CLOSED - July 4th Weekend

We will be closed for the July 4th weekend.  We will reopen Tuesday, July 5th.  Enjoy the holiday!

Products We Love: Active Eye Growroom Lenses

The yellow/red color spectrum that fruiting and flowering plants need for optimal fruit/flower production is great for them, but not-so-great for our eyes.  High pressure sodium lamps create UV which can degrade our vision over time.  They also change the way the plants look to us, which makes it difficult to detect problems and deficiencies.  Hydrofarm's Active Eye Growroom Lenses are an inexpensive way to avoid all of that.  They block out the UV rays from your HPS lights and make your plants appear as they should.  They retail for $19.95, which is lower than most of the other HPS-light-correcting glasses on the market.  Keep a pair in your grow room and protect your eyes while working.

Looking through them at our peppers growing under an HPS light.

2016 Seed Picks

Our 2016 seeds are in and (as always) they're 100% organic and non-GMO from High Mowing Organic Seeds.  Every year we try and select a unique collection of seeds, specifically heirloom varieties and odd strains that you won't find in your typical garden center.  Here are our some of our picks for this year:

Watermelon Radish - A great early spring and fall crop, white radishes with hints of green and pink centers like a watermelon.

Shanghai Green Pac Choy - Open-pollenated with densely packed spoon-shaped green leaves with light green stems.  We like it because it can be spaced more closely than bok choy which makes it great for city gardens, hydroponic systems and any place with space constraints.

Maxibel Haricot Vert Bush Beans - Produce 6"-8" thin French filet beans, these guys yield a lot if you pick as soon as you see fruit and often.  

Honey Nut Butternut Squash - Smaller than most butternut varieties, which makes it perfect for small garden plots or indoor gardening.  Uniform shape, with tan skin when it's planted early.

Veronica Romanesco - This northern Italian variety of cauliflower is great to eat but the main draw for us is how cool it looks - the heads form many little fractals, like tiny sandcastles.  The heads of this particular type grow chartreuse in the cool weather or white with a tinge of pink in the heat.  

High Mowing Mesclun Mix - An all-in-one mix of lettuces and mustard greens, it takes the work out of choosing!

We also brought back some favorites like the Chioggia Guardsmark Beets, Santo Cilantro, Oregon Sugar Pod II Snow Peas, King of the North Peppers (one of the best: early ripening bells specifically for the north east), High Mowing's Common Sage and Pirat Butterhead Lettuce.  Stop in and check out our selection and our seed-starting supplies.

The Outdoor Growing Season is Upon Us...

...and that means time to get some new growing media!  Below are the different soils and soilless mixes we keep in stock (click the links to learn more about each product):

Soil:

Canna Terra Professional Plus, a blend of peat moss, coco coir and tree bark with a 1-2 week starter charge of nutrients (perlite-free for those who don't like to see the "white dots" in their garden).

Roots Organic Original Potting Soil, a nutrient-rich organic soil mix with all the "good stuff" already built in.

Foxfarm Ocean Forest, a nitrogen-heavy soil blend with a 1-month charge of nutrients for growing plants.

Foxfarm Happy Frog, a more general-purpose potting soil than Ocean Forest, with more nutrients for the overall life-cycle of your plants (not specifically just the vegetative stage).

Soilless:

Coco coir: Canna Coco 50L bags and expandable Coco Bricks, the best quality coco coir out there for excellent drainage and unmatched nutrient holding abilities.

Pro-Mix BX Mycorrhizae, a blend of peat moss, perlite, vermiculite, lime, a wetting agent and mycorrhizae (beneficial fungi that increase your root zone size and health).  Nutrient-free to give you full control and flexibility.  We stock it in an economy sized 3.8 cubic foot bale for a great price (check our Sales and Specials page).

Grodan Grow-Cubes, 1/4" cubes of Rockwool that can be mixed into any soil or soilless mix, or used alone in place of them.  

We also carry soil amendments like perlite (for drainage) and vermiculite (for water retention), and Happy Frog Soil Conditioner to replenish and recharge your pre-existing soil.

If there is a soil that you use that you don't see here, ask us.  We can always special order items for you.

Happy Earth Day!

To celebrate, every customer today gets a free pack of organic, non-GMO seeds of their choice!  

New and updated EZ-Clone 128

The EZ-Clone 128 site cloning machine has been updated.  Check out the flyer below for a look at the new design and a list of the new features.  These are in stock in both of our locations.

Come take part in our raffle!

