How To Build A Windowsill Hydroponic Herb Garden (Part 1 of 2)

[kenny2498]

whats a good cfl light for tomatoes

[SleestaksRule]

@kenny2498 85 watt (actual watts) or higher and 5000K - 6700K. That's for shorter plants. Tall plants 105 watt minimum and higher to penetrate the leaves to the bottom when the plant gets tall. Or add supplemental lights near the bottom.

[xxxtony02xxx]

watz Hydrotin and were can you by it dueed i neeed helpp

[DEBMARCOUPON]

I put 3 seeds in each rockwool, now that they have all sprouted am I supposed to thin them out?

[SleestaksRule]

@DEBMARCOUPON Yes. For lemon basil sometimes I let 2 go in one cube. Sweet basil grows fast and huge so thin that out to one.

All depends what you are growing I guess.

[DEBMARCOUPON]

What size rockwool? When the seeds are sprouting do you put solution in the bottom of the cookie box??

[SleestaksRule]

@DEBMARCOUPON The rockwool I used are 1 inch cubes. What I have found is that you can just soak the rockwool in plain water, let the seeds sprout, when the 2nd set of leaves appear you can either put it in the unit or use a very weak nutrient solution to keep the rockwool moist. I like to wait till the roots pop out of the rockwool before putting it in the unit.

[darcybinmo]

question... where do you get rockwool? and the nutrients? and how much do they cost?

[SleestaksRule]

@darcybinmo You can get them on Amazon, Ebay or a hydroponics store.

[arakenne1]

are those seeds gmo free?

On another note... Does USDA Organic = GMO Free?

[vanhalenman60]

i found enamel spray paint says it doesnt work for planstic but it does

[WTRinaldi]

why wouldn't you buy a bin that is not translucent?

[SleestaksRule]

@WTRinaldi This one was the right size and all are translucent at the store. Larger containers are easy to find that are solid.

[biloxigrant]

Great video! One question, though. How do the roots get nutrients if the water level is below the basket?

[SleestaksRule]

@biloxigrant The bubbles from the air stone burst and get the hydroton rocks wet. I'm currently filming a time lapse of this unit under CFL lights. On week 3 of it and the plants are taking off.

[tubifexee]

This video is dragging. Slow talk, no patience to watch it whatsoever.

[MetalicB0x]

I would really like to know just 3 things and would appreciate your help SleestaksRule!

1: how expensive was the hydroponics food you bought in part 2?

2: how expensive is the air pump from walmart?

and 3; I'm not sure if you have any idea, but is it possible to grow flowers, specifically spider flowers(cleome), using hydroponics? Thanks!! - Christian

[SleestaksRule]

@MetalicB0x The pump was about $5 but get a little bigger one for about $9. The nutrients run about $13 for a 1.2lb bag.

[spasticgeek]

Hey, I'm trying to start seeds this way and I'm ending up with algae in the container and on the rockwool. It looked like you had some too? is this normal? is it bad? and what should I do about it?

[SleestaksRule]

@spasticgeek Algae on the rockwool doesn't seem to hurt it. I use aluminum foil squares with a slit cut for the plant and put it around the base of the plant to block the light. There shouldn't be algae in the nutrient container unless light is somehow getting in.

[spasticgeek]

@SleestaksRule Erm I meant I have algae in my cookie tray for my seeds. Should the cookie tray not be under lights?

[welchmachine1]

Do the roots get baked since you used black paint? Would white work just as well?

[TheLongrin]

BEST VIDEO EVAR!!!! does that paint have to provide UV protection? or the plastic tub? Thanks for the video!!!

[SleestaksRule]

@TheLongrin It's just to block the light from the roots and keep the nutrient from growing algae. I was thinking an opaque white paint would have been better since it would reflect light back at the plants and also would not heat up from the sun.

[MetalicB0x]

@SleestaksRule

i disagree slightly and would think you did a good job going with black paint. i though into this a little and know that people who clone plants often use heat wires on their hydroponics system to keep the roots warm, reason being roots like warmth to help growth.. if you paint the container black, not only willy it keep light out, but the black plastic will gather and retain heat from the sunlight and thus warm the roots and help your plants grow faster/healthier :)

[coolman8000]

Very nice idea

[hepburnlook]

Thank you so much! So easy and cost effective!!!

[SteveDaBoss100]

what kind of nutrients do you use in the rock wool

[ASFx2600]

Rosemary has an extremely low germination rate, something like 5-10%. Even if you do end up planting fertile seeds, sometimes it can take 30 days to germinate.

[D3master4]

I must say thanks for this video. This has inspired me to get my family involved in a project just like this. My seeds are starting pretty slow. I'm not totally sure why. I do have some sweet basil, and I'll be putting that in my hydroponic system today.

[SpankRamen2]

You make it LOOK easy, but I'll have to try it myself. I want to do this because produce is expensive & I'm trying to go into a semi-raw food diet.

[kbgrowkid420]

Right on man.. simple, cheap, and easy