Aeroponic Cloning

Plant cloning is not a new concept and aeroponic cloning is basically the exact same thing only the cultivation of sibling/cloned plants is done using aeroponic cloning instead of the more traditional soil-potting.

Here is basic step-by-step guide to starting your own aeroponic cloning operation. We've left some gaps but we think you'll be able to fill them in if you think about it!!

1. Select a healthy branch from the parent plant with several clusters of leaves.
2. Cut off a piece of the branch leaving at least 2 leaf nodes intact
3. Remove the largest few leaves as they can be hard for a rootless plant to maintain in the early stages.
4. Then remove all branches and leaves apart from the top 2 sets.

You are now well on your way to procuding your first crop of cloned plants. For a more thorough guide to get you through the next/critical steps we recommend you visit the below page for some excellent advice:
http://www.bghydro.com/BGH/static/articles/1205_cloning.asp

Good luck with your Aeroponic Cloning Project!!

Aeroponics

Aeroponics is a little bit like the extremely clever younger brother of Hydroponics. Many people are amazed at the concept of hydroponic gardening - "you can grow plants without soil?" they might say. But Aeroponics takes that technology to a new level whereby the plants don't even sit in water for a feed anymore. Aeroponics is basically a system that allows the roots of the plants to be sprayed with nutrient-rich water vapour. Isn't that amazing? No soil needed, no elaborate flooding & draining system of hydroponics. Instead, the plants simply get sprayed with nutrient-rich mist and their roots grow at an alarming rate.

Startup Aeroponics kits can be found for as little as £40 or $70 so there is really no excuse for not having a go at Aeroponic growing in your spare time or as a summer project etc. We hope you enjoy your aeroponic exploits and adventures.

Hydroponic Growing

How do you grow a plant? You need soil, water and a seed right?
Well not any more. Allow me to introduce to you the concept of Hydroponic Growing. This basically removes the soil from the growing process and in its place you have a variety of nutrients & vitamins that a plant/seed needs to grow and produce fruit.

The concept of hydroponic growing, therefore, is quite simple - throw out the soil, bring in nutrients, and away you go. But as with most things it is harder to do, takes longer to master and costs more money than you might initially think. Hydroponic growing is usually done indoors. This means we need a replacement for the Sun's natural light and so instead, one must use hydroponic grow lights to provide the right amount of light for optimum growth.

One also needs a quite varied array of hydroponic equipment in order to succeed. This can be very costly and is often the deciding factor that turns away many enthusiastic beginners into the world of hydroponic growing - they simply cannot justify the startup costs.

For those lucky enough to be able to afford the right equipment you then have the problem of expertise. The popularity of hydroponic growing is still fairly recent and so there is a general shortage of good literature on the subject that is aimed at taking someone with a basic interest in the field through to being a self-sufficient hydroponic gardener. Places like Amazon and eBay do help people get hold of various books but choosing the right book can be critical and is beyong the scope of this article to go into.

In closing then, we would simply recommend that you do not spend a single penny on hydoponic equipment until you have read around the subject sufficiently and have seen several working hydroponic growing setups and have spoken with some experienced hydroponic gardeners. Only then will you know if you still have the motivation and interest to make a good go of it.

Discount Hydroponics

The evolution of Hydroponics as a hobby, a business and as a phenomenon has been blindingly apparent in recent years. Hydroponic Stores have been popping up in prime shopping locations, advertising billboards are now carrying Hydroponic advertisements and general awareness of Hydroponics has almost reached "mainstream" status.

The increase of hydronic stores has lead to increased competition amongst vendors and what this always means is that prices inevitably drop. Vendors are prepared to take a small profit and they rely instead on increased sales to cover the bills and put food on their table at home. When competition becomes particular fierce amongst vendors we see discount hydroponics being offer. This is a situation where prices are dropped significantly below the manufacturer's own RRP price. Discount Hydroponics therefore can be seen as a good thing for the consumer because it means hydroponic supplies can be found at lower prices.

But what does this means for the vendors?
Discount hydroponics practices have been blamed for the close of several high profile stores in recent months. They were left with no option but to drop their prices inline with the current price cuts but due to slow sales they could no longer keep up with their outgoings and withing 3 months of getting into trouble, they had ceased to open their doors to customers.

Government legislation doesn't really provide any protection against this kind of aggressive pricing. Technically you are allowed to SELL at below-RRP prices but you are not allowed to ADVERTISE at below-RRP prices. However, loopholes exist to make this whole situation mute and thus discount hydroponics are still prevelent on the market today.

If you want to make a difference, don't simply buy from the store who offer discount hydroponics, instead buy from those who have an obvious passions for the field and a commitment to customer relations. It is these stores that deserve and need the support of the everyday hydroponic gardener.