Thank you! And you’re welcome. Uploads start again from next week.

+WiFiCannibal Glad to hear it amigo. Hope you're subbed!

Wis.Gardener Thanks Wis. You can grow pretty much anything you like in this system. It's so reliable! I highly recommend it. Very simple to set up and maintain too.

***** Danka! I'm really happy that you enjoy my videos. Thanks for subscribing too! :) I appreciate it.

Right

+Ted Dekens Yes Ted, I couldn't agree more. I love hydroton. It's particularly good for plants which enjoy good drainage and a well-oxygenated root zone thanks to all those tiny little gaps between the spheres of clay. I've tried the "filling the whole tray" method and it works great! Uses a hell of a lot of hydration, for sure, but-as you note-it can be easily sterilized and re-used. (Something I'll be sure to make a video about at some point!) Another downside, of course, is that your plants can't be easily moved so it takes some skill and precision to dial in plant numbers and vegetative periods so that you get a nice full, even but not jungle-like / overly-competitive canopy. As for the plus sides, well you already know them! All that hydroton is like a luxury crib for your plants' roots! They are not bound by pot size any more! How often do you find you flood the table when your plants are mature? Once every 30 minutes, or every hour, or less? My one main tip with running a system like this is to air-prune your plants' roots in propagation stage so they are literally like race horses busting to get our of the starter gates! Roots everywhere coming out of the net pots or starter blocks, whichever you use. Anyway, thanks for stopping by-hope you're subscribed!

Yes salt removal was mentioned here actually

Thanks for your subscription and feedback Tom - much appreciated on both counts. Thanks again.

Thank you! Appreciated!

Tim Miller You definitely should Tim! Super easy to set-up and very productive! Let me know if you decide to take the plunge. :)

For the price of a menu at McDonald's you can set this up in your home

De nada!

+MYCO2bag Awesome to receive that kind of feedback. Thank you Myco!

Thanks Fayez. Some of my highschool colleagues might well take issue with the "angel" label but I'm accepting it with open arms. Thanks again.

I thought the same. I have seen plants be propagated, even tomatoes being left in water for 2 weeks. Those roots don't rot. What's an extra 10 minutes or more. Especially when you look at kratky systems

Kif Dawg Thanks amigo! Every sub much appreciated!!!

+tanman1991 You are welcome Tanman. Thanks for taking the time to comment. Hope you subscribe to my channel. Thanks again.

yes, the roots can fill out the whole tray

+Ha Dang Thanks Ha.

Everest Fernandez This makes no sense to me because the drain is higher than the water in every diagram I see wtf lol what am I not understanding

One is the overflow drain valve and the other is the fill valve connected to the pump which is set closest to the base. Once the pump shuts off most of the water will drain through the "fill" valve back into the reservoir through the pump.

Carl O'neal 300 GPH would be my minimum. Nothing wrong with a "quick" flood cycle! Glad you're enjoying the vids. Thanks!

Sounds like a good idea

+Faheed Alajmi Outdoors? Yes. Depends on what you want to grow. Season is key with your climate. Your mild winter would be a great time for leafy greens, lettuce, cilantro etc. Your summer's get very hot - so I'd recommend going BIG on reservoir and think about how you're going to try and keep it cool and well aerated. If you can keep their roots nice and cool you'll win. Try fabric pots with 70/30 coco/perlite mix. Just base nutrients. Keep it simple. Indoors: yes, you'll probably need an evaporative cooler if it's always 6% humidity in El Paso like the weather says today! I thought my neck of the woods was arid! Happy to learn more about your plans Faheed. Peace and happy growing, Everest.

The entire root zone, and no higher than the top of the medium (so the top stays dry and can't form algae)

hydroton

lizardspiral Hi LizardSpiral. The Bluelab Guardian Connect isn't bought with pocket-change, that's for sure, but boy does it save me time-and I love the fact that it logs my all-important data to a spreadsheet, on my computer and up on Google docs if I wish, meaning I can check in on my plants from anywhere. Next step after that is a pH dower, that's for sure!

Hey Everest! i just purchased my Bluelab Guardian Connect and would really appreciate if you tell me how you had it log data to your computer! PLZ

Thank you Chand. All you really need for an ebb and flow tray is some kind of plastic tray with 15 cm high sides. Then all you would need is an ebb and flow / flood and drain fittings kit and a drill to make holes at either side to accommodate the pump inlet and overflow drain respectively. If you need help finding the fixtures and fittings let me know.

Timothy Paul Just standard segmental timers bought from a big box store amigo. I’ve seen the 30-min sort too, but 15-min is more common. Better yet, get a digital timer and enjoy per minute / second precision!

I find this disrespectful. Get out of my house,

I have absolutely no clue what’s being discussed here. Lol.

@@Just4Growers there is a game called splatoon 2 and inside the game is a song called ebb & flow

Mlgdoge 69 Thanks for the heads up amigo.

