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Ebb and Flow bucket systems (provided by various manufacturers)
are becoming more and more popular. To maintain our edge in this
area of the marketplace, we’ve tested our product against other
hydroponic media and the results were clear. In spite of what some
bucket system manufacturers recommend, plants obviously prefer Grodan
media.
Why Grodan?
The popularity of bucket -style ebb and flow (flood)
systems has skyrocketed recently among hydroponics hobbyists. However,
growers have experienced limited success using media such as clay
rocks or artificial plastic inserts. Fortunately there is a natural
product that works better – Grodan
To watch or download video comparison, please
Click here
To download the Ebb & Flow Bucket System brochure,
please
Click
here
The following products are perfect for use
in
Ebb and Flow Bucket Systems:
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GROW-CUBES™
(Small Croutons)
Grow-Cubes can be used on their
own or mixed in 50/50 with clay rocks, to improve growth in
place of just rocks.
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GROW-CHUNKS™
(Large Croutons)
Grow-Chunks should be used on their
own since the pieces are too large to easily mix properly
with clay rocks.
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Using Grodan in the Bucket System
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Step 1
- Make sure grow area is clean.
- Set up the system according to the instructions of the
system you buy.
- Use either all Grow-Cubes or Grow-Chunks.
- If you want to mix with the clay pellets, then only use
Grow-Cubes because they are smaller croutons. We recommend
a 50/50 mix. The more Grodan used, the better the results.
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Step 2
- Generally no pH adjusting is needed, just soak your croutons
in plain water before use.
- But if you have hard water (high pH), it would be best
to soak in water adjusted to pH 5.5.
- Drain the croutons to waste by pouring them in the buckets
with holes that come with your system. When fully drained,
put those buckets into the system you set up.
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Step 3
- Fill the system’s reservoir with a hydroponic solution
(EC 1.5 and pH 5.8 works well).
- We recommend using Grodan starters and Gro-Blocks™
for the best transplants, but you can transplant from any
medium into the croutons.
- Carefully transplant each plant into the buckets.
- Once transplanted, start your watering cycle.
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Step 4
- Flood four times a day for 15 minutes each cycle for sufficient
growth.
- Adjust flooding frequency and cycle length according to
the growing environment and stage of plant growth. You may
need to flood more or less per day.
- Check pH and increase EC (or PPM) as the plants grow.
Switch to a bloom solution when the plants begin to flower.
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Did you know….
Roots will adapt to the media they grow in. For example, a course-grade
medium (such as rocks) produces thicker roots to anchor the plant.
Whereas a fine-grade medium like Grodan will produce more feeder
roots (thinner, rather than thicker). More feeder roots means
faster plant growth. It is as simple as that.
| Thirty days after transplanting into a bucket with Grodan
Grow-chunks. |
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Thirty days after transplanting into a bucket with clay pellets. |
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