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Aeroponic leaf lettuce
June 7, 2024 (Tokyo, Japan) - The lettuce is doing very well this cycle in the newer aeroponic towers. This lettuce is just over 24 days of growth. The lettuce was germinated from seeds in soil and then after washing the roots of the seedlings off were transferred to square sponges and then placed in the towers. Lettuce is becoming expensive in Japan just as other vegetables are. A head of lettuce is going for around ¥300 for a head of lettuce. This leaf lettuce is actually very good and was grown from off the shelf sets at a local DIY store.
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Strawberries and basil this cycle
June 7, 2024 (Tokyo, Japan) - This year's strawberries in the horizontal hydroponic tubes seem to be doing very well. I have noticed though slight root rot so I am going to have to work out a way to get more oxygen into the water. The basil is also growing much slower than it has compared to last year and the year before that. I am using a different nutrient solution so this might be part of the reason. I tried ordering MaxiGro through Amazon but after ordering the product was canceled with the reason being MaxiGro's powder nutrient was considered a "dangerous substance" for air freight. The strawberries are growing very well using the Japan-based liquid nutrient Hydroponica solution pictured below.
The basil plants are growing slower this year. These basil plants are over 6 weeks and should be much larger.
Japan-based liquid nutrient for hydroponics and aeroponics from Hydroponica. I haven't had very good success using this product. This year the basil is growing slower considering all other conditions were the same in previous growing cycles.
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Aeroponics towers set up and running
September 27, 2023 (Tokyo, Japan) - The new aeroponics towers are set up with 14 liters of filtered water in each tower. I am using 28cc of Hyponica's solution A and B in each tower. The tower's LED lights and pumps are connected to Wyze Labs, Inc. auto controllers. The lights and pumps are on a timer. The pumps are set to run 5 minutes every hour and the lights are initially on for 10 hours a day until the plants mature. I am also using the plant biostimulant Envirocon™ developed here in Japan by ITN Corp. to reduce bacteria buildup and reduce odors in the tank. Envirocon™ stimulates plant root growth resulting in the roots absorbing 20-30 percent more nutrients. The results have been pretty spectacular. Each tower has 48 pods for growing a total of 96 plants in both towers.
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New aeroponics towers arrived
September 25, 2023 (Tokyo, Japan) - The two new aeroponics (hydroponics) towers arrived the other day and set them up ready to accept 48 plants each. The seeds started germinating last week Thursday and have wasabi leaves, two types of lettuce, coriander, basil, oregano and spinach seeds that are germinating. I haven't been able to successfully germinate spinach seeds yet and apparently, spinach seeds require lower temperatures and take longer to germinate. Each tank holds 21 liters of water but will operate efficiently with 16 liters. The previous towers I was using had locations for 36 plants each. After 2 years of use they both wore out because of weak plastic edges and connections (3D printed). The roots didn't have enough room to grow properly I think. These newer replacement towers have a much larger diameter and larger space for the roots to grow.
Aeroponics towers (each tower holds 48 plants)
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Nitrogen Is a Critical Nutrient For Growing Lettuce Hydroponically
September 8, 2023 (Tokyo, Japan) - When growing lettuce hydroponically or in aeroponics towers, several nutrients are important, but nitrogen (N) is typically considered the most crucial nutrient for healthy lettuce growth. Here's why nitrogen is so important and how to manage it in a hydroponic lettuce system:
Nitrogen (N): Nitrogen is a primary macronutrient that plays a vital role in the growth of lettuce plants. It is essential for the development of leafy green foliage, which is the edible part of the lettuce plant. Nitrogen promotes the production of chlorophyll, which is responsible for photosynthesis and gives lettuce its green color.
Here are some key considerations for managing nitrogen in a hydroponic lettuce system:
Nitrogen Levels: Ensure that your nutrient solution contains an adequate supply of nitrogen. You may need to monitor and adjust the nitrogen concentration based on the growth stage of the lettuce plants.