If you are a beginner try a modular system or a flood and drain tray with pots on it so that you enjoy some flexibility when it comes to (re)positioning your plants throughout the lifecycle.

it's a medicinal herb channel but good stuff

Salad - DWC, Tomatoes - Flood and drain. It all comes down to plant requirements and optimizing the conditions of their surroundings.

+Minh Tran quang So many factors involved Minh, but you should try to determine when your rockwool is 50% dry (50% of its saturated wet weight) and re-irrigate then.

+Alex Pratt Hi Alex. Good info on BL Guardian Connect here: www.getbluelab.com/shop/By+Category/Connect+Products/Bluelab+Guardian+Monitor+Connect.html and es, growstones are on the list !

Everest Fernandez Thanks really appreciate your reply.

+Debra George cucumbers - they need a lot more space than you might think! Lol. Trellising helps, esp indoors! :)

Cucumbers! !! Ohhhh. Yeah. I know about those. BUT Squash, NOT sure. Lol. Happy farming.

Hi Jemmy, arguably you can put the input anywhere you like, but the drainage should be where the water naturally pools - as you can see I’ve got lots of ridges on my tray, and the molding is cleverly designed to channel the water to the drainage point.

🥀👍🥀

Thanks John.

conentrated hydrogen peroxide, H2O2 (liquid oxygen), I use 32%. It's safe for the plant and breaks down into water in a few days naturally. Just use gloves and wear safety glasses.

Wait until you see the first signs of roots at the bottom of the pot.

Adjust the height of your drain. It should drain out all by itself. Another tip is to make certain that the water drains towards it. you can add shims to one side if needed.

Yes, most growers using propagation cubes - rockwool is great for this purpose.

thanks @@Just4Growers , so literally just put the seed into the rockwool and into the ebb and flow system. Ie you dont germinate somewhere else before putting into the ebb and flow system

@@keithbennett6422 Sorry; no - you should propagate first under low intensity diffuse light. Ideally, wait for the seedling’s roots to have fully colonized the propagation block BEFORE transplanting into an egg and flow system. Same goes for all hydroponic systems. USE the block - rockwool is such an amazing substrate -:) hope that makes sense now,

+Jamal Mh Mac?

Everest Fernandez yup!! Guess I need to purchase the "connect" device. Sadly I have Bluelab Guardian Monitor 😕

The solution will drain mostly back through the pump. The other hole / outlet is higher up and provides an overflow.

Karl Fimm Hi Karl. Great question-thank you for asking. YES, you certainly can use ebb and flow for seedlings and mature plants grown in soil / peat based potting mixes. As well as giving you some of your life back, this method also allows you to use organic nutrients if you wish-especially the types which are more prone to clogging drippers. I would recommend a nice light potting mix with plenty of perlite or vermiculite. I would also choose fabric, breathable containers or root trapping plastic containers for increased aeration. Yes, these types of containers oblige you to irrigate more often, but that's hardly an issue when you've automated the process! :) Incidentally, I am in the process of making an ebb and flow propagation tray right now! Once I have it dialled in I'll summarize it all in a video. Thanks again for your question and please consider subbing the channel. Peace and happy growing, Everest.

Karl Fimm PS You can find my outdoor modular ebb and flow experiment on my channel. I live in an area that receives very little rain, especially during the summer months. Rain can interfere with nutrient solution strength, pH, tank fill levels, and electrics! You could grow under a roof shelter (i.e. roof and pillars but no walls) for maximum protection and ventilation.

Mr Howto Thank you and welcome!

+PowerGrow Systems Thanks for your question amigo. The primarily reason we irrigate our plants is to supply water. Around 95% of this water simply flows through the plant (from root to stomata) - released back into the air as water vapor. The latent heat of evaporation (as the water leaves the stomata as vapor) is what helps to keep the plant cool. At night there is no solar radiation or grow light radiation - by definition! So there is not such a pressing need to keep the plant cool. A drier root zone also helps keep oxygen more abundant which is used (during the day and night) to fuel cell growth and other metabolic processes including plant the reformation of the enzyme Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate ( C5H12O11P2 ) in readiness to form RuBisCO - an enzyme used to capture atmospheric CO2 once the lights come on again / the sun comes up. PS I visited your website's education / tutorial section and didn't find a link to this channel or any embedded videos! Just sayin' .... you're very much encouraged to refer to them on your website. I'll make a video on the day / night, wet / dry cycles if you like. Peace and happy growing to all you fantastic folks in Utah, Everest.

Wow! Afte that reply he couldn't even say thanks. Screw your store. Bet your customer service skills suck ass too

ukgorillagrow Budman Thanks for your question UKGGB! In a large container I mix 20L water + 200ml hydrogen peroxide (35% food grade). I add as many clay pebbles to the mix so that all are submerged. Stir / agitate / leave for 10 - 15 minutes. Obviously take care when using H202. Happy growing.

So it's for about 5 minutes one to up to 10 times a day, correct?

az naru Hi AZ-thanks for your question. I've used both and I love them both. I couldn't discern much, if any, difference between them in terms of quality. Duralastics trays are manufactured by Botanicare.