In our time of emerging technology in Hydroponics, it is easy to get overwhelmed.   I talk to a lot of people that are constantly searching for “IT”.  Call this a friendly reminder to not get caught up in all the hype.  All you really need is a plant, and an ability to care.

This is a gifted Pelargonium with a beginning height of 6 inches transplanted 1 month ago into a GH CocoTek 8” Basket filled with a Blend of GH Mixed Brick Coco Coir and Ancient Forest, our new Alaskan Humus Product.  It has been fed some of the General Organics (BioThrive Grow, CaMg+, BioRoot, BioWeed) and Floralicious Plus.  I like to top-dress it with Ancient Forest every two weeks.  It lives on my kitchen countertop under a mounted ‘under-cabinet’ fluorescent fixture, on for about 15 hours a day.  Note how many of the bigger leaves are curving in from the sides, in an attempt to procure more light.  This Simple Drain to Waste System provides an easy way to hydroponically grow your favorite houseplants

The top photo is of a Chanterelle, considered by many to be the most tasty of wild mushrooms. Don’t let the bottom photo fool you, it’s a non-edible look alike.

Did you know that Lawrence Brooke, founder of GH came up with his first hydroponic system because he too was inspired by nature. He saw that plants thrived on the banks of a creek, with bubbling, oxygen filled and nutrient rich water constantly pouring over them. As I was walking through our complex coastal forest, I realized that while all of our products are inspired by nature, one in particular will actually allow you to replicate nature’s forest floor.

SubCulture-M is the GH mycological root inoculant for soil. It is literally a web of symbiotic life. In the forest floor, mushroom spores identical to those in SubCulture-M live throughout the earth and root zone. They serve two crucial functions. Mycelium forms a hairy protective barrier around the root that allow plants to weather drought and fight off disease. They also increase the plant’s ability to uptake nutrients.

I recently had the opportunity to talk about food with a food and lifestyle editor here in Honolulu, and when I asked about local agriculture as it relates to fine dining, I was very surprised with what I learned. Hawaii has to import 80% of its food, and reportedly only has enough food to last a few days if shipping were halted. With all this sunshine and rain, I couldn’t believe that local farms were not a bigger part of the food supply. Everywhere else in the United States, local and sustainable agriculture is a growing trend and is supplying more and more of what we eat. I was curious about what was so different here, so I had to learn more.

Apparently since Hawaii is a desirable location, land is quite expensive here. In addition to having a very finite landmass surrounded by ocean, much of the land is steep, arid or volcanic, making this extremely expensive land mostly unsuitable for farming. It’s not economically sustainable to grow basic food crops on land which approaches $100,000 per acre. This got me thinking about hydroponics, and the vertical farm model. With the exceptional climate here, and the high cost of imported food, it seems that this could be one of those places where all the factors would combine to make this new strategy actually economical.

Most of the local farms in Hawaii are supplying the fanciest of restaurants, so local agriculture is still considered something of a luxury concern. However, there are many small farms and institutes which are attempting to change the paradigm by achieving a model for sustainable local food production. Check out this sweet blog from Evening Rain Farm on the island of Hawaii to read more about the experience of tropical permaculture. The University of Hawaii also has an extensive agriculture program dedicated to organic and sustainable methods, which points towards a future of sustainability.

Click here to download.

Tigerlilly, what would you say the TDS would be in a fully fortified grow & a fully fortified bloom hydro-organic solution…. I saw that you (Tigerlilly) posted that you were using these new products…Do you have a TDS meter & can you test the resevior ?….and post your test results ? that is, if you’re using reverse osmosis water..and can get 0.0 ppm reading as a control for a comparison . I am going to say I hope it’s about 0.0-0.09 …..but it’s not a perfect world …I know.

In my “about me” page I said I was running the new organics, and at the time I was. But now my room is down, in the process of a lengthy remodel…. And when I was running the organics, I love them, but wasn’t the most meticulous record keeper. So I got in touch with Darek, our Greenhouse Operator, and asked him for the numbers. Here is what he sent, and I hope it helps!

When I used Organic nutrients, I followed the high ratios ( let’s call it expert program)
I checked my data and that’s the numbers I have had during my trail:
Grow 20ml/gal (4tsp/gal) + Calcium 5ml/gal (1tsp/gal) = ppm 1000-1100
Grow 10ml/gal(2tsp/gal) + Bloom 10ml/gal (2tsp/gal) + Calcium 5ml/gal (1tsp/gal) = ppm 750 – 900
Bloom 20ml/gal (4tsp/gal) + Calcium 5ml/gal (1tsp/gal) = ppm 1150-1250

Didn’t use RO Water, just tap water and the ppm is about 180-200.

