters, and leaving a sweet smooth taste in the finished product. The extraordinary way Top Max assists in the flow of nutrients is made possible through the use of humic acids.

Humic acid is formed from soil and vegetable deposits that have formed over millions of years. The main source of Humic acid is drawn from a deposit called Leonardite which is the most highly concentrated organic material on the planet. Its source originates entirely from trees and vegetation which grew bloomed and died during the carboniferous period 300 million years ago. Over the ages the vegetation underwent compaction and heating where it slowly carbonized and became coal. This compaction squeezed out the organic acids and saps present in the vegetation and formed a pool on top of the lignite coal bed. This pool dried and aged and eventually formed the Leonardite shale.

Humic Acid as well as increasing nutrient uptake, assists in drought tolerance and seed germination. It increases the microbial activity in the soil promoting and stimulating root health and development. Humic Acid increases the availability of nutrients that are already present and will naturally aerate the substrate from the inside. It also assists in lowering the pH of the soil and flushes high salt residue out of the root zone. Floral growth and health is assisted by the use of fulvic acid which plays an integral role in natural plant life. It is reclaimed from certain exceptionally rich sources of humate deposits from deep within the earth.

Fulvic acid has an electrically charged nature that attracts to itself plant nutrients and minerals from both the microbiological soil base and applied organic fertilizers such as Bio-Bloom. Being a naturally charged particle working in combination with humic acid it penetrates the flower cell walls where it recharges and energizes old and dying cells, whilst stimulating new cell life. Though the ability to convert decaying plant matter into new life it also protects against mold and rot on the surface of the flower heads.

Fulvic acid is so powerful a conductor it is able to hold 60 or more trace elements and minerals in a single molecule, all of which are delivered directly to the flower. This ensures that when feeding plants liquid feeds such as Bio-Bloom and Bio-Grow, all the nutrients are made usable and readily available to the plants exactly where required. In the agricultural soils of the world available sources of fulvic acid have long been used up through thousands of years of farming. The absence of naturally occurring fulvates combined with the recent damaging of humus based soils through intensive chemical farming methods means that food crops as consumed by most of us are lacking in many nutrients and beneficial elements.”

Although  BioBizz products for a recirculating hydroponic system is not recommended, some customers find success using it in hydroponics.  If you want to use BioBizz products with your hydroponics system it is best with a drain to waste system.

All BioBizz products are certified organic by the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI).

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Fox Farm is committed to promoting an ecological balance and the environmental restoration of our planet. While you are experiencing spectacular gardening results using Fox Farm products, you are also supporting a conscientious effort to manage our natural resources.

Ocean Forest Potting Soil contains earthworm castings, bat guano, and micro-nutrients. It is light in texture and well aerated…a premium blend of good things from the earth and the sea.

Preparing Containers for Potted Plants

Cover drain hole with small rocks or a shard of broken pottery to ensure good drainage.  Add enough Ocean Forest Potting Soil so the plant sits at the correct level.  Fill in around the root mass with more potting soil up to one inch from the top of pot.  Press gently to secure plant.  Water thoroughly and let drain.  Do not pack too tightly.  Add more potting soil if necessary with setting.  For repotting plants, select a container that is one or two sizes larger than the one being replaced.  Loosen roots from the root mass and use the same procedure as above.

Gardens

When preparing new garden areas, till a 3-6 inch layer of potting soil to a minimum depth of 8-12 inches.  Water thoroughly after planting.

Raised Beds

Prepare planting beds by amending existing soil with composting organic matter.  Fill the top 8-12 inches of bed with potting soil.

Ingredients

Composted forest humus, sphagnum peat moss, Pacific Northwest sea-going fish, crab meal, shrimp meal, earthworm castings, vermicultural compost (bedding material and livestock manure), sandy loam, perlite, fossilized bat guano, granite dust, Norwegian kelp meal and oyster shell (for pH adjustment).

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Serious growers who want a larger system should check out the EuroGrower. The EuroGrower provides users with a simple, yet elegant approach to home hydroponics. The heart of the EuroGrower is its custom designed 40-gallon Panda reservoir, which is more than adequate for its eight 2-gallon buckets. Whether using a soil or soil-less medium, growers can use the EuroGrower virtually anywhere.

The EuroGrower by General Hydroponics utilizes modern European technology in a simple easy to use home system. The EuroGrower comes with 8 individual 2 gallon pots that fit together on top of the 10-gallon Panda reservoir. The EuroGrower 8-Pot Drip Watering Hydroponics System provides nutrients through a drip system. You can grow virtually anywhere using the EuroGrower with any popular soil or soilless medium. The EuroGrower comes complete with the industry standard, GH Flora Series nutrients and is built to be “ready-to-grow” and comes with all the hardware you will need. You can grow either numerous small plants or one large one in each of its 2 gallon capacity buckets. Use the media of your choice. Suitable for greenhouse, patio or indoors under artificial lighting.

Measurements:

2′-2″W x 4′-2″L x 2′H

The EuroGrower (Complete) System Includes:

• 40-Gallon Panda reservoir
• 8- 2 Gallon Buckets
• 250gph Mag-Drive 2
• 4 – CocoTek bricks
• Hydroton
• pH Kit
• Grasslin Timer
• 3-part Flora Kit (GH Flora Series nutrients: Flora Micro, Flora Gro & Flora Bloom)

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