Tropical fruit trees?

16 years ago

I'm in the process of building a DIY aeroponics system. Sort of an experiment with very very very slow growing plants that also do not develop a good root structure. This will be an experiment using a couple different sized seedlings. A couple will stay in the original soil containers and a couple will be moved to the aeroponics system for comparison.

I will be using misters instead of sprayers since the plants pretty much only have a tap root and not much else. I figured misters would have more coverage as well as infusing more oxygen into the mix.

I've noticed on a lot of systems, people use timers for hitting the plant with nutrients. Others don't mention them at all. I can't find anything that recommends one way or another. So I was planning on not using a timer and letting the mist hit the roots 100% of the time. Any thoughts on this?

Also, like I mentioned above, root development with this plant is always an issue and probably has a lot to do with the plant's overall painfully slow growth. What recommendations for nutrients to get the plants to bust out some roots and get as much growth as possible? Are there products more suited to fruits rather than veggies? The PH of these plants should remain around 5.0-5.5. All suggestions/ideas welcome. Thanks! J

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Comments (7)

ohiojay
Original Author
16 years ago
Must not have known the secret handshake. Adding post to move this on out of here.
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greystoke
16 years ago
Sorry mate. Nothing to do with a handshake. I dont think this is being done.
Just for your info. I grew a lemon tree seedling from a pip in perlite. Kept the pH at Â±6.0 and the nutrient at Â± 1100 ÂµS. It is now 4" tall and growing.
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ohiojay
Original Author
16 years ago
Was just hoping someone could shine a little light on the nutrient business. I called one of the local hydro shops and spoke to a lady about this. When I went to the shop, of course I had to explain everything to another person. He told me the complete opposite of every single thing the lady told me! So it looks like it will be one of those situations where you go running off half-cocked and hope for the best.
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greystoke
16 years ago
Couldn't find anything on the nutrient myself. All I know is that lemon trees like a slichtly acid soil and frequent watering. So, I pegged for pH6.0 and 1100 ÂµS and watched the leaf formations like a hawk. So far so good, but growth is very slow compared to veggies, so not sure if I should decrease the ÂµS even further.
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ohiojay
Original Author
16 years ago
Greystoke,
Well, the beast is up and running. A few kinks to work out. The lid isn't tight enough and I get some dripping. This should be easily solved using either weights or maybe plastic clamps. I'm not too impressed with the misters. They don't quite "mist" as advertised. And they certainly aren't covering 360 degrees. I am managing to get complete coverage on all the pots so that is something I guess. I've had issues with the heater but that has been more of a user issue.

I went with expanded clay as a growing medium. There wasn't much thought behind that decision and that brings me to this question. Is the media available mainly a personal choice or is one a better choice for a specific type of growing/plant? I had some 3 inch cups and some of the pellets would fall thru the gaps. This resulted in looking for the larger pieces to put on the bottom.

I'm primarily a soil grower and it is hard for me to "trust" what is going on here...especially with the plants I've chosen to experiment with.

I am starting off simple and using only the B'Cuzz Root in the sump. I also have their foliar spray. Hopefully the plants won't be dead within a week. I'll monitor any changes and hope to see some progress.
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shockingelk
16 years ago
Choice of media isn't important as long as it serves the purpose of supporting the root system (with the caveat that in deep water culture applications, a porous material will harbor more of the microorganisms you want established).

What type of tree are you growing? I don't recall hearing recommendations for tree fertilizers other than one balanced between the macronutrients like 10-10-10.

B'Cuzz Root is not a complete nutrient - you do need some amount of hydro nutrient to get your plant to grow after the nutes in the seed itself are used.

- Erik
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ohiojay
Original Author
16 years ago
Erik, these are tropical fruit tree seedlings...about 6-12 months old. Again, the clowns at the hydro shop told me B'Cuzz Root was all I needed to start with. I'll see if I can pick something up this weekend. Right now I'm seeing issues with my water turning green already. Thanks, J
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Tropical fruit trees?

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Tropical fruit trees?

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