As part of our 20th Anniversary week, we're holding a raffle.  We're giving away:

- 1 1000W Double-Ending Lighting System (1 Sunlight Supply AC/DE 8" Reflector, 1 Galaxy DE Select-A-Watt Ballast, 1 Ushio 1000W DE Lamp)

- 1 6"x16" Can-Lite Carbon Filter, 1 6" Max Pro Series 3-Speed Fan combination

- 2 $250 store gift certificates

You can earn 1 ticket for every $50 you spend, or tickets are available for purchase for $1/each.  Proceeds from the raffle will go toward the NYC Parks Department Green Thumb Youth Leadership Council program (for more information, visit their website).  The drawing will be held at our anniversary party in Nyack on Saturday, January 9th.  

CELEBRATING 20 YEARS! JANUARY 4TH-9TH

We are excited to announce that this January we are celebrating 20 years in business.  As a thank you to all of our loyal customers, we are making January 4th - 9th customer appreciation week.  It's been 20 years, so everything will be discounted by 20% that entire week.  There will also be other specials, blowouts, tons of free samples, giveaways and chances to earn/purchase raffle tickets to win prizes (ex: a double-ended lighting system, gift certificates, a gift basket full of grower-necessities, etc.).  On Saturday the 9th, we will end the week with food and drinks, more giveaways and the raffle drawing in Nyack.  We hope to see you!

HOLIDAY SCHEDULE

Wishing you all Happy Holidays and a great New Year!  

January 4th is the first day of our 20th Anniversary Customer Appreciation Week, so check back for more information on that!

Why Plants Stretch and How to Avoid it.

A common concern we hear from customers is that their plants are stretching: getting tall and skinny, bending or falling over, random branch spurts that lead to an uneven canopy, large spaces between internodes (which will cause a lower production of fruit due to less branches and flowering sites on a taller plant).  There are many causes of this, the most common being:

- Not enough light, or the light is too far away.  When plants aren't getting the light that they need, they stretch out in search of it.  If your light source is too far away, your plants will grow quickly towards it, causing long, thin stems and branches that won't be able to support heavy fruit.  With HID lights, a good rule of thumb is to keep them around 18" from the canopy.  Fluorescent lights can be kept closer because they're not as intense and don't produce as much heat, so 7-12" is usually safe.  A very basic way to judge where to keep your grow light is to put your hand at the height of the plant canopy.  If your hand gets uncomfortably hot under the light, so will the plants.  Raise it higher.  If you notice any bleaching of the leaves, you know your light is still too close.

Tomato plants stretching for light: notice the thin stems, uneven growth and far internodal spacing.

The plants on the outside edges of this tent are much taller than those directly under the light because the light isn't spreading far enough to cover them, so they stretch to get closer.  

- Heat.  Plants tend to stretch (or "bolt") when the temperature gets too high for them.  They do this in an attempt to cool themselves off: the more surface area they have, the more they can transpire.  They can also grow odd-looking shoots at the tops in an attempt to protect themselves from the source of the heat (outdoors: the sun, indoors: your grow lights), and then eventually go to seed.  Never let your garden get too hot or let your lights get too close.

This is supposed to be a tight head of lettuce, but apparently it got too hot.

- Over-crowding.  Plants that are too close to each other fight for light and space, which leads to stress and an uneven canopy.  A garden with less plants, where each one has room to grow and branch without touching other plants, will usually yield more than a packed garden.  The actual number of plants isn't something to be too concerned about, quantity doesn't equal quality.

Here is a good example of an overcrowded grow tent of tomatoes: the canopy is uneven because they're fighting for space and light! 

If you take all the precautions against the three things listed above and your plants still stretch, an easy thing you can do that will help to direct the plants to grow wider, rather than taller, is something called "topping," or "cropping."  Once a plant is developed (roughly 3-4 weeks old and still in the vegetative stage of life), cut the main central branch at the top of the plant.  This will redistribute the growth hormones to the entire plant and also send a signal that there is something at the top of the plant that will harm it.  They will then grow outward more than they will grow upward.

There are also supplements that you can feed your plants that can help to limit upward growth, but be very careful when selecting these products if you're growing food crops.  Most products that claim to keep plants compact, with more uniform fruit or flower development contain dangerous plant growth regulators (or PGR's) that were designed for the ornamental flower industry and are not safe for human consumption.  Avoid the ingredients Paclobutrazol, Daminozide, Benzyladenine, among others.  A safe alternative to those products would be a silicon/silicic acid additive like Cutting Edge Solution's Bulletproof Si, or a more concentrated product like Aptus's Fasilitor.  While silicic acid is known for increasing cell wall strength (which helps plants to naturally fight disease, insects and stress), when used in higher than normal doses in the late grow/early flowering stages it can actually help to control upward plant growth.  

