Latest Hydroponics News

Biobizz Bioheaven 5L Now in Stock!!!

Due to the popular demand for Bioheaven we have decided to increase the range from 3 Bottles to 4 going up to a massive 5L bottle of the heavenly goodness that is Biobizz Bioheaven!

The nutrient additive can be found by clicking here.

Below the description you will also find a PDF file containing all you need to know about the Biobizz product range as well a Biobizz Grow Schedule!

Please feel free to review this great product to make other customers aware of its benefits as you would be amazed by how often it is overlooked!

New Icarus Air Cooled Reflector

In winter and the cooler months, HID lights provide not just vital light for your plants, but also much needed heat. But as summer arrives, and the temperatures begin to rise inexorably, the air temperature outside the tent is such that the intake fans are bringing in air already warm enough to create an ideal growing environment. The heat produced by Sodium and Halide bulbs is unwanted and becomes a hindrance to the health of your plants.

This is where air-cooled lighting is of such benefit. A fan is connected to an inlet flange on one side of the reflector, which blows air through a sealed chamber containing the bulb. The warm air around the bulb is forced out through a flange on the opposite side of the chamber before it has time to affect the temperature inside the growing environment. (NB: It is always best to align the fan set-up so the air is pushed through the reflector, rather than pulled through, in order to prevent the fan overheating.) In larger growing areas, several air-cooled reflectors can be aligned using ducting in order to operate using a single fan.

Another great advantage of using air-cooled lighting is that the lights can be placed nearer to the plants, therefore increasing the lumens available and maximising the potential growth of your plants. This makes the use of air-cooled lighting a year-round choice for many growers.

3CH, always looking for the best quality products for our customers at the best prices, is pleased to announce an exclusive product – the air-cooled Icarus reflector. The Icarus is a top quality sealed reflector that offers wide light spread. The 150mm flanges on each side of the reflector enable the air around the bulb to be expelled before it can influence the ambient temperature of the growing area. This provides the grower with the means of positioning the reflector closer to the plants, thereby making the most of every lumen emitted by the bulb.

The Icarus reflector can brought as part of a lighting kit with either a digital ballast or magnetic ballasts or on its own. Currently offering the Icarus Air Cooled Reflector at an amazing introductory price!
 

Hydroponics the way forward for cost-effective cattle feed.

Bad weather. Lack of growing space. No rain. There can be many reasons why farmers find it hard to grow sufficient quantities of food to feed their cattle. But now a company called Fodder Solutions (http://www.foddersolutions.co.uk/) has come up with an answer: growing cattle feed using the technologies of hydroponics. And, they say, the running costs involved do not outweigh the benefits, with the daily electricity expense involved only 90p per day!
The system is also simple to use, and does not involve high labour costs. Barley seeds are put on specially designed sprouting trays, which are then pushed into the system. According to Fodder Solutions, a mat of edible fodder is then grown within a week of the seeds germinating. The entire mat – both the root growth and the leaves – is then fed to the animals as a highly nutritious food. The company claim that it is not necessary to use any nutrients in the growing process, which makes the system even more cost effective.
3CH thinks that this is further proof that hydroponics is truly the future of growing.
 

Global Warming warms up food prices even more

Global warming is not just a word today, it is cause of concern. It has affected almost every sector and industry severely. Last year witnessed some major calamities like floods in Pakistan and Australia wherein drought in China and the Horn of Africa. Such weather conditions affect the agriculture sector most severely as it is totally dependent on exterior environment and climate.

The agriculture sector worldwide is suffering from lack of the farmlands. Soil erosion, salinization, water scarcity, environmental pollution are all the factors responsible for poor crop growth which in turn results in lesser yield and increase in the cost of food.

Reports suggest that climatic shifts are getting more and more drastic and this endangers species of plants which lack genetic diversity. Warming temperature has been disturbing the pollination habits of plants. This leads to alteration in their life cycles and many crops cannot survive this. Growing crops in such conditions takes toll on the famers as well. Even after putting full efforts and investing a lot of money, farmers are not getting the desired outcome. As a result food prices have been increasing rapidly over last few years.

Regional meteorological calamities will increase in near future and the agricultural infrastructure around the globe today stands a very feeble chance against such conditions. Famers need crops which can get adapted to new local realities. Researchers need to come up with alternative farming methods like hydroponics and indoor greenhouse farming to cope up with the increasing global warming or else food prices will reach ski-high level in no time.

Article by Eric Parker

This should hopefully mean further investment in the hydroponics world which would benifet those who already love the world of Hydroponics like you and me!

Vertical Growing – the Only Way is UP!

As well as light, water and nutrition, one of the most important factors when considering the viability of growing is the availability of the necessary space. With the green belt and other areas of agricultural land ever receding as the need for housing increases, space for growing is becoming more and more of an issue.

Cramped as we are into an urban environment, architects have run out of space to build, and the result has been taller and taller buildings. Many experts believe that expanding vertically is also the future of growing. Rather than countryside filled with green fields, one day we can expect to see hydroponics systems built into tower blocks and skyscrapers. Gardeners, farmers and landscape designers will soon be reaching for the skies!
But the truth is that much of this technology is in its infancy. The expense involved in setting up such systems, and the ongoing costs of heating, lighting, water circulation and ventilation, mean that large scale vertical growing is at present not economically viable.
But perhaps, one day not too far in the future, just look up…and watch that space!

More information on vertical farming: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vertical_farming

For information on our cage systems please click here.