How To Fertilize Houseplants Grown Semi Hydroponically. Why Plants Grow Slowly In Semi Hydro?!

If your semi hydroponic plants grown in LECA are slow to grow or seem to have yellowing leaves checkout this video. As a soils scientist, I have an obsession with delivering nutrients to plants in the most effective possible manner. With semi hydroponic house plants this can be difficult to do and does require some care and attention. This gardening in Canada video is going to look at how to fertilize semi hydroponic houseplants. If you are growing your houseplants in a semi hydroponic system this video is for you.
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Ashley is a soil scientist who has had a passion for plants since she was a small child. In the long summers as a child, she would garden alongside her grandmother and it was then that she realized her love for greenery. With years of great studying, Ashley had begun her post-secondary education at the University of Saskatchewan.
At first, her second love, animals, was the career path she chose but while doing her undergrad she realized that her education would take her elsewhere. And with that, four years later she graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a bachelor’s degree in science and a major in Soil Science.
Some of Ashley’s interests are KZbin, in which she posts informative videos about plants and gardening. The focus of Ashley’s KZbin channel is to bring science to gardening in a way that is informative but also helpful to others learning to garden. She also talks about the importance of having your own garden and the joys of gardening indoors. Ashley continues to study plants in her free time and hopes to expand her KZbin channel as well as her reach to up and coming gardeners.
This description or comments section may contain contain link to affiliate websites. I receive a commission for any purchases made by you on the affiliate website using such link. This includes the gardening in Canada website. You should assume all links both on the gardening in canada KZbin, Blog, and all other social medias are affiliate and I will receive compensation.
#gardeningincanada #canadiangardener #soilscience

[@GardeningInCanada]

For the free printable instructions check out this link here: gardeningincanada.net/semihydroponic-fertilizer/ Base geni.us/zRDmI All Purpose - geni.us/ItTCoM Flower Blend - geni.us/r9UhR pH Testing Kit - geni.us/kbXvYl pH Up - geni.us/FYRn0e pH Down - geni.us/e3yMl6 Join our monthly newsletter! newsletter.gardeningincanada.net

[@kuppelhagen]

So happy you're realizing that! You're videos are fantastic, been learning so much, and have also referred to you on many a occasion

[@GardeningInCanada]

its honestly the questions you are asking. They are really refined you guys are a smart crew!

[@teac117]

Helpful tip: dump the water from the pot completely every few weeks. The nitrate solution will drift upwards in pH as the plant uptakes. Some formulas will have some ammoniacal nitrogen and buffers to balance it, but keep a weary eye on it. Test pH for nerd points, but the its still good practice to dump to avoid imbalances.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Thanks for sharing

[@jacquelinedaniels87]

Why is it so enthralling to watch you test water?!

[@GardeningInCanada]

Because deep down you’re a nerd 🤓🤓

[@kyleburns7702]

After searching so much to why my plants were so stunted yours was the first to actually help me understand, and I shall definitely be binge watching your videos. Your energy is amazing and can’t to learn more 💞

[@GardeningInCanada]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@bennybaer5637]

:) thank you for this video. And so much yes to nerding out here :D I subscribed to your channel because it helps me understand and apply concepts rather than following instructions and not knowing what I am actually doing. So, thank you for all the additional detail. Loving it.

[@GardeningInCanada]

That is awesome! Glad you enjoyed it so much

[@wendyrutan5098]

Love the science! Keep it going, please. Learned so much from you.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Glad you are enjoying

[@Enn-]

You're awesome Ashley! Perfect vid!

