TFro3
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- Growing Zone
- 7a (US)
So you have or are thinking about a MUFGA countertop hydroponic unit, right? Well cool! The documentation that comes with these units isn't the best so this is a little informational section that I put together to hopefully help answer questions and alleviate stress/unknowns!
If you're also looking for groups of people to share your setup and/or questions with please considering finding us at the following socials with the links below:
But PLEASE NOTE:
The nice thing is whether you have the 4, 8, 12, or 18 pod units they all operate the same!
So lets dive in, shall we?!
First and foremost, if you haven't taken a look at the owners manual that came with the unit do that first. Did yours not come with one? That seems to be a pattern with these units so feel free to review the manual for the 18 pod unit using this hyperlink here.
Now that you've read the official manual lets get into the additional useful information that's good to know when starting/using this garden.
Number of Plants / Spacing
Just like planning out a regular in-ground garden, you need to think about spacing so plants don't overcrowd and impact each others ability to grow successfully. This will be different for everyone, every single grow as you rotate what items you grow so this will never be perfect and will always learning.
The biggest takeaway from this section should be, you'll likely never use all grow spaces at the same time IF you're taking the plants from seed to harvest in the same unit. If you're just starting seedlings and moving them later on then that's different.
I know its tempting to use every single grow space and I did the same thing when I got my first hydroponic setup.
When it comes to how many seeds to put in each sponge, depending on the plant I usually do 3-4 seeds. If more than one sprout I wait until they're about to touch the top of the clear domes and then thin out/cut down all but the tallest seedling. The only time I don't do this is when growing small herbs that require multiple seeds. Chives is a good example of a herb that needs multiple seeds per sponge/basket.
Importance of Grow Basket Stickers/Covers
Your MUFGA unit came with grow baskets, sponges, and stickers. These stickers serve a very important purpose which is limiting the amount of light hitting the grow medium (the sponges) as well as limiting the amount of light entering the reservoir. The soaked nutrient rich sponges can easily grow algae and mold if left uncovered. This can be detrimental to your plants health and can lead to issues down the road.
Because these grow baskets are reusable you'll eventually run out of stickers to cover the baskets. But no need to worry you can purchase more stickers on Amazon. Any stickers that are compatible with the AeroGardens will also work for the MUFGA pods. Same applies for the growing sponges.
You can use this Amazon search to help find those
You can also use household items to create your own grow basket covers such as aluminum foil!
Alternatively, you can also purchase reusable grow basket covers from Etsy using this hyperlink.
Clear Domes
The clear domes that comes with the unit are to be placed over the grow baskets while seeds are germinating and the beginning of the seedling stage(s). These domes keep the humidity higher and slightly warmer for the plants to kickstart their journey. These should stay on until the plant is about to touch the top of the dome(s).
Importance of Covering Empty Grow Spaces
For the same reason as using something to cover the grow baskets, you need to cover any space that doesn't have a grow basket when growing. Allowing light into the reservoir can cause algae to grow which impacts a few things such as:
For whatever reason these units do not come with space covers but there are so many options you can use to cover these.
The most popular household items I've seen people use for systems like these are:
Alternatively, you can also purchase space covers designed specifically for the MUFGA units from Etsy using this hyperlink.
No matter what you're growing you can start out by using the veggie light setting. Even if you're growing plants that produce flowers you can use the veggie setting while the plant grows and switch to the flower setting once buds/flowers start to form. Or if you want to try and force your plants to form flowers sooner you can just use the flowering setting from day 1.
Light height is also crucial when growing plants. In general you don't want the light too close or too far away.
Too close can burn leaves, yet too far away can cause the plants to stretch toward the light and become 'leggy' and weak.
Luckily for the MUFGA's they use 22-24 watt grow lights so its less likely you'll burn plants with these lights.
When starting your seeds I tend to keep the light ~2 inches from the grow baskets and then maintain that 2 inches as the plants grow.
Depending on what you're growing, eventually you'll run out of vertical height with the light and the plants will touch the light. My plants are currently touching the light without any burning so that's not really an issue. The bigger issue is when the plants are touching the light its blocking light from the other plants which can/will hinder their growth/success. So it's best to try and keep everything pruned, but that's easier said than done since everything grows so fast hydroponically!
