You think you are lazy? I often just dump all the powders in the tank with no mixing. I just scatter them on the way in. I should probably rig a test to see if it matters. Great video. Thanks!
@@growkratky5558 - Hey Dr. Kratky! Jeb Gardner introduced my father and I to your brand of hydroponics via his channel and we've been absolutely amazed at the results we've achieved. So, thanks so much for putting the information, and your experience, out there for all of us to enjoy. We've been using Masterblend for all of our growing endeavors, but I see you using liquid fertilizer components in most of your videos. Do you find one better than the other, or is it just a case of solubility? Also, do you vary the solution(s) by plant type, i.e. tomato vs. cucumber vs. lettuce, etc? Thanks again for all your good work!
Just came over from Mike VanDuzee’s channel. So glad I found your channel! Learning so much but will start small, little lettuce, little basil just to get my feet wet. 😀
Dr Kratky if you're still on the Big island I hope you're doing well. Your knowledge is God's answer to many that care about growing our own food. Thank you and God bless : )
Great video showing non-circulating hydroponic cucumber growth, I enjoyed the details of how you setup your system. In addition to plant age and fruits on the vines, you video makes me wonder if cucumbers will continue to grow and produce longer when the roots below are continuing to actively grow. I have had a container where cucumber health started to decline as the the roots ran out of room to continue growing. Thanks again for making these videos!
I hope to try this but I don't have all the containers and infrastructure you have. I have 5 gallon buckets and 6 ft trellis, a sunny spot and hope. I really like cucumbers and this will be one of my first attempts at kratky. I want to grow boc choi but my friend started a bunch of cherry tomatoes so I want to try those plants as well. I've watched so many of your vids and wish I had the big space and greenhouse like you. It looks like so much fun and satisfaction to grow your own fruit, vegetables, and flowers. Wish me good results!
First, I hope you are well, when I saw the news about the volcano you were the first person I thought of. Thank you for this video, it was helpful. Right now I'm growing two cucumber plants in dutch buckets, but the next planting will be like what you're showing.
Thank you. Hilo is more than 20 miles from the volcanic site and we are safe, but this is a very difficult time for those whose homes are affected by the volcanic eruption, lava flows and fumes. I wish you well on your future cucumber crops.
Thank you for sharing ! one thing I do not understand is @ 1:16 regarding float valve that supplies water, does it mean that water is constantly added to nutrient solution tank ? So that nutrients are added once but water is constantly added using float valve ? This means that we constantly dilute nutrient solution ? Is this required ? Or can I just have big tank and nutrients and leave it like that till end of harvest ?
My cukes are growing great using Kratky method, lots of fruits developing, however the plant stems have split, it doesn’t seem to be adversely affecting the plants. No disease or bugs seen. Any reason for this happening?
Greetings from Turkey. Thanks for video. It is great video. I have a few questions. 1) Did you keep the water level constant? 2- How much did you set the ec value? 3- Have you made any changes in ec value over time? Thanks again.
Yes, the nutrient solution level is kept constant with a float valve. I add stock solutions to my nutrient solution barrel about once per week. A float valve adds water to the barrel to keep it full. My EC is usually about 2.5 mS after I add fertilizer to the barrel, but it decreases to around 1.0 mS before I add more. The plants would probably prefer a constant 2.0 mS, but this is the most convenient thing for me to do.
Thank you for this very informative video. May I ask: Where did you source your Beit Alpha Hybrid seeds? I can only seem to find the non-parthenocarpic variety. Note added later: Golden Valley Seeds isn't showing this variety. Is there anywhere else, that you know of, to get these seeds?
Yes, my available net pots weren't long enough to touch the nutrient solution at the float valve setting, so I improvised by using forestry tubes with holes.
I recall that there were 4 plants in the 8 ft long tank. I didn't measure the water consumption, but cucumbers usually require about 3 to 5 gallons of water per pound of cucumbers produced.
