Samples - Great White, Jellyfish, Orca, Mike O'Rizey

Just received a big package of samples from Plant Success, the company that makes Great White, Jellyfish, Orca and Mike O'Rizey.  They specialize in products for your plants' root systems, containing different types of mycorrhizae, trichoderma, bacillus subtillus and other beneficial, living fungi and bacteria.  The fungi and bacteria colonize in your growing medium and your plants' root systems and help make sure that the base of the plant, the roots, become (and stay) healthy.  This leads to explosive growth!  An excellent additive to any nutrient/fertilizer regimen.  If you've ever wanted to try these products, now is the time.

Quick Tip

Quick Tip: When using Canna's Aqua line of nutrients, do not aerate your reservoir.  The nutrients are pH buffered and the added oxygen disrupts the buffering capabilities.  Removing the air stones will help stabilize your pH.

Hydroponics Project by 2nd Graders at Blue Rock School

A few weeks ago we helped Mrs. Kane, a 2nd Grade teacher at Blue Rock School in West Nyack, NY, with a hydroponics project for her students.  Using recycled water bottles, rockwool mini cubes and a piece of felt as the wick, the students made self-contained wicking hydroponic systems to grow basil and zucchini in.  Here are some pictures of them with their projects:

Back in Stock: Nirvana from Advanced Nutrients

After being backordered from the manufacturer for the last few months, Advanced Nutrients' Nirvana is back in stock at both stores.  It's a good all-natural additive to any nutrient regimen and for use with any growing medium.  It's also part of the Advanced "Professional" feeding schedule.  Nirvana is full of beneficial organic ingredients:  Humic acid acts as a catalyst for all other nutrients you're using allowing for easier uptake, whey protein is an all-natural bloom-booster due to the fact that it stimulates amino acid production (plus Nirvana contains a bunch of different amino acids, and B vitamins derived from seaweed extract), alfalfa extract helps to accelerate CO2 intake, plus azomite (made up of TONS of trace minerals and elements), yucca and Chilean soap bark extracts (natural plant surfactants), earthworm castings, bat guano and more.  

CLOSED THIS WEEKEND

We will be closed this upcoming weekend: Friday and Saturday, February 15th and 16th.  We will reopen Monday, normal time.

New Product: Clonex Cloning Kit

Cloning plants, rather than starting from seed each time, not only cuts weeks off of your growing cycle, but guarantees consistent results.  Every seed has a different genetic makeup, regardless of if they are from the same strain of plant (or even the exact same plant).  Some grow taller, some grow wider, some are resistant to disease and fungus while some aren't, some provide large yields while others provide smaller yields, they're all different.  Growers go through endless trials and errors to find the best, heaviest yielding, strongest, hardiest plants...and once they do, cloning is the easiest way to ensure that those genetics will not be lost forever.  All cloning should be done while the plants are still in the vegetative stage, so when starting new seeds we always recommend planning ahead.  Let the seedlings grow up to about a foot, take a clone or two, grow the clones to about a foot and flower them instead, while keeping the original plant that started from seed in the vegetative (grow) stage.  That way you always have a strong stock-plant (aka: a "Mom" or "Mother") just in case it turns out to be a plant you'd like to keep and work with again.  If starting multiple seeds at the same time, make sure to label everything so there is no confusion as to which plants are which and what cuttings came from what plant.

For first time cloners (or experienced cloners who are looking for better results), Hydrodynamics has come out with an all-in-one kit with everything you need to make your cloning successful.  For $29.95 you get:

- a packet of Clonex Gel that will be enough to dip about 50 cuttings in (dip them immediately after taking the cutting)

- an 8 oz. bottle of Clonex Cloning Solution (mix with water to pre-soak your medium/starter cubes in or use in the water of your cloning machine)

- a 100mL spray bottle of their brand new product Clonex Mist (spray on your mother plant about a week or 2 before you start taking cuttings, and then mist your cuttings with it during the rooting process) which has been shown to produce roots 30% faster, with 156% more roots than if you mist with water alone

- a small glass to portion your cloning gel out into (you never want to dip directly into the container to avoid contamination)

- a small tray to prepare your cuttings on

- a postcard with instructions on how to clone

Winter blues? Grow indoors with a DarkRoom tent!

It's 10 degrees in New York right now and we're harvesting hot peppers.

If you miss your garden in the winter, set one up indoors!  You don't need to wait for your favorite produce to be "in season" anymore.  Grow your own, any time.  If you don't have an extra room to use, DarkRoom grow tents can transform any unused corner into an indoor garden.  They are very easy to set up/take down and fold up neatly for storage and transportation.  They offer a wide variety of sizes, ranging from 3'x2'x2' (the Propagator) to as large as 10'x10'x6'7" (the DarkRoom II 300).  For even larger tents (with stronger frames) check out their Intense line.  Once you know what size space you'd like to work with, we can help you decide what equipment to fill it with!  Not all tents are created equal, either.  We love the DarkRooms for their high quality material, highly reflective lining, zippers that can stand up to anything and their exceptionally strong structures.  Plus they have plenty of ducting ports for all of your ventilation needs.

(shown is a DarkRoom II 150 - 5'x5'x6'7")