It must be Friday.

Hello.

As promised I will give you some more information about growing plants hydroponically.

We have been interested in growing this way for a while. While we were in Toodyay back in May we found a little shop that was selling seedlings and items for hydroponics. We asked lots of questions which you must do. When we first walked into the shop there was a display of plants growing in some poly pipe that is used for drainage. There was also a capsicum growing in one of those disposable coffee cups. He told us that last year he even grew a melon that grew 14 metres in length. The best news is that it is very easy.

I borrowed the book called "Hydroponics for Everyone" A practical guide to gardening in the 21st century. by Dr Straun Sutherland. I thoroughly recommend this book as it is written so you can understand the process and has before and after pictures. This book is published by Hyland House.

There are different sorts of growing mediums. This is what you plant the seeds/plants into. We purchased a bag of coco peet and perlite mix. Some of the mediums available are sand, scoria, perlite, vermiculite,growool, expanded clay balls.

Pots, you can buy special pots but we used pots we already had. Just make sure there are holes in the base so the nutrient mixture can reach it.

Nutrient Mixture. There are many different brands available. Bunnings and your local garden centre stock these. These come in two parts, the first part is used when the plant is young. The second mixture is used when the plant is in bloom. Make sure you follow the directions. We were told to use only a small amount to start of you don't want to kill your plant with kindness. We change the water and nutrient mix once a week. This mixture can be used on other plants in your garden.

When planting seedlings please make sure all the soil is washed of but make sure you don't damage the roots.

We have a small pump going for most of the day. You can leave it on all the time it doesn't use up much power. These small pumps retail from around twenty dollars. We have used one the children had for the goldfish.

Your system can be as simple or technical as you want. You can start with just a plastic bucket for your container. Look around your yard I am sure you will find something that can be used.

Lots of vegies and plants like carnations can be grown hydroponically. I would urge you to give it a go. You will be amazed at how quickly things grow. Good luck with it. Please let me know if you try it.

As today is Friday I am linking up with Bronwyn for Floral Friday. I took this photo of my favourite rose called "Heritage" earlier on in the week. It is a David Austen rose and blooms almost continuously.

Robyn is hosting Colourful Friday today and she has chosen Blue and Orange together. I thought this was going to be a bit tricky but it was just out the back door. The Mandarin tree and the blue sky. I know it is a pity the oranges are no where near ripe as I would have loved to shown that.

I also have some orange and blue material that I will be using in my project for Friday-Night-Sew-In.

So that just about captures what is going on today. Hope you have a great night if you are sewing tonight.

Happy days.
Bev C