Assuming that nutrients change is every 7 days, the ppm values I gave you are from day 1, later on ( i mean day 3th, 6th from your change the ppm may rise and that depend mostly on the temperature (in the room,  and in the reservoir – based on water evaporation.)

“I will just be getting back from my two week trip around the southern part of the United States for a project I am doing called Project Y-ine, a social media exposé on Generation Y and wine.   I will be traveling through a part of the United States that I have never been too, talking to people my own age about what goes through their mind when purchasing wine and beer.  I will be visiting diverse regions of the United States and seeing firsthand how agriculture (mainly wine) is a central part of each region.  I will also be discussing which issues are important to them, such as Global Warming, health care, the economy, etc. which I will share with you when I get back….

…We will also discuss the state of organic produce and agriculture in the United States. Something I will be well educated in by the end of my trip.  Representative Sam Farr (part of the Organic Caucus and a national leader in the organic/sustainable movement) from Monterey will be joining us as well to discuss agriculture in his district, which just so happens to be one of the largest suppliers of produce in California. “

Here is a shot of Lynn from the event Saturday.

We gave out sample packs with 6 of the products from the General Organics Line. And free T-shirts with the GO Bio Root art. 

I grabbed a shot of one girl who had so much loot she and her friends threw it all in a shopping cart!

I was pleased to see that while the show promoted consumption, it was also responsible and sustainable in collecting waste from the event too.

Gen Hydro was promoting their new General Organics line, which is organic and vegan and works in soil, coco, and hydro.  They also had their traditional nutrient lines and supplements on hand to talk about.

The whole crew was really involved with customers and anyone that just wanted to hang out and talk about gardening.

The booth was really chill and was covered in the new art from the General Organics line.  GH reminds you, “Don’t just be seaweed, garden with seaweed“.

Here you see some more GH murals and the awesome annual Reggae Rising t-shirt, or lack thereof.

There were plenty of samples given out to customers on Sunday.  GH recommends Azamax for pests in your garden.

The music was off the hook.  Here is Lutan Fyah.  There were other world-renowned bands like Capleton, the Original Wailers, and Luciano.

This year’s Reggae Rising was amazing.  Be sure to get your tickets next year and stop by the Gen Hydro booth.  If you want to see more pics of Reggae Rising, be sure to check out the General Hydroponics Flickr stream.

The event is held right on the water in the San Francisco Bay. You can tell you are getting close when you see the first stretch Hummer.

The entire place is massive. This year Maximum Yield booked more than 40% more exhibitors than last year.

General Organics was introduced officially. The booth space was open and clean and colorful.

This shot has our flowers, Adam, and the new General Organics t-shirt.

On the flip side, the space was all about General Hydroponics.

I’ll share pics from our customer appreciation party tommorrow! And then shots from the afterparty! Until then, Imma’ try to relax and recover!

Regulations that govern fertilizer products are very complex. Each country, and each US state has its own requirements for fertilizer labeling. These rules govern what information must be printed, including guaranteed analysis, ingredients, or warnings. They also govern what cannot be printed, including any statements that cannot be completely proven with scientific facts.

Instead of printing 50 different labels for 50 different states, with an extra one for Canada, General Hydroponics adheres to the most strict of all the rules, some of the most strict rules happen to be in our home state, California. We always desire to provide the state and our customers with the most accurate data. And we are glad to participate in the safeguards to consumers and the environment.

Compliance is not effortless though. It requires diligence and the process is long and involved. We often print new labels with new data, to stay current with the law and sometimes the label compliance holds up the release of new formulas. We have also seen products in this industry pulled from shelves, or production stopped because companies are in violation. Compliance is difficult and expensive and time consuming, and we pride ourselves in our adherence.

So, enter organics into this equation. 

In California, products labeled organic have been independently certified by a third party. In the case of fertilizers, one of those parties is OMRI- Organic Materials Review Institute. General Hydroponics is partners with OMRI listed products, including AzaMax. But, presently, the General Organics line of products are not OMRI listed. Because of that, we cannot say that our products are %100 Certified Organic, even if every single ingredient is able to be certified.

