cucumbers?

[Devin Duhaime]

well lets see everything is doing good but the cucumbers??? 

I did start the system backwards according 2 the rule of thumb,,lol 

I built it ran it put the fish in frist n only had half of the flood n drain filled with rocks,,,3/8th pea stone,,,now its full with half pea stone n Hydroton,,,everything looks great,,but the cucumbers,,lol

My ph has been staying at 7.5 mine ya it has only been about 40 days that its been running n did start everything from seeds,, any comments??

[TCLynx]

I've always struggled with cucumbers in my systems.  For me I'm guessing the problem has been too much calcium from my calcium carbonate rich media or in the other system my calcium carbonate rich hard well water.  Problem with too much calcium carbonate is one the high pH which tends to lock out Iron that cucumbers seem to need early on and then probably even more of a problem seems to be the potassium precipitating out of solution because of an over abundance of calcium in the water.

I'm hoping to collect more rain water so I don't have such a calcium carbonate problem but some people might recommend using an RO filter.

[Devin Duhaime]

Thank you very much,,, I thought it would something like that,,,very help full,,,

[Chip Pilkington]

I'm guessing your system isn't mature enough to provide the nutrients required. It can take 6 months to truly run on it's own, or with minimal supplementation. If I missed something in your post and this is a mature system, my apologies and please disregard.

My cukes, cabbage and tomatoes all started nicely and then just went into limbo. Literally no growth for almost two months. I tried two products with great success - in one system I tried a Canna product I received from Murray and in the other, Maxicrop plus iron. All veggies experienced immediate growth, they then quickly flowered and produced fruit after nearly two months of nothing. I was concerned they had stalled for so long that would not recover. That was not the case. By the way, the cabbage responded quite well too - I expected the cukes and tomatoes to like the product but had pretty much given up on the cabbage.

 

My two systems are both running nicely on their own now, though it took a good 6 or 7 months to completely get there. I still give an occasional shot of Maxicrop as it has Iron and my systems lack both iron and potassium (my Ph runs at near 8). I am having much better luck than TCLynx with the cukes. They are almost too much to manage, but I really miss dill pickles after living in Asia for a few years so I grows tons of pickling cukes in both dirt and the AP systems.

 

Anyway, you might try maxicrop for  a few months. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. 

 

Good luck,

 

Chip

[Devin Duhaime]

TY for the tip,,,my system is young its only 40days in,,,everything is reading good ph is at 7.4,the ammonia is 0  n the nitrate is great,,n no nitrite in the system,,,,so I think it could be low on iron,,,n for potassium im using banana peels in the bed,, got that from one of Murrays videos,,,lol but ty again, I will look for Maxicrop,,,,,

Chip Pilkington said:

I'm guessing your system isn't mature enough to provide the nutrients required. It can take 6 months to truly run on it's own, or with minimal supplementation. If I missed something in your post and this is a mature system, my apologies and please disregard.

My cukes, cabbage and tomatoes all started nicely and then just went into limbo. Literally no growth for almost two months. I tried two products with great success - in one system I tried a Canna product I received from Murray and in the other, Maxicrop plus iron. All veggies experienced immediate growth, they then quickly flowered and produced fruit after nearly two months of nothing. I was concerned they had stalled for so long that would not recover. That was not the case. By the way, the cabbage responded quite well too - I expected the cukes and tomatoes to like the product but had pretty much given up on the cabbage.

 

My two systems are both running nicely on their own now, though it took a good 6 or 7 months to completely get there. I still give an occasional shot of Maxicrop as it has Iron and my systems lack both iron and potassium (my Ph runs at near 8). I am having much better luck than TCLynx with the cukes. They are almost too much to manage, but I really miss dill pickles after living in Asia for a few years so I grows tons of pickling cukes in both dirt and the AP systems.

 

Anyway, you might try maxicrop for  a few months. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. 

 

Good luck,

 

Chip

[Chip Pilkington]

YW.

At 40 days in, it makes a lot of sense that you've got some plants stalling out a bit. It is quite common and the recommendation I gave was exactly what I received when my system experienced the same behavior.

If you do decide to try the Maxicrop, get some AP specific guidance on dosage. I am very new to this site, but I'm sure some folks here have discussed it. For my 1500L system, I add 1 cup (8oz). My method may or may not be typical, but I add 1/4 cup to a 2 gal bucket, then pour it into one of my 4 GB's as they are filling, then repeat with the rest. I either pull the bell or just cut off the water for a little while when the GB's are full and let the stuff soak in a bit. I'd do it again in two or three weeks. There isn't much out there as far as AP specific instructions for seaweed products, but this worked for me.

[TCLynx]

I've been using like a cap full per grow bed with the maxicrop on my system every few weeks if I think of it.  My grow beds are like 100 gallons each.  I usually just dump the cap full (like the mouthwash size cap full) into the bed where the water enters and figure it will mix the next time the bed floods.

