Zucchini Grown in a Gro Momma Bucket

We've been doing a lot of growing in the shops lately.  One of my favorite vegetables is zucchini, and it happens to grow very well in hydroponics.  We've always grown it in ebb and flow systems, but we decided to give some Striata d'Italia a try in the Gro Momma deep water culture buckets, under a 4 foot, 4 bulb T5 fluorescent fixture, using Canna's Aqua line of nutrients.  We knew that the DWC system would work great because of all the oxygen it delivers directly to the roots, but even we're impressed w/ the root system, speed of growth and overall production!  Here are our results so far:

2 Days Old (w/ some heirloom black tomatoes we germinated at the same time)

6 Days Old (healthy white roots thanks to some Azos!)

2.5 Weeks

5 Weeks

Roots at 6 Weeks (there's an air stone in there somewhere...)

At 6 Weeks - Multiple Flowers & 5 Zucchini

Hot Pepper Update

Just a quick update on the progress of our hot peppers in Nyack.  We started these from seed back in August and they're coming along nicely (we forgot how slow peppers grow, definitely not the best crop choice for impatient growers...but, like with all gardening, patience is key).  They're currently under a Sun Blaze 48 T5 fluorescent fixture in a 3'x3' Ebb and Flow tray and we're feeding them with Canna's Aqua Vega, Cannazym and some of Strata's SOS.  The ones in the front row (and some are scattered around the back rows) are Chinese 5 Color, the one with broad leaves behind them on the left is a Chocolate Habanero and the skinny, bushy plants are the Black Knight Chili peppers.  Notice the tight internodal spacing on the chilis?  That's because we're using a T5 light for the vegetative stage...tight internodes means more flowering sights, which means more peppers!  We just saw the first signs of budding on some of the Chinese 5 Color's last week so we'll be switching over to a High Pressure Sodium light and the Aqua Flores base nutrient soon.  We'll keep you posted!

Canna Aqua Pebbles - Replacement for Hydroton

Hydroton, the popular expanded clay growing medium, has been discontinued.  The company that manufactured it has closed their clay mine in Germany due to issues with the quality of the medium.  Many companies are quickly trying to fill the void with subpar products.  After trying out a few different brands in order to find the best substitute, we've decided that our replacement for Hydroton is Canna's AQUA PEBBLES.  This medium comes pre-washed with far less dust than the previous product and the current competitor's products, so the first step of rinsing is virtually eliminated.  The shape and size of the clay allows for the same great aeration that we're used to.  We've already done our own series of tests and we are very happy that the quality of Aqua Pebbles stands up to the same excellent quality of all Canna products and work great with their Aqua line of nutrients.