Archives for November 2017

What are pH, EC, TDS, and PPM and How Are They Connected?

November 21, 2017 by Weekend Gardener

If you’re new to hydroponics and have NO clue what all of the terminology means, this video is for you. Even if you’re an intermediate grower and want to know what EC is, what TDS means, which you should use, and how it all connects to pH, make some time to watch this one today.

The truth is that EC or electrical conductivity is the purest way to measure your nutrient concentration. TDS or total dissolved solids is a calculation based on EC that meters perform internally. TDS is measured in PPM, or parts per million and the calculation can vary based on the conversion factor.

This is why you must know the conversion factor your meter is using if you’re using TDS. Or you can simply switch to using EC and never have to worry about it again!

Today’s video is sponsored by Apera Instruments, makers of water and soil testing probes and meters. They kindly donated the PH20 and PC60 meters for me to make this video.

More about Apera Instruments here:
→ http://aperainst.com/

If you’d like to purchase either meter, they’re on sale until December 3, 2017 for Black Friday:

→ PH20 pH Tester: http://amzn.to/2hKrBEM
→ PC60 pH/EC/TDS Tester: http://amzn.to/2z9YfGQ

Learn to grow your own food:
→ http://www.epicgardening.com/blog

Join our worldwide gardening community:
→ https://www.facebook.com/groups/epicgardening/

Gardening Equipment I Use:
→ Basic hydroponic nutrients: http://amzn.to/29VmBeQ
→ Simple pH testing kit: http://amzn.to/2aexc4l
→ Fancy pH testing pen: http://amzn.to/2fY6UqD

More reviews of my favorite gardening products: → http://www.epicgardening.com/gardening-product-reviews/

Epic Gardening on Social Media:
→ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/epicgardening/
→ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/epicgardening
→ Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/epicgardening
→ Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/epicgardening

Quitting Your Job To Farm on a Quarter Acre In Your Backyard?

November 17, 2017 by Weekend Gardener

My friend Steven Cornett just quit his job. He quit so he can start his NEW job…farming in San Diego on a quarter acre in his backyard.

His farm is called Nature’s Always Right, because he believes that the best way to grow is to study natural systems and emulate them in his urban plot.

In this video we do a DEEP dive into every aspect of his farm as well as where he’s at in the journey. I HIGHLY encourage you to go subscribe to his channel for more urban farming goodness!

2 YEAR UPDATE VIDEO: https://youtu.be/Zpn1oGkQrrg

1:47 – Overview of Plot
6:55 – Chicken Coop Design
11:14 – Chicken Feed and Watering
13:58 – Compost & Fertility
16:29 – Black Soldier Fly Larvae Production
19:25 – Vermicomposting
22:25 – Carrot Tips and Row Planting
27:07 – Post Processing Station
31:12 – Final Thoughts!

Go check out Steven’s channel:
→ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCejgtTHroWI5sF_2-fuiF4Q

Join our worldwide gardening community:
→ https://www.facebook.com/groups/epicgardening/

Gardening Equipment I Use:
→ Basic hydroponic nutrients: http://amzn.to/29VmBeQ
→ Simple pH testing kit: http://amzn.to/2aexc4l
→ Fancy pH testing pen: http://amzn.to/2fY6UqD

More reviews of my favorite gardening products: → http://www.epicgardening.com/gardening-product-reviews/

Soil Health Tips: How to Plant Cover Crops in a Raised Bed

November 11, 2017 by Weekend Gardener

This is a new experiment for me. I have so many raised beds in the front yard that I wanted to experiment with planting cover crops in 1.5 of the raised beds to improve soil health. In order to build my soil over the winter season, cover crops are my go-to instead of buying in synthetic or even organic fertility.

So in this video, I go over why cover crops are so important, how to plant them, how to inoculate them (very important), and how to work them into the soil.

If you like this video I’ll do follow ups on how my cover crops have grown over the winter and how I work them into the soil to build fertility in Spring!

