Hello everyone and all members of Hive Garden Community, how are you today? are you still healthy and energetic? I hope and pray that all of us are always healthy, enthusiastic and happy in carrying out all the routines and jobs in this life. Oh yes, I also want to wish a happy Chinese New Year to friends who celebrate it. I can't believe it, today is the first Monday in February, and as usual every Monday I will share my gardening activities.
This week, my gardening activities are quite busy. I have many orders for mint leaves, planted kangkong, tended pakchoy (or bokchoy), looked for buyers for lettuce that would be ready to harvest, and also started trying to grow spinach. I will try to tell you one by one the hydroponic gardening activities that I do and this is my hydroponic journal for this week.
Transferring Kangkong Seeds to Planting Media
This week, I transplanted the kangkong seeds that I had sown. There is a slight difference in the way of seeding kangkong with other vegetables. For kangkong, I use dacron or synthetic cotton to sow the kangkong seeds. When sowing kangkong seeds, the condition of the seeds must be submerged with water, because kangkong is a plant that lives and thrives in water.
I often say, kangkong has a very fast development. I sowed last February 1 and transplanted it on February 5, 2022. At this time, the condition of the kangkong in my growing media has grown rapidly. For this kangkong, I use liquid fertilizer with a concentration of 800 ppm, this concentration is in accordance with the standards of the table of vegetable nutrition requirements for hydroponic systems.
Pakchoy or Bokchoi Development
Last week, I told about Pakchoy's condition, which had burned leaves due to too high a ppm concentration. At that time, I immediately reduced my concentration on hydroponic media and after a few days, the condition of the vegetables was back to normal and beautiful, as you can see in the photo above.
I also have about 400 pakchoy plants that are about 20 days old and 14 days old. I started to grow pakchoy massively because of the many requests from connoisseurs of this vegetable. These vegetables grow well and optimally, but there are some plants that experience insect pests. This is indicated by the presence of several small holes, from the diameter of the holes it seems that the caterpillars have eaten them.
To deal with pest attacks on vegetables, I use a garlic solution that is sprayed periodically. If the attack increases I will try increasing the dose of garlic and try again. So far, it is still quite effective in reducing pest or insect attacks.
Lettuce Ready To Harvest
If you often see my posts, or a few weeks ago. Lettuce has a unique characteristic, this vegetable develops very slowly in the early weeks and then grows very rapidly after four weeks after planting. My lettuce grows very optimally and the leaves are green and beautiful.
How to get lettuce that develops well and optimally? if we grow vegetables in hot areas and lowlands, we must reduce the intensity of the sun. Usually I put the lettuce in a more shady place than the other vegetables I grow.
Preparation for Planting Spinach
In February, I want to try to grow spinach. Actually, I've tried several times to sow spinach seeds but I always get less than optimal results. Finally, after consulting with some friends who are also gardening using the hydroponic system, I was able to sow the spinach seeds optimally and this time they are ready to be transferred to the planting medium.
Spinach is a favorite vegetable in my country, and maybe in yours too. This vegetable has many nutrients and benefits for the body. In fact, there is a Popaye cartoon that tells of a sailor who became stronger after eating spinach. I also like this vegetable, and I hope that I can grow spinach with a hydroponic system for my needs or I will sell it later.
Creating Hydroponic Installation
A few days ago, I was visited by some people who wanted to learn about hydroponics. They are very interested in growing various types of vegetables by utilizing the rest of the yard they have. As a hydroponic consultant, I also offer several hydroponic pvc installations with a minimalist shape and easy to use and maintain.
There are two hydroponic installations that I made this time, the first is an A-shaped installation model with 64 holes. Installation like this is very suitable to be placed in an open space surrounded by the sun, its shape can save the empty space that we have. In addition, I also made a hydroponic installation with 24 holes. This hydroponic model is very popular, because it has the most minimalist shape at a more affordable price. Another time, I want to also share tips and how to make hydroponics with PVC pipes with Hive Gardeners.
Conditions of Vegetables in Hydroponic Verticulture
Last week, I reactivated a hydroponic installation that I installed on the wall of my house. I am trying to grow bitter mustard which our family plans to eat and not sell. The condition of the vegetables in this Hydroponic Installation is growing well, there are no problems. At first I was worried about the intensity of sunlight entering the installation, but it seems that the vegetables I planted are still okay and good.
Harvesting Mint Leaves
Mint leaves are the most sought after product in my hydroponic garden. Every day, I sell about 100 grams of mint leaves at a price of IDR 30 K. I have several cafes, coffee shops and restaurants that regularly order mint leaves for their menu. I am very happy, because this plant is very easy to care for and after harvesting, the mint leaves will grow back so I don't have to worry about running out of stock, the important thing is that I always take care of no pests or water shortages.
Okay, here's my hive garden journal this time. See you with my gardening story next week. Happy Gardening.
Call me Isdarmady, because I have a full name that is very long, namely Isdarmady Syahputra Ritonga. I am a head of the family who work as Farmers Vegetables Hydroponic and Consultant Hydroponics, sometimes I also sell coffee from various regions in Indonesia.
I have expertise dispensing coffee with a variety of techniques and tools brewing, because I have the desire to make a coffee shop with hydroponics as centerpieces. Help me realize that dream.
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