Nitrogen Source: Nitrogen can be supplied in the form of nitrate (NO3-) or ammonium (NH4+). Lettuce tends to prefer nitrate as its primary nitrogen source. Using a balanced nutrient solution with a higher proportion of nitrate nitrogen is often recommended.
pH and Nitrogen Uptake: Maintain the appropriate pH level (usually in the range of 5.5 to 6.5) to optimize nitrogen uptake by the lettuce plants. Fluctuations in pH can affect nutrient availability.
This is a typical lettuce I have grown in the two aeroponics towers I use for growing different types of vegetables including wasabi leaves for salads, kale, basil and bok choy.
While nitrogen is crucial, it's essential to maintain a balanced nutrient solution that provides all necessary macro and micronutrients to your lettuce plants. This includes phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and trace elements. Monitoring the overall nutrient profile and pH levels regularly will help ensure healthy lettuce growth in your hydroponic system.
Remember that lettuce is a relatively fast-growing and nutrient-demanding crop, so providing the right balance of nutrients, especially nitrogen, is essential for achieving high-quality lettuce yields in hydroponic setups.
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Nutrients For Use In Aeroponics Towers
September 8, 2023 (Tokyo, Japan) - In hydroponic tower systems, the choice of nutrients is critical for the healthy growth of vegetables. Hydroponic plants rely entirely on nutrient solutions because they don't have access to soil. The nutrients you provide should contain all the essential elements needed for plant growth. Here are the primary nutrients and factors to consider:
Macro Nutrients:
Nitrogen (N): Essential for leafy growth and overall plant development.
Phosphorus (P): Important for root development, flowering, and fruiting.
Potassium (K): Essential for flower and fruit development, as well as overall plant health.
Calcium (Ca): Necessary for cell wall structure and growth.
Magnesium (Mg): Required for chlorophyll production and photosynthesis.
Sulfur (S): Necessary for amino acid and protein production.
Micro Nutrients:
Trace minerals like iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), boron (B), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), molybdenum (Mo), and chlorine (Cl) are also vital in small quantities for plant health.
pH Balance: The pH level of your nutrient solution is crucial. Most vegetables grow best in a pH range between 5.5 and 6.5. Maintaining the correct pH ensures that nutrients are available to the plants.
EC/PPM Levels: Electrical conductivity (EC) or parts per million (PPM) measures the concentration of nutrients in the solution. Different plants may require varying levels of nutrients, so it's important to monitor and adjust these levels based on your specific crop.
Water Quality: Ensure that the water you use to mix your nutrient solution is of high quality. Avoid using water with excessive salts, chlorine, or other contaminants.
Nutrient Formulas: You can find pre-formulated hydroponic nutrient solutions available commercially that are tailored to specific growth stages or types of plants. These can simplify nutrient management.
Nutrient Delivery: Hydroponic tower systems often use a continuous or periodic flow of nutrient solution. Ensure that your system delivers the nutrients effectively to the roots of the plants.
Monitoring and Adjustments: Regularly monitor your plants for signs of nutrient deficiencies or excesses. Adjust your nutrient solution as needed to address these issues.
Different vegetables may have specific nutrient requirements, so it's important to research and customize your nutrient solution accordingly. Also, consider the environmental conditions in your growing area, as temperature, humidity, and light can influence nutrient uptake and plant growth.
Remember that hydroponic gardening requires careful attention to detail, including nutrient management, to achieve optimal results. Experimentation and fine-tuning may be necessary to find the best nutrient solution for your specific hydroponic tower system and the vegetables you intend to grow.
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Envirocon™ Contains Ionized Magnesium (Mg)
January 29, 2023 (Tokyo, Japan) - ITN Corp's plant biostimulant product Envirocon™ is manufactured by a patented process that ionizes magnesium (Mg) ion. Magnesium (Mg) is essential for chloroplast production and healthy plant metabolism that are required for higher crop yields. The most important factor of Envirocon™ as a biostimulant is the stabilization and balance of zinc, silver and magnesium ions for plant cultivation. Magnesium is the central core of the chlorophyll molecule in plant tissue. If Mg is deficient, the shortage of chlorophyll results in poor and stunted plant growth. Mg also helps to activate specific enzyme systems in plants. Enzymes are complex substances that build, modify, or break down compounds as part of a plant's normal metabolism. Ionization is a process by which electrically neutral atoms or molecules are converted to electrically charged atoms or molecules (ions) through gaining or losing electrons. Using a manufacturing process that ionizes magnesium ensures the plants can utilize magnesium in the most efficient way possible.
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Envirocon™ Contains Ionized Silver (Ag)
January 29, 2023 (Tokyo, Japan) - ITN Corp's plant biostimulant Envirocon™ contains ionized silver (Ag). Ionized silver contributes to the development of healthy root structures in plants. Silver ions are sensitive to other metal ions like zinc and magnesium that co-exist in the same medium whether it be soil or water. To avoid the silver ion from being interfered with from other metal ions in the medium, Environcon™ uses a unique technology to completely stabilize the silver ions. Envirocon™ does not use nano silver particles in this plant biostimulant. The following image are strawberry plants germinated from seeds then transplanted to a hydroponic system where the plant biostimulant Envirocon™ has been applied. The strawberry plants are very healthy and growing rapidly with strong root structures in water containing nutrients where potentially harmful bacteria are prevented from growing because of the presence of ionized silver.
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Envirocon™ Contains Ionized Zinc (Zn)
January 29, 2023 (Tokyo, Japan) - What makes the plant biostiumlat Envirocon™ so unique is the component zinc ion. In appropriate concentrations zinc is essential for cell division in plants and enzymatic activity. Zinc (Zn) also contributes to keeping microbial diversity in soil or in water used in hydroponic systems stable and healthy. Healthy microbial activity contributes to preventing plant pathogens from cultivating in soil and in water. Zn is an important component of various enzymes that are responsible for activating many metabolic reactions in all plants. Plant growth and development would stop if specific enzymes were not present in plant tissue. Carbohydrate, protein, and chlorophyll formation is significantly reduced in zinc-deficient plants. Using a patented process, the plant biostimulant Envirocon™ provides plants with ionized zinc for better absorption both through the leaf and root structures. The following is an image of lettuce grown using the plant biostimulant Envirocon™. This results in more vivid colors in plants, better tasting vegetables and sweeter tasting fruit.
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Envirocon™ Plant Biostimulant
January 29, 2023 (Tokyo, Japan) - ITN Corp based in Japan have designed some amazing products one is the plant biostimulant Envirocon™ that can be used not only in traditional soil cultivation of plants, but also in both aquaponics and hydroponics systems. Environcon™ is perfectly safe for fish and in fact, reduces significantly bacteria buildup in aquaponic systems. 日本のITN株式会社 は、いくつかの素晴らしい製品を開発しました。
Envirocon™ is a plant biostimulant for growing healthier and more productive vegetables, fruits, trees and flowers. This agricultural plant biostimulant was developed based on new discoveries of plant growth using a specific combination of stabilized metal ions of silver, magnesium and zinc. This patented process used in the manufacturing of the plant biostimulant Envirocon™ stimulates larger root growth resulting in longer and thicker root structures. This in turn enhances plant growth by enabling larger root structures to absorb higher amounts of nutrients in proportion to the size of the roots. Envirocon™ also allows for plants to grow and adapt better to adverse growing conditions do to soil degradation that lack nutrients for optimum growth.
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Envirocon™ Results After One Month
January 28, 2023 (Tokyo, Japan) - Great results using the biostimulant Envirocon™ developed here in Japan growing wasabi leaves and lettuce in hydroponics towers. We also used water filtered through a stainless steel water filtration system that seems to energize the water. The stainless steel configured water filtration device costs around USD$4,000 so the water obviously is far cleaner than typical tap water. These plants seem to be growing faster than the plants growing in the tower on the left. The root structures grow larger using ITN Corp. Environcon™ and this in turn allows the roots to absorb increasing amounts of nutrients from the water pumped up through the tower by the pump.