Benefits of planting cover crops:

→ Plants with deep taproots will “mine” lower levels of subsoil for nutrients.
→ Holds soil together to prevent erosion and runoff
→ Fixes atmospheric nitrogen in soil for more fertile planting come Spring

Learn to grow your own food:
→ http://www.epicgardening.com/blog

Join our worldwide gardening community:
→ https://www.facebook.com/groups/epicgardening/

Gardening Equipment I Use:
→ Basic hydroponic nutrients: http://amzn.to/29VmBeQ
→ Simple pH testing kit: http://amzn.to/2aexc4l
→ Fancy pH testing pen: http://amzn.to/2fY6UqD

More reviews of my favorite gardening products: → http://www.epicgardening.com/gardening-product-reviews/

Drip Irrigation System Install in 7 Raised Beds!

November 9, 2017 by Weekend Gardener

If you’ve ever wondered how to set up a drip irrigation system for your raised bed garden, look no further. This video goes into how I outfitted my entire front yard with drip irrigation.

I can’t tell you how much of a relief it is to be able to turn a knob and have my entire yard irrigated. Not only will it save water, but it also saves TIME, which is the most precious resource we have on this Earth.

We go into:

– How to retrofit a sprinkler for drip irrigation
– How to install drip lines on raised beds
– How to install drip tape on in-ground beds
– How to cap off extra sprinkler heads
– Mistakes I made that you can avoid!

Huge thanks to https://www.dripdepot.com for sending out their raised bed kit, in-ground bed kit, and a few extra parts! They went above and beyond to consult with me on my yard and unique needs and from what I’ve heard from friends, that’s the norm with them!

Learn to grow your own food:
→ http://www.epicgardening.com/blog

Join our worldwide gardening community:
→ https://www.facebook.com/groups/epicgardening/

Gardening Equipment I Use:
→ Basic hydroponic nutrients: http://amzn.to/29VmBeQ
→ Simple pH testing kit: http://amzn.to/2aexc4l
→ Fancy pH testing pen: http://amzn.to/2fY6UqD

More reviews of my favorite gardening products: → http://www.epicgardening.com/gardening-product-reviews/

Music by https://andrewapplepie.bandcamp.com/

Growing Basil Forever: How to Prune Basil For Huge Production

November 3, 2017 by Weekend Gardener

This is a fun one for you all. If you use a LOT of hydroponic basil in the kitchen like I do, using the method I outline in this video is an easy way to harvest basil forever and ever off of ONE initial mother plant!

The method is known as the Kratky method of hydroponics, where you use NO electrical parts, no pumps, no airstones. All you do is place a rooted cutting or seedling into a reservoir and let it drink down the water and use up nutrients. When there’s no water left, you simply harvest the remaining leaves on a plant and move on to the next one!

You can also try growing basil in a deep water culture system using an airstone if you want.

If you want to create an endless basil supple, all you need to do is stagger your cuttings so you have:

– 1 basil plant rooting
– 1 basil plant in mild growth
– 1 basil plant in aggressive vegetative growth
– 1 basil plant at the end of it’s life cycle

As long as you keep ~4 plants going at a time in different stages of the growth cycle, you’ll NEVER run out of basil.

For more about the Kratky method:
→ https://www.epicgardening.com/the-kratky-method/

Materials:
– Ball Wide Mouth Mason Jars: http://amzn.to/2h9cOqF
– Take Root Rooting Hormone: http://amzn.to/2xRdHaf
– General Hydroponics Nutrients: http://amzn.to/2h6Q7Dc
– 3″ Net Pots: http://amzn.to/2z90fQo

Join our worldwide gardening community:
→ https://www.facebook.com/groups/epicgardening/

Gardening Equipment I Use:
→ Basic hydroponic nutrients: http://amzn.to/29VmBeQ
→ Simple pH testing kit: http://amzn.to/2aexc4l
→ Fancy pH testing pen: http://amzn.to/2fY6UqD

More reviews of my favorite gardening products: → http://www.epicgardening.com/gardening-product-reviews/