tomatofreak, Don't be scared, Sea of Green is my Go-To store for potting soil, fertilizers and more. The staff are friendly and knowledgable. Currently I am not doing any indoor growing but have been thinking about it because I like radishes, lettuce and cilantro, to name a few, all year. Oh, and basil too.

There's a shop near you I pass by often and may stop in to check them out. Of course, I can't remember the name of it now, it's on the south side of Indian School, between 22nd and 24th St., on a western corner.

Thanks, Mary. Are the prices competitive with HD or nurseries for that stuff? I'd really like to try this. The mesclun and other lettuces I planted under shadecloth don't seem to care that I took so much trouble; they're gonna croak anyway. I want cilantro, thyme, tarragon and some other herbs that I've tried over and over again outside only to have them fry.

I don't know what it says about my neighborhood, but there are at least three or four stores within two miles of my house. ;-)

Great Scott!
It didn't occur to me that those stores were for mj growers! So I am a bit slow on the uptake sometimes.....
My tender vegs never stand a chance because the birds eat up before they can get anywhere. I can;t even get a radish to grow this year. Sheez.
Aren't the lights, and watering systems expensive?

Well, you're very centrally located. I'd say the prices are a bit on the high side if you are comparing to HD but the quality seriously exceeds what you get at HD. It's like anything else. But keep in mind I have been buying products for soil growing. A 1.5 cu ft bag of the potting soil I like is just under $20. Most folks feel that's too expensive but I had great results with tomato starts this year and will not use anything else. Ever again. It's Roots Organics.

I don't know anything about hydro gardening.

Well, like Mary said, I'm gonna be brave and venture in. I'll let you know what I find about pricing.

you're cutting yourself short if you hold a bias against cannabis considering the immense amount of research. if you're serious about hydroponics, or horticulture in general, don't be afraid to visit cannabis websites (at least legitimate ones!).

you're bound to find eg. step by step tutorials on sourcing and constructing a system without the steep hydro shop prices.

It's not that I "hold a bias", it's just that I'm in over my head the moment I step into a hydro shop. I'd be like a sheep in a wolf pack. If you have a specific site in mind - or two or three - I'd happily visit to educate myself on the how-to's. I have not had time yet to drop in to one of the stores near me.

Some of the things you will find in hydro shops that will actually crossover to other gardening will be fabric pots(smart pots,grow bag),compost tea setups like boogie brew, rock dust(azomite),and a whole host of fertilizers. Definitely do some research online before you pull the trigger on any purchase,but I would just go in and see what catches my eye and then research it at home.

If you have a spot I would look into the urgrower by naturesfootprint, same folks who make the worm factory. It's not really a hydroponic system, but is self watering. It also incorporates some principles of square foot gardening.

The UrBin is interesting, but I see it as a mosquito factory. I could put Mosquito Bits in the water, but I don't know how that would affect veggies. I'm sharing the site in case others would like a peek.

Here is a link that might be useful: UrBin & Natures Footprint

it's possible that the store owner has no interest whatsoever in marijuana cultivation. hydroponics are much more productive than soil and the appropriate choice for people without gardens.

the boutique products you'll find at any store are only the tip of the iceberg.

cannabis growers are more concerned with achieving optimal results than any other region of horticulture.. moreso than orchid growers. and there are always people looking for a magic potion et c. to improve their plants, eg. you've seen those bottles of superthrive.. iirc superthrive has two plant growth regulator hormones, which i wouldn't apply without being aware of the effects (they can also be found cheaper elsewhere). simply being informed about how PGRs work may be more effective than applying them.

if you do the research you can avoid paying for the convenience of boutique nutrients and supplies.. which doesn't mean they don't work. most people have good results with superthrive.. i don't plant without mycorrhizae. but i also source potassium from hardwood ash et al ;)

youtube is worth checking before any purchase or project.

as far as putting in a hydro system inbetween the two windows, i've seen some all-in-one systems on amazon for herbs. the appeal of hydro is fast, controlled growth (eg. DWC or deep water culture is simple and achieves excellent results). on the other hand, it requires electricity, and every water pump i've seen is rather noisy. if your power goes out while you're away from home, who knows what you'll return to find.

a hydro store can probably sell you a hortilux light fixture, which may work wonderfully. you can probably generate the same spectrum by informedly selecting CFLs found eg. in a dollar store for much less.

i guess i'm recommending setting out to learn more, and relegate the trip to the shop as an option for anything you can't find elsewhere. merchants can be educational, but so can a webpage on indoor gardening. my other motive is obviously to destigmatise cannabis :)

"...my other motive is obviously to destigmatise cannabis :) ..."