[@GardeningInCanada]

Ermaghad thank you!!! I deleted it on the KZbin editor. It should be changed in then next bit

[@carissachristy9364]

You’re my plant science queen 🌱 🧪 🧬

[@GardeningInCanada]

Ha ha Ha I don’t think I’ve ever been called love it I love it

[@jennyklenner7325]

Ashely, I know this is late but... you helped me so much with my harvest of tomatoes this past Fall. I thought all was lost as not one tomato ripened on the vine but I followed your instructions of getting those large green ones off the vine before the colder weather could damage them. I put them in cardboard boxes between layers of newspaper and about 98% of them ripened beautifully. I was able to core them, slit them on the bottoms, freeze them and then process them in my canner when I had enough. Maybe had 60 pounds saved this way. What seemed like an epic fail turned out to be a bountiful harvest because of your advice. Thank you so much!!! Keep up the good work!

[@GardeningInCanada]

That is so amazing to hear !!! Absolutely love the feedback

[@chunkybuttization]

The reason why I love the nerdy science of semi hydro is because it cuts through the crap and removes all the guesswork. Science and facts don’t have any ulterior motives. No massive subscriber count, no affiliate links, no bias. My plants are happy and thriving. It helps me to easily identify problems when they rarely happen. The only thing I’m unsure of is organic vs inorganic fertilizer. I stick with inorganic so I don’t have to maintain bacteria colonies.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Yea so organic is kind of impossible in passive hydro. Or even hydro. It needs to be aquaponics preferably

[@chaoticlizord2181]

Ashley please make us a semi hydro workbook like your other booklets! I have your indoor and outdoor booklets and love them!

[@GardeningInCanada]

Great idea!!

[@imannosseir6679]

Love the nerdy content ❤

[@GardeningInCanada]

Haha perfect

[@wmf1595]

I had a chuckle when I saw that Synergy Kombucha bottle. I use that exact same bottle for my plant watering. I buy about three or four per month at BJ's wholesale Club and find them the right size for me. I keep one mixed up for water with chlorine removed, one fixed up for fertilizing semi-hydro, one for plants in soil or soilless mix, and one with a very small amount of SeaMax that I use for fertilizing carnivorous plants. I've downloaded your recipe file but haven't printed it yet. Is The recipe for a full label dose or a half dose of the fertilizer products? I generally fertilize more often with a half dose. Also, you may have mentioned in other videos but I'm new to your channel - what do you think of using vitamins (primarily b1) and silica boost products in the fertilizer water?

[@brandygrandon8101]

i cant seem to find the root farm all purpose,any ideas where i should look?

[@Reefspidey]

Is there any benefit to pre-soaking LECA? I see people recommending it on forums

[@thenoodlestwo]

Can we use lemon juice or vinegar to lower the ph?

[@charlesdeuter]

Great video! I have tons of Hoya in Semi-hydro and I think this kind of content is really interesting. Currently playing around with the MSU 'k-lite' orchid fertilizer as I've heard it's closer to what epiphytes would get in their natural habitat!

[@GardeningInCanada]

That’s really really cool. Let me know how it goes

[@charlesdeuter]

@@GardeningInCanada update it went horribly! It's nitrogen is 100% nitrate and the cation-anion uptake made everything go alkaline. I bought some ammonium sulfate and will experiment with it more, but for now I switched to Foliage Pro (which keeps a remarkably stable pH).

[@plantswithsara]

Hi👋 Is Foliage Pro suitable for semi- hydro?

[@charlesdeuter]

@@plantswithsara yep it's got plenty of ammonium to hold a pretty stable pH. Make sure to use pH up or 10% tap water to buffer your nutrient solution if you use distilled water.

[@alerc20]

Hi Ashley! I wanted to know your opinion on watering lechuza pon or diy pon like you would water regular soil and not using a reservoir? I’ve seen in fb groups a los of people use a reservoir, some don’t, some use a reservoir with a wicking cord an others just use pon like leca. In my opinion leca and pon are wonderful it has eradicated at 100% my fungus gnat problem but for anthuriums for example that are more sensitive I can’t figure out if I should us a reservoir or not. Thanks!

[@GardeningInCanada]

Absolutely no reason why can’t. You would want some form of regular water supply.,

[@mounag8518]

Very interesting video. I use general hydroponic and I am to lazy to calculate anything. I dont test ph and dont test how much fertilizer I put in the water. So far I'be been lucky, lol

[@GardeningInCanada]

HAHAHA oh yes I don’t think it’s going to kill your plant by any means. It will just decrease how quickly the plant grows right.

[@mydogsnameisbob]

I'm not seeing this in the comments that I'm seeing. The reason that the PH was SO LOW, was because she's not rinsing the syringe so there's still a lot of strong residue in the sample she's testing. I'm sure Ashley knows this and it just got lost in the process of making a video. I would keep a container of tap water nearby to flush out whatever is in the syringe if you're only using one. I now just use separate graduated droppers for each nutrient/solution I'm adding and then I have one that I take samples with so the cross contamination is minimal. Food for thought if you're running into wild PH swings while testing and adjusting.

[@dymondwillow2]

Is peat moss considered a soil-less medium? Could I use the technique used in this video as if plant was in perlite?

[@GardeningInCanada]

Yup! For perlite, volcanic rock, lechuza and of those it will work

[@lukeprocopis6322]

hey great vid i’m looking to convert all my plants to leca i normally use soil i just have one question do you have to add nutrients everytime you water plants with leca clay balls ? or is it the same as soil where you give nutrients in the spring and summer ? also the ph 6.5 of the water is that every time you water the plant in lecca or only when you use nutrients thanks again ;)

[@GardeningInCanada]

Always apply the fertilizer

[@renatosantana9308]

Great video! I have heard that seaweed extract is also good in semi hydro because its bio available and has a lot of nutrients. I use it with my homemade lechuza pon without any reservoir. I use 2 ml for each little of water. I would like to know your opinion about it.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Oh very interesting. I’ll have to dig into the literature on that and see what is going on there

[@renatosantana9308]

Thanks! I would appreciate it

[@GardeningInCanada]

Anytime!

[@amyclare5377]

What is the plant 20seconds in... been trying to identify here for almost a year bought as a tiny dying baby at big box store and she grew into same as yours.... she has air roots and pretty much grows above the soil.... what is she

[@ginonymous]

Hey Ashley, If I use tap water for my nutrient solution, would it be okay to treat the tap with aquarium water dechlorinator first?(like Seachem Prime)

[@GardeningInCanada]

you can use that absolutely

[@ginonymous]

@@GardeningInCanada thank you ❤️❤️

[@rebeccasabourin6193]

This reminds me of fish keeping.

[@GardeningInCanada]

HAHA identical

[@acutelyalex8700]

I haven't started my channel yet, but everything I've read about youtube is you gotta find your niche. You've definitely found yours - and you should lean into it! Not only do you have all of us nerdy people out here but sometimes if someone has a specific question about a thing they might find your video on it. In my local facebook group, I definitely refer to your videos when someone is spreading info that isn't entirely accurate, at least according to what I've learned from you (especially re: algae being good and not needing to get rid of it except for aesthetic purposes). Question: I already have the same ph testing solution you use in this video, but my favourite local plant shop only has the ph testing kit for soil. Was just curious if that's the same thing and if you can use that kit for water as well as soil. The brand is Luster Leaf rapitest soil ph soil tester. Follow up: I assume it's not that important to test soil for indoor houseplants because I never see anyone talk about it. The soils I use are promix (cactus or regular potting) and add amendments to it, or I also buy aroid mixes one without soil and one with 20% soil from someone in my local plant group. thank you for your videos, keep up the great work!

[@GardeningInCanada]

Is it a probe or like a solution test?

