Hello kesaber and welcome to Hydroponics!

1. Are there stickies on these forums that guide you do
growing different vegetables hydroponically like in the marijuana forums?

You will be using the same grow forums as normal
gardeners. I haven’t discovered specific forums for different types on here
though. I do usually jump between a multitude of forums to try and get more
rounded answers.

Something to keep in mind is that yes you are
giving up the soil; however, plants do still need the same basic pH and other
items that you would use in traditional growing.

2. Is there a website I can go to learn to avoid using
those forums?

This is what I will say. The cannabis forums are
great to learn some advanced tricks for hydroponics for any plant! What I would
do first is google different types of Hydroponics and read up.

What you will need to focus on:

Type of system (e.g. Nutrient Film Technology
(NFT), Deep Water Culture (DWC), Kratky Method, Dutch Bucket, Ebb and Flow.

Type of plant (i.e. how hard to grow, height,
temp, grow time to fruit)

I normally recommend going to MPH Gardener’s
channel on YouTube and just start watching videos. He has a great series of
educational videos that walk you through several different setups and can help
to get you on your way.

3. Do the hours your run your grow light dependent on what
you grow? How long is it for tomatoes and bell peppers? Is there a switch from
veg to bloom?

This is where it gets tricky. A basic principle is
Veg has longer hours than Bloom. So if you are running your light at 18/6, you
might switch it to 16/12 for fruiting and flowering.

I ran my peppers on 18/6 the whole time and they
did fine as well as grew peppers like crazy. This will be something you will
have to discover on your own. Some Universities do provide advanced growing
guides for plants and you might be able to find one of those. I do remember coming
across a nice one from NC State that had detailed information about
Cauliflower, but you are looking for Peppers.

You can tell when your lights have been on too
long or too intensely because you will see leaves turn upside down or look “droopy”.

4. Do most growers HID's? These would seem to work well,
but doesn't that get really expensive?

There are numerous different lights you can choose
from. Just to list them:

• High Pressure Sodium (HPS)
• Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL)
• High Intensity Discharge (HID)
• LED

Normally new growers will start out with one of
the top three and eventually work their way to LED for either supplemental
lighting or full lighting as they go. This is because they have a low upfront
cost, even though they do tend to have a higher cost of running. I have begun
to see more and more new people going with LEDs accepting the cost hit for cost
savings down the road; however, that will be a decision you make. The LED
market has quite the amount of options and does require some advanced knowledge
to grab the right spectrum.

Something besides price to remember is the
spectrum. Normally people focus on spectrum only when talking about LED lights;
however, I know some companies like Plantmax put out HPS lamps with varying
spectrums you can use for growing.

There are some sites I can point you towards for
cost calculations on light if you want; however, the best one I have found is
on 420 Mag.

And just to add, if you have any questions about
specific setups feel free to post and I will help out as much as possible. I
ran a hydroponic farm for over three years and now a lot about this stuff and
the industry. Hope some of this helps!

You can start simply by regrowing your groceries in water. You just stick the roots in water (lettuce, green onions, bok choy, etc.) and see what happens! There are some tips here: http://bit.ly/1xGt3Nf