Root color

[OChydro]

I growing in a GH Aero unit. The roots start of white but when I check them 2-3 weeks later after they are developed and in the water at the bottom they are brown. The plant seems healthy, is this normal for the roots?

[GpsFrontier]

Originally Posted by OChydro

I growing in a GH Aero unit. The roots start of white but when I check them 2-3 weeks later after they are developed and in the water at the bottom they are brown. The plant seems healthy, is this normal for the roots?

I don't know what plants you are growing, but to the best of my knowledge there are no plants that should normally have brown roots. I had a problem with the roots of my strawberry plants turning brown last summer also (see attached pictures). I E-mailed General Hydroponics (tech@genhydro.com) the pictures and they said it looked like the nutrient solution was two warm. It should be between 68 and 72 degrees consistently. I don't know for sure that this is your problem, but it's the first thing I would look at.

My strawberry plants also looked healthy but were not growing as fast as they were. I started adding ice to the nutrient solution to cool it down and the roots started growing back white and healthy again in about a week (also in attached pictures). Another side affect is the flowers will start to turn yellow and fall off. This is a survival instinct by the plant because it takes more energy to produce the fruit.

[OChydro]

Thanks for your reply. Temperature was a big problem this past summer but not now. My brown is different than your brown. I'll post a pic tomorrow.
Art

[GpsFrontier]

OK, if nutrient temp is not an issue, I would suspect the nutrients themselves.

1. What type of nutrients are you using?
2. Is the system a N.F.T.system?
3. How often do you change the nutrients?
4. Are you using an air pump and air stone to aerate the nutrients?
5. Do you check the pH every day, and what is the pH level?
6. What plants are you growing?
7. How old are the plants?
8. Have you flushed the system with FloraKleen to get rid of the accumulated fertilizer salts?
9. Is there a lot of algae growing in the system?

[OChydro]

Thanks for your detailed reply, I had to get pic's also.

OK, if nutrient temp is not an issue, I would suspect the nutrients themselves.

1. What type of nutrients are you using? Gen Hydro dry grow only
2. Is the system a N.F.T.system? GH aeroponic 36
3. How often do you change the nutrients? Every 2-3 weeks, 45 gal in system.
4. Are you using an air pump and air stone to aerate the nutrients? No, should I, I have air pumps laying around.
5. Do you check the pH every day, and what is the pH level? Yes, pH 6.5 although it may range from 6 to 7. The EC of the solution is 1.6, 1120 ppm (Hanna 9813-6 meter calibrated regularly for pH and EC).
6. What plants are you growing?Lettace, broccoli, brussel sprouts, basil, arugula
7. How old are the plants? The brown one in the picture is old arugula, I think the problem is that it is old and the roots were in water that was too deep. In the pic of the newer plant the roots are white.
8. Have you flushed the system with FloraKleen to get rid of the accumulated fertilizer salts? No I haven't. I assume this doesn't apply to quick lettace crops but would be a good thing for the brussel sprouts and broccoli and artichoke over their 60-90 day growing period. How often should I flush the system and how many gallons should I make and how long should I run it before I drain it and mix up another 50 gallon nutrient solution as the crops mature?
9. Is there a lot of algae growing in the system?No

I just added an aquarium heater to the solution to keep the temp at 70 degrees, is this an ideal temp. I am in So. Calif.

This has turned into a big question, thanks so much for your help!
Art

I tried to attach jpegs, I couldn't tell if they made it as I composed this. I attached them through "Attach Files" and hit the upload button.

[OChydro]

Trying pics again, smaller file size. Root photos (2) and 3 general of unit

[OChydro]

Bigger Pic's