Yeah, I was picking up on that, lol. I got a feeling (speaking for myself, really) that it's less a stigma with the cannabis as the darn federal agents that follow it around.

I'm somewhat biased against using electric lighting when we have that naturally here in such abundance. Hmmmm....

The Urbin would be so very simple to construct!
I have wanted to use self watering containers, but didn't like the ones I have tried so far (home made). This is so obvious, yet escaped be before. I hate the huge amount of water I am using.
I have researched gutter self watering systems, and it looks good, also the off-grid self watering system on you tube, but this is even simpler, no tubing, etc.

Well, here's another wrinkle: Tower Gardening. Greg Peterson of Urban Farm sent out an e-mail inviting people to see Tower Gardens tomorrow and Friday nights at two different venues (private gardens). (I'll find the e-mail and post it.) They call it *aeroponics* and it's vertical. Has anyone tried this method?

Here is a link that might be useful: Tower Garden

Here's the e-mail from Greg: http://md20.quartz.synacor.com/zimbra/mail?view=msg&id=29926#1 Cut and paste to see.

this thread prompted me to do more research into methods and prices and i have to partially rescind the dissuasive tone of my previous post..

..prices at local hydro stores are quite reasonable on some items, outrageous on others.. like everything else, one must shop selectively.. i guess this is obvious :)

happy gardening!

Fun thread, thanks for everyone who participated! You know, I was goofing around Central Phoenix yesterday anyway (Art Museum, Biltmore Fashion Park (can't pass up a Brooks Brothers sale) etc) so I pulled over when I drove past Grotown Horticultural Supplies (1945 E Indian School Rd) just to check it out.

It was really interesting and fun. SO MANY interesting supplies there. Everything from "hand picked" bat guano to Superthrive to all sort of pots, mats, materials and rooting supplies. Some of the prices were awesome, so I did stock up on pots, some new rooting media, and trace element solutions. I had stopped for perlite or pumice, but the only perlite they had was in Grant-sized bags and the particles were larger than packing peanuts so not quite what I wanted, but they had tons of other stuff. All in all a fun visit and I'll definitely head back.

I don't grow cannabis, nor do I use any indoor grow lighting, so I'm not their target customer in general, but they had tons of fun stuff so I'll definitely head back next time I'm down there.

Take care and happy gardening, whatever you grow!

Sheesh, Grant, if I'd only known... I was went right by that store yesterday afternoon! Glad to get a good review, though, and next time, I'll stop in.

Let folks know what you think, Tomato. I had no idea either, I just happened to be driving by so I pulled over and popped in. I'm glad I did as they had some nice rockwool that I've been looking for, plus some other plant supplies. Fun.

Take care all!
Grant

Rockwool? What's that, Grant, and what do you do with it?

Hiya Tomato and all, it's a sort of inert, fibrous spun material that's great and sterile for seed starting and rooting. I'm planning on using it for rooting some of my more challenging plants. I love that the instructions even have a hippie/organic tip: adding some lemon juice to the water to acidify it to help encourage roots. Fun stuff!

Take care and happy gardening (and propagating) all!
Grant

Here is a link that might be useful: Rock Wool plugs

Thanks for that explanation. I've purchased "seed-starting" media in the past and have not been happy with any of it. Maybe I'll try this.

All of the nutrients the marijuana growers work great for almost growing anything trust me I have done both I like general hydroponics 3 part micro, grow, bloom and also pure blend pro from bontanicare. But to really see the results, get a ph and ppm pen and some ph up and down use reverse osmosis water keep the water at about 70 when watering if you u really want some awesome yields and great tasting product try dwc deep water culture 5 gal bucket and 2 air stones and a pump getting everything u need at amazon.

Here is a link that might be useful: Indoor Vertical Gardens

Hi!

I just started getting into it about a year ago. And I say "just" because it's been a learning process the entire time. A year later I finally feel like things are getting easy.

I discovered indoor hydroponics after watching my first potted plants die due to the cold. I wanted basil all winter long, and refused to let the cold tell me otherwise.

There are many, many ways to grow in hydroponics. I chose a method called deep water culture. In this method the plants are suspended over water which is supplied with oxygen via an air pump and air stones. Nutrients, and in the case of the method I chose, beneficial fungi and bacteria, are mixed into the water. The plant roots grow into the water, which essentially is replacing the soil. It sounds simple up front, but there is a lot more to it.

For information, I'd strongly suggest researching through marijuana websites. They're the ones who seem to have the most information.

I grow basil, lettuce, kale, arugula, mint.... The list goes on and on. Here are some photos of what my setup is like...

Sorry, not sure how to post multiple photos in one post. Here's what I had before; lemon balm, fennel, peppermint, borage, holy basil and more. And here's what it looked like before I harvested my plants: