Any advice on growing herbs?

p>Does anyone know of any hydroponic systems suitable for growing herbs and a range of vegetables in a window box type structure? (I live in an apartment which only has a small balcony.) The system would need to be suitable for 'outside use' as it would be exposed to the elements. Thanks, Jim

Hello fellow hydroponics friends. I have two questions if this board would be so kind as to answer them.

Q: Another one of those “how long should I run my pump questions”! I understand that with out light you can’t have photosynthesis. Thus, making it useless to run your pump during no light; right? However, this is where my question fits in. Can your plan roots dry out over night if you don’t run the pump at least one time? I ask this because I do run my pump at night three times (ever 2.5 hours or so) and I have not had the balls to experiment with this nagging question.

I water 24 hours because of frequent power outages so I won't have to keep resetting my timers.

Q: This question is for any person on the board who might know about herbs growing. I have research herb growing on line and can’t find any good web sight dealing with herbs and hydroponics (it’s a conspiracy, he he ha ha). I am wondering if the rule of thumb in growing herbs is much like other leafy plants. I ask this question because on one web sight this guy was growing all his herbs with “an EC (Electrical Conductivity) level of 2000 and a pH of 6.8.” Is this PH correct? Seems to me to be high. However, this guy grows for a living in California. If any one is interested in the article you can find it at http://www.aquaponics.com/articleherbs.htm. Thanks for any help y’all can provide.

Blue Skies, Free Flyer

Ron, I put together Gurgle Garden that I saw hyperlinked on page 14 of your bulletin board. My pump is definitely powerful enough, but water doesn't make it up to the top of the drip area. I used aquarium tubing, etc and followed the directions as depicted by the diagram. How does air forced into the solution through the tee in turn forces solution back up into the tube connected to the same tee? Any ideas on what's wrong? Thanks.

You need to suck on the tube to get the siphon effect going. The pump blows air down to the tee and then back up the long hose to the plant along with water droplets. It doesn't flow like when a submersible pump is used.
Try giving the tubes a shake to get it going.

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