All of that said, some plants just grow taller depending on their genetic makeup (for example, indeterminate tomato plants that continue to grow and yield vs. determinate tomato plants that reach a certain height, stop growing and yield in one cluster).  There are tips, tricks and supplements that can help, but sometimes they just are what they are.  If you have low ceilings/height limitations in your garden, try and grow plants that naturally stay more compact.

THANKSGIVING SCHEDULE

We will be closed Thursday, November 26th through Sunday, November 29th for Thanksgiving.  We will reopen Monday, November 30th.  

We hope all of you and your families have a great Thanksgiving!

From Canna: Win a Trip to Amsterdam

Visit the Canna website, read an article and watch some videos, then take a quiz on their Coco growing medium.  You can win a free trip to Amsterdam or other prizes like free nutrients, bags and bricks of Coco, Canna gear, etc.

CLOSED - SATURDAY OCTOBER 24TH

We will be closed Saturday, October 24th for the Maximum Yield Indoor Gardening Expo in Boston.  We're sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

If any of you would like to attend, here is a link to a free ticket for Sunday:  http://www.indoorgardenexpo.com/ticket/  (to automatically download the ticket, use this link:  http://www.indoorgardenexpo.com/?wpdmdl=3635)

Open Sesame, Beastie Bloomz and Cha Ching - New 15 lb. Size

Foxfarm's three popular solubles now come in a larger 15 lb. size.  MSRP is $164.95 which works out to be $11.00/lb, for a huge savings.  

Still Fighting the Heat?

This summer has been pretty hot and it's not over yet.  If you're still struggling to get your temperatures under control, think about installing a mini split air conditioner.  The DIY units from Ideal Air come with their lines pre-charged with refrigerant, so installation can be done by you, without the need to hire a professional HVAC technician.  The compressor is installed outside or in a VERY well-ventilated space/garage, while the head is mounted to a wall inside of your room.  These particular units are available in 12,000, 24,000 or 36,000 BTU models.

Memorial Day Weekend Schedule & Summer Hours

We will be closed Saturday, May 23rd - Monday, May 25th for Memorial Day Weekend.  We will reopen Tuesday, May 26th.

This weekend also marks the beginning of our summer hours:

From Memorial Day Weekend until Labor Day Weekend, both stores will be open Monday-Friday and closed Saturday & Sunday.  If you can't make it to the shop during our normal weekday hours, please give us a call and we will work with your schedule.

Our 2015 Seed Picks

The outdoor gardening season is upon us in the northeast, and if you've been looking forward to it since last year, you've probably already started the bulk of your seeds by now.  For plants like peppers and tomatoes, you're at that almost-too-late point to start from seed, but if you're determined enough do not wait any longer.  You still have plenty of time for your fall and winter greens/vegetables, and we've got some great picks for this year.  The only seeds we sell are from High Mowing Organic Seeds - they're 100% organic and now Non-GMO Project Verified.  They are the first seed company in the United States to be recognized by that organization, look for the label:

We carry a variety of their seeds, but here are our favorites for 2015:

Sylvetta Wild Arugula - One of the spiciest and most flavorful of all of the arugula varieties (in our opinion), a great salad or micro green.  Plants grow slowly, stay compact and are very resistant to temperature extremes (slow to bolt and make for a great fall/winter crop).

Golden Nugget Tomato - These plants produce a LOT of tomatoes, starting pretty early on in the season.  1-inch, juicy fruit, resistant to cracking.

Rosie Basil - We love the unique dark purple color of this basil, plus it is very aromatic with strong stems and uniform germination.  Great as a micro green, too.

Bangles Mini Bell Pepper Blend - A pretty mix of different shades of mini bell peppers (fruit develop to about 1.5" wide).  Each plant has a different color of pepper that ripens to red, gold or chocolate. 

Chioggia Guardsmark Beet - An improved strain of the traditional heirloom Italian Chioggia beet, these have better uniformity and are bolt-tolerant.  Plus the "bullseye" markings just look cool.  

Toma Verde Tomatillo - It is very hard to find organic tomatillos, so why not grow your own?  Tart when picked early, fruit get sweeter as they ripen.  Make your own salsa verde.

Tadorna Leek - A great fall/winter crop, but they need a long season (110 days to maturity).  You want to get these going and in the ground ASAP, that way you can start harvesting them in the fall.  We like the Tadorna strain due to their strong disease resistance.  