[Devin Duhaime]

do anyone know where I can get the maxicrop in canada???

[Chip Pilkington]

I know this isn't any help....but it cost me $79 to ship a gallon to Thailand!

You can actually order it through Amazon or any number of online sellers. Another thought...they may not distribute Maxicrop in Canada (I have no idea) but, there are a number of seaweed products out there besides Maxicrop - poke around at the home improvement centers in your area. You can buy bottled Worm tea as well - I'd give that a shot if you can't find a seaweed product. As long as it's pure worm tea from castings, it won't harm your fish. At least my Tilapia and Koi don't seem to mind it. Go for the seaweed first if you can get it.

[Vlad Jovanovic]

Maxicrop USA, Inc.

900 Lively Boulevard
Elk Grove Village, Illinois 60007
USA

Toll Free: 1-800-KELP-964

Phone: [phone]

Fax: [phone]

E-mail: [e-mail]

Ask them, but it does appear at first glance as if they don't do much business in Canada?

I can get neither Seasol, nor Maxicrop here where I'm at either, but can get the S.African equivalent called Kelpak. Which may or may not be any more available than your first choice. (it's the same auxins and cytokinins only extracted through a different process 'cold-cell-burst technology' or some such thing), trace elements, but with even slightly less NPK value than Maxicrop if I remember correctly). Everything else looks about the same...might be worth looking into?

KELPAK...

Growth Stimulants
Auxins	11mg	Cytokinins	0.031mg
Nutrients
Proteins	3.0g	Cobalt	0.30mg
Carbohydrates	16.9g	Copper	0.20mg
Nitrogen	3.6g	Fluorine	0.40mg
Phosphorus	8.20g	Iodine	8.60mg
Potassium	7.20g	Iron	13.60mg
Magnesium	200.00mg	Boron	0.24mg
Manganese	8.40mg	Sulphur	0.64mg
Molydbenum	0.38mg	Calcium	800.0mg
Nickel	0.43mg	Sodium	80.0mg
Strontium	0.40mg	Zinc	4.20mg
Amino Acids
Serine	208mg	Phenylalanine	8mg
Methionine	72mg	Aspartic acid	316mg
Hydroxyproline	36mg	Glutamic acid	20mg
Alanine	280mg	Tyrosine	332mg
Valine	150mg	Ornithine	20mg
Glycine	140mg	Lysine	272mg
Isoleucine	92mg	Threonine	152mg
Leucine	180mg	Proline	184mg

[Vlad Jovanovic]

Yes, there are many "seaweed" products out there, but they can be quite different than the Maxicrop/Seasol/Kelpak. I'd highly suggest a bit of research before adding any 'ol (particular) liquid/powdered seaweed to an AP system (especially one with a 'high' phosphorous or nitrogen (more than1% perhaps) content, which could potentially cause you problems you may otherwise not have had to deal with. Some of them might not be so good/effective, while others would probably be just fine...

Chip Pilkington said:

I know this isn't any help....but it cost me $79 to ship a gallon to Thailand!

You can actually order it through Amazon or any number of online sellers. Another thought...they may not distribute Maxicrop in Canada (I have no idea) but, there are a number of seaweed products out there besides Maxicrop - poke around at the home improvement centers in your area. You can buy bottled Worm tea as well - I'd give that a shot if you can't find a seaweed product. As long as it's pure worm tea from castings, it won't harm your fish. At least my Tilapia and Koi don't seem to mind it. Go for the seaweed first if you can get it.

[Devin Duhaime]

Thank you all for the info,,im looking into it ,,I don't order things offline,,but im going to the Hydroponics store n check them out ,,,TY all once again ,,ill keep posting as to what I find n works for my AP,,,,

[Chip Pilkington]

Hi Vlad - you are absolutely right. My assumption was that someone would both look for and compare the required beneficial ingredients, as well as screen for anything harmful before applying anything to an AP system. I know....never A-S-S-U-M-E.

There are data sheets online for all of the "major" seaweed/kelp products out there. In the case of my system, I don't believe it needed a huge boost - the system was well cycled, but nitrate conversion was still a bit ineffecient. The Maxicrop does not list a nitrogen component. I was also specific in my selection because I wanted the iron - as I mentioned, I'm running at or near Ph of 8. The system just needed a little kick, so to speak. I went through the exact same exercise with my second system.

 

Devin, I know you mentioned not shopping online...do you have a friend who can purchase in the States and ship to you? Your priorities need to drive how aggressively you pursue the product. Your system will plug away and work through this phase without any product. I guess it really boils down to how quickly you'd like to get your system productive. I was anxious and skeptical at about 40 days....to the point where I paid a rediculous amount to get the product to Thailand (just one of many difficult/impossible to find items in a developing country). I glad I did it - I am much more at ease now. I also understand what the experienced folks were saying about being patient.