I have been watching many videos on the topic, and some people hint at potential problems growing edible plants in certain plastic containers or environments with polystyrene. It's always something vague, and I was wondering if there is really a risk, and what the risk might be.
No, the nutrient solution strength was not changed based upon crop stage, because my only nutrient solution supply tank was also feeding other tanks of crops. However, the nutrient solution strength varied in the supply tank depending on the dilution of the stock solutions (water was supplied by a float valve) which was dependent upon the frequency and strength that the stock solutions were added to the supply tank.
What is the target ppm of each macro (NPK Ca MG S) and micro nutrients (Fe Mn Zn B Cu Mo) through out the cucumber crop cycle ? I am asking this because 8-15-36 is not available in our area.
Here is the target ppm of individual elements- N-150, P-42, K-190, Ca- 127, Mg-38, Fe-3, Mn- 1.3, Zn- 0.3, Cu- 0.3, B-1.3 and Mo- 0.06 based on Hydro-Gardens 8-15-36 fertilizer formulated for lettuce production. This is not the ideal fertilizer for cucumbers, but it is what I had and it works pretty good. I suggest that you search the literature for the optimum cucumber fertilizer formulation.
You think you are lazy? I often just dump all the powders in the tank with no mixing. I just scatter them on the way in. I should probably rig a test to see if it matters. Great video. Thanks!
Thanks, Jeb. Since these are pretty soluble fertilizers, you might be ok. Yes, I will be interested to hear how it turns out.
@@growkratky5558 - Hey Dr. Kratky! Jeb Gardner introduced my father and I to your brand of hydroponics via his channel and we've been absolutely amazed at the results we've achieved. So, thanks so much for putting the information, and your experience, out there for all of us to enjoy. We've been using Masterblend for all of our growing endeavors, but I see you using liquid fertilizer components in most of your videos. Do you find one better than the other, or is it just a case of solubility? Also, do you vary the solution(s) by plant type, i.e. tomato vs. cucumber vs. lettuce, etc? Thanks again for all your good work!
Just came over from Mike VanDuzee’s channel. So glad I found your channel! Learning so much but will start small, little lettuce, little basil just to get my feet wet. 😀
Welcome and I wish you well!
Me too
And you've explained so well
Those insane cucumbers and plants!! Those thing look great. Those roots they were so cool. Thanks so much for sharing :)
Dr Kratky if you're still on the Big island I hope you're doing well. Your knowledge is God's answer to many that care about growing our own food. Thank you and God bless : )
Great video showing non-circulating hydroponic cucumber growth, I enjoyed the details of how you setup your system. In addition to plant age and fruits on the vines, you video makes me wonder if cucumbers will continue to grow and produce longer when the roots below are continuing to actively grow. I have had a container where cucumber health started to decline as the the roots ran out of room to continue growing. Thanks again for making these videos!
Thanks, Matt. I appreciate that you shared your experience with the relationship of root growth with plant health.
LQ QA ao/n
I hope to try this but I don't have all the containers and infrastructure you have. I have 5 gallon buckets and 6 ft trellis, a sunny spot and hope. I really like cucumbers and this will be one of my first attempts at kratky. I want to grow boc choi but my friend started a bunch of cherry tomatoes so I want to try those plants as well. I've watched so many of your vids and wish I had the big space and greenhouse like you. It looks like so much fun and satisfaction to grow your own fruit, vegetables, and flowers. Wish me good results!
Yes, Metga, I wish you good results and don't be afraid to innovate, adapt and improve the growing methods!
First, I hope you are well, when I saw the news about the volcano you were the first person I thought of. Thank you for this video, it was helpful. Right now I'm growing two cucumber plants in dutch buckets, but the next planting will be like what you're showing.
Thank you. Hilo is more than 20 miles from the volcanic site and we are safe, but this is a very difficult time for those whose homes are affected by the volcanic eruption, lava flows and fumes. I wish you well on your future cucumber crops.