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NFT A-Frame Hydroponic Unit Set Up and Running in Sendai, Japan
January 20, 2023 (Tokyo, Japan) - After three days of work and staying at this ryokan in Sendai, Japan where these NFT A-Frame hydroponic unit is set up, we finally turned the LED lights on and started up the water pump. The reason for the purplish coloring in the images is because of the LED lights. We caulked the end pieces carefully to make sure the uint didn’t leak and placed in the growing holes basil, lettuce and wasabi leaves. We used a hydroponic solution made here in Japan known as Hyponica and from past experience using this nutrient, decided to go with it because it works well. We are also using the biostiumlant Envirocon™ developed by ITN Corp. here in Japan to speed up growth with a larger root structure therefore allowing the plant roots to absorb more nutrients for better taste and larger growth.
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Ordering NFT Hydroponic Units From China
January 20, 2023 (Tokyo, Japan) - It was extremely frustrating ordering hydroponics systems from a company in China. They advertised a horizontal A-Frame NFT unit that looked easy enough to set up. The unit holds 7 NFT channels, looked lightweight, had 85 holes for growing and looked like it was relatively small because we don’t have a lot of space in Sendai where the NFT unit was set up. What the company in China sent us instead was completely different with from what we ordered. The frame they sent us is made of steel and instead of 84 holes for growing, the channels they sent have 136 holes in total. Lesson learned: Never order from China again. This is the unit we ordered off the manufacturer's website in China:
This is what they sent instead. Made of steel it cost us $1,000 to rent a crane to hoist it up onto a truck after arriving in Sendai, Japan. It doesn’t look difficult to set up but after laying out four of these units with some of the holes weren’t drilled where the units are bolted together, it became very time consuming. In addition to this, the company in China didn’t send any rudimentary diagrams or instructions how to set these A-Frames up made of steel. Not only that, but they look ugly. The A-Frame units we ordered as depicted in the image above looked more esthetically appealing. This is what we ordered because one of the units was setup inside a ryokan in Sendai, Japan. After setting up the unit in the picture below, we discovered holes weren’t drilled in 4-5 locations for the piping to be fitted into the channels. We had to buy a large sized drill to drill the holes to fit the plumbing.
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Showroom For Hydroponics Towers in Sendai, Japan
January 20, 2023 (Tokyo, Japan) - We set up several hydroponics towers ordered from China. These towers were ordered by a company in Sendai, Japan. The president of the company is interested in hydroponics and because of limited space these towers seemed to be the best choice. When I traveled to Sendai north of Tokyo on a Shinkansen train, I brought with me several varieties of vegetables including lettuce and wasabi leaves. I showed the president of the company how to add nutrients and how to monitor the plants for health and growth. He wants to set up a showroom for hydroponics and to sell ITN Corp.’s Envirocon™ biostimulant product shown in the image below. These pictures were sent the other day demonstrating how well the plants are growing. The plants are at about three weeks of growth after transferring to the towers.
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Lettuce and Coriander Grown with the Plant Biostimulant Envorocon™
November 10, 2022 (Tokyo, Japan) - These images are coriander and lettuce grown in a hydroponics tower and grown using the plant biostimulant Envirocon™. The root structure on the plants are strong and healthy enabling the plants to absorb more nutrients for added growth and most importantly better flavor. The roots on the lettuce plant are a healthy color and the length measures over 60cm. The fragrance of the coriander is quite strong.
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Hydroponics Systems Ordered From Hydroponics China
November 10, 2022 (Tokyo, Japan) - We ordered eight hydroponics systems from China and received word today the shipment is packaged in 8 crates and boxes and have arrived at the port in Shanghai, China. The equipment was ordered from Hydroponics China. When the equipment arrives in Sendai we will start testing the Envirocon™ plant biostimulant.
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Envirocon™ Plant Biostimulant (PB)
November 10, 2022 (Tokyo, Japan) - The Envirocon™ biostimulant product (PB) developed in Japan.
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