In this post, I am going to tell you about the most common mistakes that people make when they grow indoors using Hydroponics systems.
If you are an Indoor grower with an active hydroponic system then You should definitely avoid the below written mistakes to get successful in Hydroponic Growing.
Avoid Regular Check-ups
Most of the growers avoid regular maintenance of a hydroponic growing system that leads to success. Every day you need to check the pH level of the nutrient solution that you have in the hydroponic reservoir. Nutrient uptake is depending upon the right level of acidity and alkalinity levels (in short pH level). If pH levels get disturbed your plant roots will not absorb more nutrients that result in a nutrient deficiency in the plant.
Second, Change the water, not every day but you need to check it every day.
The third thing that comes in regular maintenance guide is looking for the pests. Spider mites are commonly found in indoor gardens. You should check your plants for any pest attack. Inspect your plant steam and both sides of leaves once per day.
If you see pests are controlling your plant take quick action.
OVERFEEDING
Avoid overfeeding your plants because this will not boost their growth, in fact, overfeeding can kill your plant. Follow the instructions written on the nutrient pack. Do not make a nutrient mixture according to your wish. The highly concentrated nutrient solution is not recommended for the hydroponic systems. Your plant cannot tolerate the high dosage of nutrients.
If you don’t stop overfeeding You will observe rust on the plant leaves at the beginning and later you will have a plant with burnt leaves.
NOTE: If the grow room is fitted with high quality Grow lighting system and has good air ventilation. Your plant will need less nutrients so make your grow room perfect for your plant.
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Excess Use of Plant Growth Regulators
Products like Bushmaster, Bushload, Rockhard are called PGRs. These are used to limit the height of a plant and also to produce more leaves and fruits in a short time.
Paclobutrazol is the commonly found plant growth regulator in all popular brands. A recent experiment shows that paclobutrazol put a negative effect on the reproduction system of rats. 99% of the rats genetic structure is similar to us (humans).
So, it is good to stay away from these PGRs. Let the plants grow according to their genes. Do not stop their growth by using some stupid substances like PGRs. Avoid damaging your plant with your hands. If you do not have enough space, try to grow short height plants like lettuce, mint, lemon, spinach, etc.
No Preventive Maintenance
If you are one of those who wait until they see spider mites or whiteflies attack on plants to deal with them. You are making a big mistake. Once they attack your plant your plant will not survive and if it survives from such pests it will not produce flowers and remain inactive.
Instead of waiting to see your plant is attacked by pests. Take some preventive steps, spray neem on your plants once in a month or twice a month. Neem is a natural substance that prevents fungus formation, spider mites, flies, worms, etc.
Prevention is better than cure (be a smart indoor gardener)
Insufficient Light
Every plant regardless of the size required a minimum of 60 watts of grow light per square feet of grow room. If you are using little grow strips think again. You cannot give high-intensity bright light to your plants by using low-quality cheap grow lights.
In indoor gardening, you are replacing sunlight with grow lights, and do you think your little strip grow lights are strong enough to mimic the sunlight spectrum?
Most of the growers choose low-intensity growing lights but I don’t understand why they do so, just to save a few bucks. I am not saying buy high end LED grow lights at the beginning of your indoor gardening carrier.
But you should choose some quality grow lights if you want high-quality flowers and fruits (yield) at the time of harvest.
Measure your grow room and check if your grow light is delivering 60 watts of light energy per square feet of growing area.
Wrong Grow Method
This is a common problem with new hydroponic growers. Due to a lack of knowledge, they choose the wrong kind of soilless growing method.
For example. In Kratky methods, you can grow small plants like lettuce, spinach, etc. But you cannot grow tomatoes in it because they need more aeration. For plants like tomatoes, you need to buy or make your DWC system.
No Cleaning at all
You should check your system every day and clean it properly once in three weeks.
Cleaning method:
Flush the water, clean the reservoir with dishwasher (do not use bleach).
Clean the growing medium and plant roots thoroughly with clean water. It takes less than 30 minutes.
If you maintain this routine your hydroponic system will work for years and your plants grow healthy and produce more yield than normal.
But if you do not bother to clean it you may encourage fungus, algae and also invite the growth of many microbes. All these conditions are deadly for your growing system and plant as well.
You should also clean the entire grow room of make hygienic environment this is the most important thing I always tell new growers to do at first.
Disturb Night Cycle of the plant
If you are the one who checks the plant after every few hours to see the plant conditions, my advice is please stop doing this right now. You are disturbing their natural growth cycle. Once you turn off the lights of your grow room, let your plants be in the dark for at least 8 to 10 hours without any disturbance.
Like human plants also needs some quiet time to produce seeds and flowers. A study has shown that plants grow when we sleep means at night time in the dark. Do not turn ON the light of your grow room before 10 hours once you turn it OFF even if your buddy comes at your home and you want to show your lovely plants.
Lack of Knowledge
If you don’t have enough knowledge about indoor gardening or you never even grow a small plant in your life. Do not start your journey from hydroponics. Little knowledge is a dangerous thing you may damage your growing system by doing a stupid thing as I did 12 years ago. When I was new to indoor gardening and start growing in DWC systems without enough knowledge.
First of all, grow two plants in containers, get some experience and then choose hydroponic systems. you also need to learn about plant nutrients and their effects on plant health before choosing any plant.
It is good if you have a friend with good indoor gardening experience. If you don’t have do not worry, I am always here to help you. Check my articles on indoor gardening and learn the basics first. After that choose your indoor growing method and share your weekly progress report with me. I will help you to become a successful grower in a short time.
I hope you enjoyed this article and to read more interesting stuff like this visit again, till then take good care of your plants.