[@GardeningInCanada]

You want your houseplant soil sitting at 5.5-7. This will help kzbin.info/www/bejne/r2Sph2yeiZuZf7M

[@jo-hl3yw]

I've noticed people seem to like using liquid PH indicators, it's a little hard to find where I live but we have access to very inexpensive PH paper, will that be ok? My personal preference would be a digital meter because I cannot handle the whole -is that maybe a tinge away from 7? 6.5? 5.9999?!- It drives me a LITTLE insane. But the frequent calibration process of PH meters is just way too troublesome and tedious. From what I've gathered from friends with fish tanks, apparently all PH meters, cheap expensive good or bad require super frequent calibration. I would love to to hear a soil scientist's opinion on this

[@GardeningInCanada]

You do need to calibrate meters because they are calculating pH based on the EC of the solution. Which means they need to be zeroed with a known base. So you’ll never get a meter that just gets stuck in and tells you unfortunately. Think of a scale and wanting to weight the product but not the container. Litmus paper is completely acceptable to us

[@Reefspidey]

Well dang! I’ve been testing my pH before adding fertilizer, I wonder if my pH was going too low now!

[@GardeningInCanada]

Some hydro people say 5 - 5.5 but that seems so low too me and I don’t like to get into that acidic environment. The exception is going to be if I’m noticing nutrient deficiencies or excesses at the higher pH

[@sterlgirlceline]

I am a new houseplant enthusiast and I am nervous about fertilizing and damaging my plants. After I repot a plant with Miracle Grow soil that states it already contains plant “food,” for 30 days up to 6 months, when should I begin fertilizing? I deeply appreciate you and your wonderful channel! It has helped me tremendously; thank you 💛

[@GardeningInCanada]

I can do a video on this actually! What are you growing currently something that flowers or just vegetative

[@sterlgirlceline]

@@GardeningInCanada I am a beginner and have all indoor plants at this time: Fiddle Leaf Figs, a few Begonias, lots of succulents, Prayer Plant, Hindu Ripe, African Violet, and orchid, Aralia Fabian (really nervous about this one and not much info on KZbin about them), and some other odds and ends. I don’t want to wait 6 months to fertilize and miss a growing season, but with Miracle Grow soil stating that it has plant “food” for 30 days and up to 6 months, I don’t want to damage my plants, The directions state to begin fertilizing after 30 days but? And with new soil maybe they don’t need it for awhile? I’m confused. I feel SO FORTUNATE to have discovered your channel early on as you and your channel are ABSOLUTELY STELLAR! There is no other channel like yours on KZbin. I have a master’s in a science so I really appreciate you and your empirically based channel. I do also appreciate anecdotal perspectives. Once the word gets out, You’ll have a million subscribers for sure! I deeply appreciate you! 💛

[@GardeningInCanada]

Awe thank you I appreciate that truly! I had a rough day with haters yesterday so this make me feel awesome

[@sterlgirlceline]

@@GardeningInCanada I am a psychotherapist and will be doing my own KZbin channel at some point. Dealing with the vitriol that often takes place on the internet and social media is the reason why I have delayed. There are some great KZbin videos about this by KZbin content creators just search “dealing with internet trolls” or something similar. You are a beautiful and intelligent woman and the information you share is meaningful to so many people. Remember that psychologically stable, happy, fulfilled, caring people don’t treat others brutally. What and how people communicate to you says much more about them than it does about you! After watching just a few of your videos, I felt like I had struck gold and thought “This woman is absolutely amazing!” Hang in there 💛💛

[@GardeningInCanada]

That’s very true!

[@emmanuelmartinez9953]

Does the ph indicator work if the nutrient solution gives the water a slight color?

[@GardeningInCanada]

I would use a strip if you have a Fert with lots of colour

[@emmanuelmartinez9953]

@@GardeningInCanada thank you! I do have the strips and I was wondering if they would be affected too haha. Side note do you have a email to send questions to?

[@Annie-lb9yd]

More Leca videos! What do we need to get started? What are you using and recommend for people who cant use fish poo water??? Share your secrets!@!

[@GardeningInCanada]

Has a good idea I can do that for sure

[@paulinedulnuan546]

Just wanted to double check: so before fertilizing/watering my plants should I be testing the ph of each plant's "old" water prior to fertilizing/watering

[@GardeningInCanada]

Yea or change out your old water entirely. Semi up to you

[@paulinedulnuan546]

@@GardeningInCanada ok awesome thanks so much!!!