Pirat Lettuce - This heirloom lettuce variety is one of our absolute favorites.  Not only does it have great flavor, coloring and texture, it can handle almost anything.  Heat tolerant, resistant to downy mildew, tip burn, white mold and bacterial head rot.  Perfect for an outdoor garden but works just as well indoors.  

Special: Premium 3'x3' Grow Tent Set-Up

A month and a half ago we set up a 3'x3' Gorilla Grow Tent in our Nyack store to show that you can create any growing environment you want at any time of the year when gardening indoors.  Here we are in January, with full tomato development.  Here is our display:

3'x3'x7'11" Gorilla Grow Tent (with 12" height extension) fully outfitted.

Nano San Marzano tomatoes (Grown from seed - imported from Italy from Arthur Ave. in the Bronx)

Cluster of tomatoes, in January in NY!

Reflector and ventilation set-up: Super Sun 2 Air-Cooled Reflector, 6" Pro Series Max Fan w/ 3 speed settings (420, 378 & 291 CFM) , 6"x16" Mini Can-Lite carbon filter, premium 6" PVC-coated Max Duct).  All being held by Hydrofarm's Light Riser Rope Ratchets.

New 600W Dimmable Phantom II electronic ballast.

The tomatoes are growing in Air-Pot #3's.  We usually wouldn't recommend growing tomatoes in anything smaller than a 5 gallon container because they could outgrow their containers and get root bound, however Air-Pots allow the roots to breathe and be air-pruned which gives you a larger, denser root system without the root spiraling.  Paired with Canna Coco (the growing medium we're using), plants can thrive in smaller containers.

Special: This entire premium set-up (brand new, not the items we used for our display) including all of the top-of-the-line, name-brand hardware you see here except for the Air-Pots: $1099.00 (20% savings)
Entire set-up, including Air-Pots, Saucers, 1 Bag of Canna Coco, Full line of 1 Liter Canna Coco Nutrients & Additives (Coco A+B, Cannazym, Rhizotonic, PK13/14, Cannaboost) : $1370.00
All Gorilla Grow Tents: 10% Off

Thanksgiving Week Schedule

Our schedule for the upcoming week is:

Monday - Open Normal Hours
Tuesday - Open Normal Hours
Wednesday - Closed
Thursday - Closed
Friday - Closed
Saturday - Closed
Sunday - Closed
Monday 12/1 - Open Normal Hours

Wishing all of you and your families a happy Thanksgiving!

Very Important Tips For Double Ended Lamp Installation

Double ended lights are by far the most productive plant lighting technology on the market right now and people are having great results with them.  The double ended lamps are definitely unique, though, and not what we're accustomed to seeing or using.  The first time setting up a double ended lighting system can be a bit confusing when you've only used the conventional mogul-base bulbs in the past.  Here are a few tips to avoid having a potential problem:

This is a double ended lamp.  It doesn't have a threaded base that screws into a normal mogul socket.  It has two braided wires coming off of either side of it.  These lamps are made of quartz so you NEED TO WEAR GLOVES WHEN HANDLING.  Unlike normal High Pressure Sodium and Metal Halide bulbs, you cannot touch the glass on these bulbs with bare hands.  If you get moisture or oil from your fingers on quartz glass, when the bulb heats up it can heat up the oil and cause the bulb to break.

This is how the double ended lamps sit in their sockets.  The "flat" ends must sit flat inside of the bracket (not straight up and down at a 90 degree angle).  The metal wires NEED TO BE STRAIGHT.  They bend very easily so if you notice they are bent or curved, bend them back into place so they are straight.  They must sit inside of the two pieces of metal (see diagram) and make full contact with the two pieces of metal.  In this diagram, the wires are bent slightly and VERY CLOSE to NOT making full contact.  If full contact is not made, arcing will occur.  When an electrical current arcs, heat is built up and you can burn or melt your fixture or, even worse, START A FIRE.  After making sure that the wires are in place, slide the socket FULLY forward until it can't slide anymore.  

This is what can happen if your lamp is improperly installed.  In this case, the wires did not make full contact with the metal and the socket was not slid 100% forward to hold the bulb in place.  The electrical current arced, burnt up the lamp and melted the socket.  This is the best case scenario, it could have been much worse.  

This is an installation diagram that comes with the AC/DE Reflectors from Sunlight Supply.  

This is the most important piece of advice: take an extra minute to make sure your lamp is properly installed.