General Hydroponics has not listed the products in the GO line for many reasons. OMRI requires our exact recipes. We are not willing at this time to release our exact formulas to anyone, beyond what we already share with the state officals. Also, the process would have delayed the release of these nutrients and supplements for an indefinite amount of time. Additionally, we have seen other players in the industry go on and off the list, and provide false information that undermines the entire system. Eventually we do intend to begin the process, we do want their stamp of approval. Hopefully in the next few years we will achieve this.

Any product in California that is %50 organic is legally allowed to be called “organic based.” Some voices here that are deeply involved with the organic movement consider the phrase organic based to be almost a slur against true organics. Ultimately, we believe that our line will be met with success, that it will help gardens thrive, and that the market will tell us what it wants. So, in the absence of an OMRI certification, and not wanting to use the phrase “organic based” to classify the products as less than completely organic, the decision was made to release the General Organics line with no claims beyond our listed ingredients. The ingredients reflect the contents of the bottles, and those contents reflect our breakthrough in the organic fertilizer market.

I am very happy with the responses to our new line, and I am interested in answering any questions you have about these products. Please leave us your feedback! The nutes and supplements are truly amazing, and I will be providing you with more and more information in the future. Cheers.

Just leave a comment on the blog telling us how much you love General Hydroponics. That’s it! And we will choose 5 readers who will receive one quart of each formula in the new line. Make sure you include an email address so that we can contact you if you win. And, to make it even easier on our winners, we will ship the prize product either to your address, or if you prefer, to the hydro store of your choice! 

Start leaving the comments on this post now, and we will announce the winners on Friday!

AzaMax is a highly effective pest control method designed to decimate pest populations. It is made from completely organic active ingredients, specifically one, potent, bio-compound found in Neem oil. AzaMax contains Azadirachtin A&B and more than 100 limonoids.

• It does not use  hard chemical solvents and fully uses food grade formulation ingredients.  
• AzaMax is the only  smell-free product  and does not freeze during cold weather.    
• AzaMax does not require any surfactants or sticking agents. 
• AzaMax is OMRI listed and licensed in all 50 states.  
• AzaMax is so safe and free of residue it can be applied on the day of harvest

AzaMax targets spidermites, thrips, fungus gnats, aphids, whiteflies and many other airborne and soil borne pests. AzaMax is an antifeedant and insect growth regulator and it controls pests through starvation and growth disruption. It also is a good systemic product that plants can easily uptake through roots for efficient control of sucking, mining and leaf eating pests, a rare feature among biological or biochemical pesticides.  

At the first sight of pests, use  AzaMax as a foliar spray or combine the spray with systemic applications per the labels directions.  Adjust the rate of AzaMax and the frequency of spray intervals to the intensity of the infestation and the density of your canopy. With the tempratures in my room, spider mites can hatch every three days. So if I get infested spraying happens every other day for 1 week. I really can’t say enough good things about this product, but I want to repeat my favorite thing about AzaMax: It’s is OMRI listed and licensed in all 50 states.

From the upcoming Gen Hydro Catalog:

SubCulture-M is a Mycorrhizal Root Inoculant and contains a wide diversity of endo and ecto Mycorrhizal fungi that colonize plant roots. These beneficial fungi form a fine network of fibrous strands that serve as an extension of the plants root system; increasing root area and helping plants absorb water and nutrients.  Use SubCulture-M from germination or propagation all the way through harvest.  Reduce the amount of fertilizer and still achieve superior growth and huge yields.

Mycorrhizal fungus help plants uptake nutrients, and in exchange, they get to siphon some of the carbohydrates for themselves. But they also have another major role. They protect the roots of plants from nematodes. Nematodes are a broad family of mostly parasitic animals: microscopic worms. They often burrow in and eat the roots of plants. But the presence of fungal hyphae, found in SubCulture-M will trap the nematodes and defend your roots.

Because it is such a unique product, it has a couple unique ways of applying it. Our other root innoculant, SubCulture-B, can survive in resevioirs. But with M, there are two better ways to provide it to your plants. 1: Dust the exposed roots of plants with the powder as you transplant them. 2: Make a root drench by dissolving the power and watering overhead with the mixture. 

For more information about mycorrhiza and SubCulture-M, check out our archived posts and consider reading Teaming With Microbes by Jeff Lowenfels and Wayne Lewis.