[@GardeningInCanada]

❤️❤️❤️

[@joeytse1862]

Is dumping the nutritious/fertilizer water down the drain bad for the environment?

[@kendravoracek3636]

💚💚

[@GardeningInCanada]

❤❤

[@rafalz9275]

Hi:) you didn’t rinsed your syringe after using pH down , that is why you had bright sample after …Greetings:)

[@GardeningInCanada]

Oh no I did I just edited out that part. I had a dish under my desk.

[@rafalz9275]

Oh sorry 😱 😂🥰🥰

[@carissachristy9364]

I am very bad at chemicals I killed my cannabis with “bloom” last year apparently got too enthusiastic about fertilizing….

[@GardeningInCanada]

Oh no. Yeah that’s not good.

[@wanderotter4667]

For now I just use 1 fertiliser thats also for soil. You just dillute it even more. Never did a PH test, etcetera.

[@rebeccahenderson7761]

My water containers are all 1 Liter. Thanks

[@GardeningInCanada]

okay perfect so you are 2 ml of each solution

[@rebeccahenderson7761]

@@GardeningInCanada Thanks again, really appreciate your time.

[@sandiesorchids9387]

90% of my plants are in a soil mix or my orchids are in a bark or coconut husk blend. My plant watering container is 9.09218 Liters or 9092.18ml.

[@GardeningInCanada]

sounds great!

[@ekamarie6632]

Okayyy sooo totally off topic but can I save a plant that I accidentally frozen?? Soo I bought a syngonium frost and I got distracted and forgot it in the car and it’s was froze solid and now that it’s thawed out it’s all brown. Is there any way I could save it? The stem towards the bottom maybe by okay but the leaves are all dead. 😫😫😫😭

[@GardeningInCanada]

Oh no! What is the stem like

[@ekamarie6632]

@@GardeningInCanada the stem is all I see that hasn’t turned completely brown yet it’s still mostly green, it had a lot of aerial roots and I’m assuming those died. They’re still attached but they aren’t hard anymore. It was very well rooted so I’m praying the roots aren’t all completely dead and it has a chance.

[@GardeningInCanada]

If you have roots were some stem with notes on it. I would propagate those and put them into a prop box. If you don’t know what that is let me know I will do a video online

[@ekamarie6632]

@@GardeningInCanada okay that was basically the game plan but Bc I’ve never frozen a plant to complete ice before i didn’t know if it would even be worth the effort. I have a few prop boxes but I might put it in it’s own just to be safe.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Yeah if you put it in the prop box in a really nice high humidity. It’s likely to bounce back pretty quickly compared to if you just left it out in a normal environment.

[@kaylaknoxxx4834]

Yea no my parents were both botanists and I am here for the soil science side to help me complete my un-official education.... and here from VT I count as a Canadian because everyone asks where in Canada VT is... 5 gallon lol its okay I can do the calculations...

[@GardeningInCanada]

❤️❤️❤️ haha you’re parent as awesome

[@kaylaknoxxx4834]

@@GardeningInCanada YOU ARE TOO!

[@GardeningInCanada]

🥺🥺🥺🥺 shucks thanks

[@taf7ylandy913]

We want the nerdy science stuff... 🙈 The geek is asking

[@GardeningInCanada]

Hahaha ❤️

[@francismeowgannou5322]

It looks like you are mixing potions lol.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Harry Potter over here 💁‍♀️💁‍♀️

[@brandygrandon8101]

gallon jug

[@darcypotterpotter6214]

im colour blind so ph pen is my method

[@GardeningInCanada]

Oh my god! I didn’t even think of that. My best friend is colour blind LOL. You left a comment before, I went to read it and KZbin just auto deleted it…

[@markkindell6365]

Your just asking for a lot of proplems growing plants in water like that , needs to have oxygen pumped in it ,all right if thay are not sitting in it to long I suppose, allso could you talk about plant foods and the recommendations on amounts, especially hydroponic shop , its crazy the amount of ppm or ec thay are telling people

[@GardeningInCanada]

Yea absolutely!