I am going to try this. Thanks for the videos, Mr Kratky!
This is great inspiration to give hydroponic cucumbers another try next season, mildew got my African Horned Cucumber!
Thank you for sharing ! one thing I do not understand is @ 1:16 regarding float valve that supplies water, does it mean that water is constantly added to nutrient solution tank ? So that nutrients are added once but water is constantly added using float valve ? This means that we constantly dilute nutrient solution ? Is this required ? Or can I just have big tank and nutrients and leave it like that till end of harvest ?
My cukes are growing great using Kratky method, lots of fruits developing, however the plant stems have split, it doesn’t seem to be adversely affecting the plants. No disease or bugs seen. Any reason for this happening?
Greetings from Turkey. Thanks for video. It is great video. I have a few questions. 1) Did you keep the water level constant? 2- How much did you set the ec value? 3- Have you made any changes in ec value over time? Thanks again.
Yes, the nutrient solution level is kept constant with a float valve. I add stock solutions to my nutrient solution barrel about once per week. A float valve adds water to the barrel to keep it full. My EC is usually about 2.5 mS after I add fertilizer to the barrel, but it decreases to around 1.0 mS before I add more. The plants would probably prefer a constant 2.0 mS, but this is the most convenient thing for me to do.
@@growkratky5558 👍👏
Thanks for the videos, Mr Kratky
Awesome video!
Does your system have air pump to create oxygen?
Thank you for this very informative video. May I ask: Where did you source your Beit Alpha Hybrid seeds? I can only seem to find the non-parthenocarpic variety. Note added later: Golden Valley Seeds isn't showing this variety. Is there anywhere else, that you know of, to get these seeds?
Sorry, but I don't have another source. A friend gave the seeds to me. You might check with Johnny's Seed Co.
Is there a reason for using the tubes rather than netcups? Is it to get the roots closer to the bottom of the container?
Yes, my available net pots weren't long enough to touch the nutrient solution at the float valve setting, so I improvised by using forestry tubes with holes.
Hello how many gallons of water did it take to grow these cucumbers and how many plants in each plot thanks and nice video
I recall that there were 4 plants in the 8 ft long tank. I didn't measure the water consumption, but cucumbers usually require about 3 to 5 gallons of water per pound of cucumbers produced.
Brilliant Video.
Thanks for another informative video!
I have been watching many videos on the topic, and some people hint at potential problems growing edible plants in certain plastic containers or environments with polystyrene. It's always something vague, and I was wondering if there is really a risk, and what the risk might be.
Good question. Please refer to my discussion on the subject on p.19-20 in the article www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/VC-7.pdf
Great video. Thanks for the upload.
Thanks for sharing. So do you alter the strength of the solution when the cukes go to flower? (eg less nitrogen)
No, the nutrient solution strength was not changed based upon crop stage, because my only nutrient solution supply tank was also feeding other tanks of crops. However, the nutrient solution strength varied in the supply tank depending on the dilution of the stock solutions (water was supplied by a float valve) which was dependent upon the frequency and strength that the stock solutions were added to the supply tank.
What is the target ppm of each macro (NPK Ca MG S) and micro nutrients (Fe Mn Zn B Cu Mo) through out the cucumber crop cycle ? I am asking this because 8-15-36 is not available in our area.
Here is the target ppm of individual elements- N-150, P-42, K-190, Ca- 127, Mg-38, Fe-3, Mn- 1.3, Zn- 0.3, Cu- 0.3, B-1.3 and Mo- 0.06 based on Hydro-Gardens 8-15-36 fertilizer formulated for lettuce production. This is not the ideal fertilizer for cucumbers, but it is what I had and it works pretty good. I suggest that you search the literature for the optimum cucumber fertilizer formulation.
dakineapproaches thanks a lot for the information.
Awesomeness!!
What is the total production per plant you got both japanese and beit alpha and in how many days?
Sorry, but I didn't collect the data.