8/4/2015 Update

Been a long time since I updated. I will try to update more often.

Anyway, I moved to a new house and have gone exclusively to hempy buckets without any perlite or medium (except for the net pots.) I think these qualify at Kratky buckets but I am constantly changing the nutrient solution to avoid root rot. I had root rot kill a few plants this year because I left my buckets unattended for a month at the beginning of the growing season, which allowed the solution to become stagnant and grow root rotting fungus/mold.  Not all plants got root rot but many did. I was able to bring some plants back from death by cutting off the rotting roots and then letting the plants dry out pretty good. Then I tore off and more dried rotted roots and gave them fresh water daily, making sure to rinse off the roots. I did this for my basil, oregano and parsley and they are all doing well now. Here are some pictures.

Beefsteak Tomatoes

Green Bell Peppers

Bell Pepper Clone

Mucho Nacho Jalapeno Pepper Clone

Contender Green Beans

Mucho Nacho Jalapeno Pepper

Basil, Oregano, Parsley

Bug on tomato plant

Garden as of 7/7/2014.

Here is a quick picture update of the plants. 

Here is the oregano and an easter lily that has already flowers. Some bulbs are forming under the coco coir, though the squirrels have already tried to get them. May come up with something to keep them out.

Here are the tiny tim tomatoes. There are lots of small tomatoes already. This plant is a quick producer.

Here are the banana pepper plants. There are actually four in the one bucket. Seems to be doing ok so far. About 13 peppers of various sizes so far and many more flowers forming.

Not a great picture but here is one of the black cherry tomato plants. Probably about ten small tomatoes on this one so far.

Here are the wild alpine strawberries. It is their first year growing so I should not expect much fruit. But I am getting some fruit and it is very sweet and flavorful.

Here is the larger black cherry tomato plant. Probably 6 good size tomatoes and many small ones so far. After I took this picture I tied the branches up so they weren't blowing in the wind without support. 

Here is something new I am trying out. It is essentially a hempy bucket without the perlite. Just hangning the perlite cup in the reservoir with holes cut in the cup. The roots have grown into the nutrient water reservoir which I am flushing as if it were a hempy bucket. So far it is working out. I am excited not to spend so much money on perlite. This plant is a white cherry tomato plant my wife received as a gift from the Chicago Botanic Gardens. I will have to post pictures of the roots later. Kind of cool.

Here is one of the zucchini plants I have going. This one went into a larger hempy bucket before the zucchini plant pictured next. It shows as the next plant looks much more nitrogen deficient.

Zucchini plant 2.

Hempy Bucket How To...

Here is a post on how to make the hempy buckets (passive hydro buckets) I use to grow most of my plants in. They are very simple to make and use and have improved my growing noticeably.

First find a suitable bucket. A five gallon bucket will work for larger plants and they are cheap and easy to find. Here is a ~4 gallon bucket being converted into a hempy bucket.

After drilling holes in a triangle pattern about 2-3 inches above the bottom of bucket, I painted the buckets black. I do a triangle pattern so the nutrients drain slower near the bottom of the bucket. The buckets are painted black to avoid the roots and grow medium becoming covered with algae growth. 

Next I fill the buckets 3/4 full with perlite. This perlite should be flushed with water to remove perlite fines that can settle at the bottom of your hempy bucket. Now your bucket is ready for a transplant. Let the roots of the plants dip into just the top of the reservoir or even slightly above. The plant will grow into it on its own. I give nutes on the first day of transplant and it never seems to do any harm. After this, I cover the exposed roots on top with more perlite, or vermiculite. I am experimenting with vermiculite on top to see if that lessens evaporation from the buckets. The plants always seem to love bigger buckets too because they always explode with growth when the roots reach the reservoir. Here are a couple plants recently transplanted. 

Banana peppers, just after transplant to large hempy bucket

Black cherry tomatoes. , just after transplant to large hempy bucket (vermiculite on top)

Where the garden is currently...

This post is meant to get readers up to speed on where the garden is currently. These pictures are low quality and I plan on taking pictures with a quality camera from now on.

 Above is a Tiny Tom Tomato Plant that I had just transfered from a rootbound soil container to this small hempy container with perlite as the medium.

 I had started another also transplanted another Tiny Tim Tomato Plant in 100% perlite. Relative to eachother the perlite hempy pot tomato plant grew much faster and produced fruit quicker.

 Tiny Tim Tomato Plant under LED light. Estimated 100Watts. This was during the winter and cold spring. It was transplanted to a larger container with light blocking foil tape on the side to prevent root rot.

 Above are the begginings of romaine lettuce (top left), banana peppers (top right), alpine strawberries, black cherry tomatoes and oregano. The green onion I was trying to root died.

 Black cherry tomato plant.

 Romaine lettuce (top left), banana peppers (bottom left), alpine strawberries, black cherry tomatoes (middle black cups) and oregano (back right).

  Romaine lettuce (top left), banana peppers (bottom left), alpine strawberries, black cherry tomatoes (middle black cups) and oregano (back right).

  Romaine lettuce (top left), banana peppers (bottom left), alpine strawberries, black cherry tomatoes (middle black cups) and oregano (back right).

  Romaine lettuce (top left), banana peppers (bottom left), alpine strawberries, black cherry tomatoes (middle black cups) and oregano (back right). Those were skewers which I thought was brilliant until they started to provide a home for mold.

  Romaine lettuce (top left), banana peppers (bottom left), alpine strawberries, black cherry tomatoes (middle black, back right foil container) and oregano (back right).

 Black cherry tomatoes.

 Oregano and a re-go of the Tiny Tim Tomatoes.

 Black cherry tomato plant in its new outside home.

 Other black cherry tomato plant that was much lankier. 

 Black cherry tomato roots during transplant.

  Black cherry tomato roots during transplant.

  Black cherry tomato roots during transplant.

 First banana pepper.

 Banana pepper plant

  Banana pepper plant

  Banana pepper plant

  Banana pepper plant

 Romaine lettuce

 Alpine strawberries.

  Alpine strawberries.

 Re-vegging the romaine lettuce.

 Banana pepper plant outside.

 Banana pepper.

 This dragonfly flew in my mini greenhouse and was trapped. I placed my hand near it and it landed on my hand allowing me to help him out. And he was nice enough to let me take a picture.