It’s every grower’s worst (but all-too-common) nightmare: Checking on your crop and finding out it’s infested with pests (or pathogens). Spraying pesticides only works curatively, so a preventive approach would be better. To be able to effectively prevent problems before they arise calls for a deeper understanding of plant health and signals, and that’s […]
It is very important to understand how certain nutrients react with each other. If you don’t understand these interactions, you may over-supplement with a specific nutrient in an attempt to correct a deficiency. Not all deficiencies are caused by a lack of nutrients! For example, calcium deficiency may be diagnosed due to low calcium levels […]
Knowing how to identify and fix problems in plants is an essential skill for farmers and gardeners alike. But, at the end of the day it’s always better to prevent problems from arising by understanding the underlying cause. When you provide the right nutrients to your plant from the beginning, in the right sequence and […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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? […]
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 […]