I am happy that youâÂÂve gone absolutely right so far. But since you are a first-timer, I would like to tell you the basics of hydroponic growing and how to maintain your hydroponic vegetable garden. Things you should always keep in mind are: 1. Different vegetable types require specific nutrients and pH levels. 2. You should use a TDS meter to check the water amount and quality 3. Prefer a digital probe for measuring the pH and strength of the nutrient solution. 4. Take test equipment readings only when youâÂÂve run the nutrient at least twice through your system.

georgeiii Another proverb from the book your writing I see. But yet again posted as truth without any verification whatsoever. Simply repeating something to death dosen't make it true. And Yes I do know what a FAQ is? For the people in the real world (planet earth) it's short for "Frequently Asked Questions." But Yet again your wanting to make up your own reality in whatever world it is you live in. Not to mention your being so hypocritical with that statement/untrue definition it's simply laughable. You want to say I only know what I'm told, yet your the one trying to get me to believe what you tell me to believe, and without any verification of it (laughing to death with that). That is the true definition of hypocritical there georgeiii (on planet earth anyway). Now that I stopped laughing once more, I can finally type again. It's so funny to me that you should say "the internet is clogged with these one page wonders cause their no deeper than a page." Yet your the KING of being a one page NO-wonder. You post a couple threads in a forum, a few pictures that don't prove squat, refuse to post anything from reputable sources to back it up, and yet you think that makes you an authority in the field of hydroponics, thus demand to be respected as such without question (hypocritical, hypocritical, hypocritical, hypocritical). I have taken many pictures of my progress, both good and bad. But I refuse to use a third party website like photobucket (or any such websites) to store them just so I can link to it from a forum. The only reason that's even necessary here is because this forum's software is so out of date, and wont allow you to upload them directly from your computer. Thus making it necessary to use third party websites to link to them. Not only do I have hundreds of pictures of the things I have grown, but I also use software that allows me to make 3D drawings of the systems. I use that to make drawings of systems I have done, as well as ones I wish to build, or even whatever may come to mind as a concept. Unfortunately for someone as financially challenged (I guess is the politically correct term for, poor) as me, there are many more plans to build, than things built. I haven't had the money to even buy nutrients for months. But I have had the good fortune to have access to money to build a commercial greenhouse. Witch is where I spend my time and money these days. Once operational it will provide me with an income of between $30,000 and $50,000 a year (after operating expenses). Rich, no, pay the bills, yes. But it is the catalyst I need to expand the business into one that will not only provide high quality produce to our community, but for lower prices, and year round. As well as even allow me to higher people from our community. Thus helping our local economy in multiple ways. Thanks for asking. As usual I take plenty of pictures, to date I have 353 MB of pictures on the greenhouse build alone. I have been in construction since mid September (been planing it for 1-1/2 years), and right now I'm about 2 months behind scheduled (from where I expected to be in the build). But I need to come up with about $1000 more to complete everything. Total cost will be about $6,500 when finished. that includes the greenhouse itself (200 sq feet), 3 in-ground 275 gallon reservoirs, custom built hydroponic systems, pluming them all, cooling and ventilation systems, electrical to run everything (including 3 new breakers), business licensing etc.. However that dosen't include the propagation system. I'll be starting the first plants in the hydro systems, then use the funds/profits to build a propagation system in order to increase productivity. If I had the money right now I would be about two weeks from starting seeds (2 months from having an income). I'm also registered for a free class given by the SBDC (Small Business Development Center) on Feb 13, on business tax/retail tax that I will be attending. P.S. Hall monitor? Good one. I guess when nobody else in class wants to speak up, that just puts you at the head of the class by default (and you somehow become hall monitor too). But I never even wanted the position. I have always preferred to sit in the back row of class myself. Though if I have somehow been designated hall monitor, it wont change anything. Front of the class or in the back row, I'll still speak up when I feel it's important.

I've tried a bunch of garden design software programs and have finally realized I'll never be happy with any of them. And when I have found one I like it ends up crashing and being full of bugs. There are never enough plants, colors and forms for me.

You might want to visit the Landscape Design forum and search the archives for this topic........it comes up frequently and various products have been suggested. And with varying degrees of recommendation :-) Some are very workable and user-friendly, others much less so. Generally the free programs are less flexible and efficient than those that are purchased. Like the graph paper/pencil route, design software is only a tool and will offer the best results with a good understanding of basic design principles and the plants and their requirements. Some find the pseudo 3-dimensional aspect many programs offer easier to visualize than just plan views created on paper. But you need to be cautious about some of the photoshop aspects, which can distort scale and spacing and alter perspective. And show everything blooming at the same time as well :-) Personally, I prefer the graph paper and circle template, but then I was trained in hand drafting and feel very compfortable with that method. Another handy tool is to take photos of the area in question, blow them up to a workable size and then do tissue paper overlays sketching in the appropriate plants at the appropriate sizes. That combined with a layout to scale on graph paper should get you a long way. There are also various DIY landscaping texts that would be helpful. Sunset's Western Landscaping, the companion to the Western Garden Book, is pretty good. My library is still packed or I'd suggest others but Lowe's and HD usually have a decent selection in their book/magazine area. Look through and find one that presents a reasonable discussion of design principles and a step by step method to preparing a design. That should help a LOT!