I am a Watchmaker just beginning my adventure into hydroponics. The pics show an interesting comparison. The cucumber seeds are the same and they were planted at the same time. The first shows the results of insufficient lighting and the second with appropriate lighting. When Chad says lighting is very important, I believe him.

Hello together, I am so happy to join the group! I practice hydroponics since about 5 years, beginning with 3 dripping systems „ Wilma“ , still working and great for bigger plants like tomatoes, eggplants, peppers and chilis. Then I bought 2 towers from temu, ok for salads and asian salads( in autumn ) and last year I finally bought an original Tower Garden ( from Hmble Growth by the way). It has been indoors since then, I have to learn to manage it( by light, by choosing plants, by feeding them, and I think I made all mistskes one could do. I tried Kratky, but to be honest , I had no success. So I am glad to hear of all your experiences and to get Chad‘s advice! Right now I am caring for my soil garden which is quite difficult this year because of the extreme heat and dryness this summer. Greetings from Germany, Dorothee

Hey folks! I've been away for awhile, off-grid, moving, rebuilding, etc. Been missing this group this is one of my favorites! I finally took a some time to go thru some photos and make a little recap of my very first tower grow earlier this year! I decided to go the DIY route, and I designed and built everything myself. This a prototype test run that was Largely built off of Chad's inspiring teachings and experiences!! So Thank you so much @Chad Miner for all you do! Huge shoot out to you man! I'm not sure I would have pulled this off at all with out your wisdom, support, and encouragement! "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants" - Isaac Newton

Anyone using copper algaecide or some kind of ionizing copper for algae? Thoughts? Opinions?

And we're nearly back in TG biz. And we gained a second tower. We documented everything from final harvest at our old house to complete set up in our new place. What happened in-between was a bit unexpected. We acquired a 2nd tower (a complete TG Flex + an 8 pot extension + the TG light kit + a TG dolly for $350 from a FB Marketplace ad. With a few hours of elbow grease it cleaned up beautifully). Yesterday we installed our 1st 3 plants with more seedlings to come.