We are very excited to announce the release of our brand-new product catalog! This is the most all-inclusive catalog we’ve ever produced!

It provides the most current information on our nutrients, supplements and even all of our systems. It’s great to flip through and see our entire line of products in one place. This easy reference guide can help you choose the right setup for your growing needs. We also provide information on successful gardening and advanced hydroponic techniques, to fill any knowledge gaps and help new growers get started.

We are happy to announce the latest addition to our catalog: New feed charts! We’ve included all of our new feed charts, to give you easy access to the information you need to grow successfully. Whether your system is re-circulating or drain-to-waste, your feed chart is there.

We also have a few new products available in this catalog! We have a brand new Ca+ Mg plant enhancement available called CALiMAGic. This low nitrogen, calcium magnesium supplement is specially formulated to prevent secondary nutrient deficiencies in fast-growing plants. Find more information about this innovative new supplement at our CALiMAGic blog here.

Be sure to check out the amazing new nutrient enhancement, RapidStart®! It delivers a powerful blend of natural plant extracts, amino acids, and nutrients to generate prolific root growth. It stimulates abundant root branching and development of fine root hairs that enhance nutrient uptake.

We are proud to announce the latest member to the FloraNectar™ family: FloraNectar™ Grape Expectations! The unique blend of ingredients helps your plants maintain optimal metabolism and growth while sweetening the aroma of your fruits and flowers. Stay tuned to this blog and the GH website for more details on all our new products!

This comprehensive catalog is an invaluable resource to hydroponic stores, growers and businesses everywhere. Download your copy of the new General Hydroponics product catalog here (20 mb)!

Written by GH’s South Western Sales Rep, Nels Hansen:

After the sun began to set on this record-breaking hot day, I figured it was the perfect time to start teaching my boy about the growing and feeding of plants. What better way than to introduce him to General Organics™?

Living in a city with nothing more than a large concrete patio makes growing vegetables a little tricky. But, with some imagination and creativity, I figure anyone can have their own little farm! I used some cinder blocks that I found laying around the house to make walls for my garden bed, which gave me roughly about eleven inches to fill. Man, it took lot of soil to fill this thing! But after all was said and done, with a few inches of Ancient Forest® spread across the top, I had completed my very own raised garden bed!

My son is really excited about helping, maybe almost as much as I am to have him help! We started with the nutes at the full strength veg dosing. We began by mixing BioThrive®Grow at 10 mls per gallon of water with our twenty-five gallon res.  Then we added the CaMg+™ at 5 mls, BioRoot® at 10, BioWeed® at 2.5 milliliters per gallon. To finish it off, we added DiamondBlack™ at 1 tablespoon and BioMarine® at two tablespoons per gallon.

Once we had all our GO nutrients mixed together, in the proper amounts, we sprayed 25 gallons of solution (using a 400 g.p.h. pump) and top fed the entire 6’X12’ garden plot. No need to adjust the pH with the GO line so we were ready to go!
     
In our garden, we are growing many different herbs and spices, like cilantro, basil, and thyme. We also have a handful of onions, artichokes, tomatoes, kale, a blueberry bush and more! We expect a bountiful, delicious harvest, thanks to the GO. My son is so excited to watch the plants grow and taste everything that comes out of our garden.

Stay tuned for updates from our garden periodically (sooner if something pops up!) With the help of my son, and General Organics, before you know it, I will be enjoying the fruits of my labor!

We are so lucky to work with so many great hydro stores around the country! We love to feature them in the blog once in a while. We’ve just been talking with Michael Taylor over at Horizen Hydroponics in Grand Rapids, MI. He has been using the GO line in his home garden and having some awesome results! See the photos below.

A little bit about Horizen Hydro:

They started online in November of 1999; after much success and realizing the industry potential, Horizen Hydroponics opened a retail location in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 2002.  On a shoe string and a prayer, shelves were stocked with the finest plant fertilizers from around the world and the highest quality equipment used for controlled environmental agriculture. 

