Education

Biochemical Sequencing 101

Traditional agriculture operates by looking at plant like they are machines. We tend to think a little different at Aptus. We believe we should look at plants as living creatures, just like you and me. Plants possess all the fundamental biological systems humans and animals have. Plants have a nervous system, circulatory system, reproductive system, […]

Education

Microbes – Shotgun or Sniper?

It’s becoming more and more clear that a rich microlife is one of the most important factors for healthy plant growth. Microbes preform a myriad of different functions in your substrate ranging from nutrient conversion, to bio-stimulant production, to rhizosphere protection, to nutrient transport and much more! (Click here to learn more about the functions […]

Education

Buffering Your Water

Balancing the pH in your nutrient tank can prove to be somewhat of a challenge. Nobody likes adjusting the pH in their tank multiple times a day, and all that added acid or base is not doing your plants any good either. That’s where good buffering comes in! WHAT ARE BUFFERS? We can compare the […]

Education

Neem – The Organic Pesticide

Neem, nimtree, Indian lilac – these are all different names for the same tree, known as Azadirachta indica. It’s native to the Indian subcontinent, but cultivated all around the world in tropical climates. What’s so interesting about this tree you may ask yourself? Well, it is the source of one of the most powerful organic […]

Education

Testing Ph In Your Soil

In this article we’ll show you how to take pH measurements in your soil. I can hear you think, why would you need to measure the pH in your soil when you already measure it in the water you give your plants? Well, your soil is alive, and there are all kinds of processes going […]

Education

PH Basics

The correct pH in is essential for optimizing your grow. You can measure pH in your substrate as well as in your nutrient solution. Some professional growers even as far as measuring the internal pH of plants with plant sap measurements! For the sake of this article we’ll start with the basics. WHAT IS PH? […]

Education

Square foot gardening

Winter is the season of hot cocoa by the fireplace and preparing for the new growing season. While it’s still early for gardening in open soil, it’s the perfect time to start building a square-foot-garden. The idea was conceived by Mel Bartholomew, who wrote the best selling gardening book: Square Foot Gardening. These are some of the […]

Education

Beneficial Microlife

A battle for your garden, invisible to the naked eye, is raging in your root zone. Trillions of microscopic critters are viciously competing for dominance. What are they? What do they do? And why does it matter? You may have heard that a hospital is the best place to get sick –  even though everything […]

Education

Silicon & Silicic Acid

What do you think about when you hear “Silicon”? Is it breast implants? Well, that’s far from the only use of the second most abundant element on earth. Silicon is found in things like glass, concrete, porcelain and electronics. It’s used in agricultural fertilizers too. Silicon has only recently been classified as a beneficial plant […]

Education

L-Amino Acids

We’ve all heard about amino acids, but what are they really? Without them life on earth would cease to exist. They play an essential role in various critical functions of plants, animals and all other organisms. We’ll take a look at the role amino acids play in plant development, but let’s first take a look […]