They offer complete hydroponic systems, the perfect blend of science and nature for your garden. Horizen Hydroponics stocks a wide selection of hydroponic systems, lighting, organic composts fertilizers and indoor gardening equipment. Hydroponic indoor gardening is a fun, clean, and safe hobby for the whole family.

About Michael’s garden:

He has been using the GO line in his vegetable garden and has been seeing some amazing growth rates on his tomatoes, strawberries and other edibles. His fruit production is taking off and you can really see that healthy, lush foliage in the photos. He’s using them indoors and out with some seriously great results. Thanks for sharing, Michael! Keep us posted on your progress!

I’ve got a Japanese Maple outside my bedroom window. This time of year the leaves are usually changing from lush, bright green to dark, fall reds. But I noticed yesterday that the leaves were more brown and yellow than red, and in fact, my beautiful tree is infested with some seriously nasty bugs. Click the photo to see them closeup. So gross. Ugh.

The good news is that not all of my maples are infested. So, to stop them before they spread, today I applied Azamax, the General Hydroponics OMRI listed insecticide. It’s organic and way easy to use. It’s also totally safe for the many beneficial creatures in my woodland forest garden. Before GH released Azamax, I used to create a hippie concoction of garlic, cayenne and neem oil- it was a total pain in the ass and honestly, some bugs didn’t like it, but it never really worked. Azamax absolutely works, and it works in three unique ways. It repels them from the leaves, it prevents them from eating, and it disrupts the molting hormones in juvenile insects.

The rates of application are listed in the information booklet that comes with Azamax, including very specific information on each crop and each pest. Because a little goes a long way, I mixed up the low-end, mid-range rate: 1 fluid oz. per gallon. I did some simple calculations and poured 1 tablespoon into my 32 oz. bottle. It’s enough Azamax to cover 1000 square feet.

When the amber colored Azamax concentrate meets water, it becomes a milky white emulsion. After you mix it, keep it well mixed by shaking up the bottle as you work. And be sure to use your prepared mixture within 24 hours. Spray it on both sides of the leaf, and try to cover the plant as completely as possible. It’s recommended that you spray every 7 to 10 days, but because my situation is particularly dire, I’m going to spray every 5 days until I see an improvement.

Related Content:
Azamax, What Does It Do?
Azamax in the Detroit News

Sebastopol Hardware is currently selling predatory nemotodes AND fishing licenses.

General Hydroponics is based on firmly held ecological ideals that we actively uphold. Our business practices have always reflected a desire to preserve the earth’s natural resources. We make our choices not just on Earth Day, but on every single day of the year.

Ingredients are sourced with integrity and with the utmost regard for impact on the earth. We run on solar energy and our founder drives a natural gas vehicle. GH brings the stories of environmental successes to the airwaves as the sponsor of Natural Heroes. Our manufacturing team worked hard to reinvent our packaging methods with a goal of reducing waste and reducing the use of fossil fuel for shipping.

This year, General Hydroponics made it’s biggest and most epic move with the release of General Organics. GO is a complete vegan formula, with supplements made from organic sources including plants and fish. The GO product line was developed as our response to the need for consistent organic nutrients in the hydro industry.

Our Earth Day gift to you is the power to make a choice. Save water with our hydroponic and aeroponic systems. Or grow in soil and provide your plants with the veganic nutrition of General Organics. We are proud to know that our efforts will help bring your indoor garden into balance with nature and technology.

General Organics

Check out our Massive Solar Array

Lawrence’s Natural Gas Vehicle

The Benefits of Switching to Pouches

Natural Heroes on PBS

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.)

Here’s what the cool fall weather looks like in Sebastopol, California. This is the view directly behind the General Hydroponics manufacturing facility.

These peppers are just awesome. I love the different colors, but I’m pretty much too scared to eat any of them! I’m a total wuss when it comes to spicy!

Both the farms provide produce that goes to market, generating sales to local grocers and restaurants. Even better than that, next month all the winter crops will be planted based on specific requests from our buyers. It turns our farm into an extension of their business.

General Hydroponics is very dedicated to changing the way we all eat. We are always striving to be a model, and at the same time to change the old models of food production. We encourage you to make the food web smaller by growing your own, or purchasing your food through CSA programs and farmers markets.