---------------------------------------------------
The Control Panel
Unlike other more sophisticated hydroponics units out there you cannot set the light on/off times. As you read in the manual once the unit is turned on the grow lights will be on for 16 hours and after that time they will turn off for 8 hours. So make sure when planning your grows you're only planting items that can get 16 hours of light. For most plants, this is fine.
This control panel is very sensitive and is easily triggered. I've covered mine up so I don't accidentally touch it and mess up the light schedule. If you accidentally turn the light on or off, that resets the timer and you'll have to wait until the next morning to get it back on schedule. That's the biggest pain in the butt with this unit in my opinion!
Water Usage & pH
Okay in the section above I mentioned how algae can impact water pH so I thought I touch on that next. This is a huge rabbit hole so I'm just going to skim the surface for now.
If you don't know, the pH of your water needs to be within a certain range for your plants to absorb nutrients in order to grow. Generally speaking, your water pH needs to be between 5.5 and 6.5.
NOW, don't get too hung up on this, if you have city water that goes through a treatment plant then you're likely just fine as it comes out of the tap.
Lets go through some types of water sources
City Water:
Comes out of your faucets if you're within an urban city and are hooked up to municipal water
Well Water:
Common when you live in a more rural setting. Well Water can be hard on your pump and impact your plants if the ground water has significant minerals. This will all depend on your location.
Softened Water:
Can take place with City or Well Water. If you have a water softener you DO NOT want to use that in your hydroponic garden(s). Water softeners remove calcium and magnesium from the water and add in sodium which is not good for the plants. It can also cause the waters pH to vary.
Takeaways:
Nutrients
I had an AeroGarden prior to owning a MUFGA so I've actually never used the A/B solution that came with the MUFGA unit but I know some people really like it.
Because I had an AeroGarden already I just used the AeroGarden plant food instead because for me, I find it much easier to use. When using the AeroGarden Liquid Plant Food you simply measure out 11 ml of plant food per gallon of water and add that to the reservoir every 2 weeks (14 days) instead of every single watering. Meaning if you have to add water between those 2 weeks you DO NOT add more plant food.
So on plant food day for me, I take my 6.5L capacity (since I have a 18 pod unit which holds 6.5L of water) and convert that into gallons. 6.5L is roughly equal to 1.71 gallons. So the amount of plant food needed is 11x1.71=18.81 or ~19 ml
I take the 19 ml of plant food and pour it into the tank, then top off the water to the max fill line. BOOM, done for 2 weeks!
I know I know, the dosage on the bottle is different and that's because those are measurements dictated by water volume on the AeroGardens. These MUFGA's don't align with AeroGarden when it comes to volumes so the 11 ml per gallon is the standard that is used across all the hydroponic groups I've come across, and it works great!
A member of the MUFGA Hydroponics Grow Systems Facebook Group uses the A/B solution and requested their method be added to help those who use the A/B:
Cleaning
The user manual goes through how to clean the tank which is done at every harvest, according to the manual. Just to clarify, you don't need to clean the reservoir every time to clip/harvest from the unit. You only need to clean the reservoir/tank each time you take down the plants completely and reset for a new grow. Of course they are exceptions if you run into issues but as a general rule, clean at the time of starting a new grow.
Since I reuse my grow baskets I thought I'd share my process of cleaning those:
Additional Tags: SP01L4, SP01L8, SP01L12, SP01L18
If you're also looking for groups of people to share your setup and/or questions with please considering finding us at the following socials with the links below:
- Facebook - MUFGA Hydroponics Grow Systems
- Reddit - r/MUFGA_Hydroponics
But PLEASE NOTE:
- These are my own thoughts gathered from my own experience(s). Other ways might be successful as well, I'm just sharing what I've done/come up with.
- This is a informational documentation is a living document and is a work in progress. Please check back often as items may be added, edited, or removed based on user input and guidance needed.
- Images will be added at some point
The nice thing is whether you have the 4, 8, 12, or 18 pod units they all operate the same!
So lets dive in, shall we?!
First and foremost, if you haven't taken a look at the owners manual that came with the unit do that first. Did yours not come with one? That seems to be a pattern with these units so feel free to review the manual for the 18 pod unit using this hyperlink here.
Now that you've read the official manual lets get into the additional useful information that's good to know when starting/using this garden.
---------------------------------------------------
Number of Plants / Spacing
Just like planning out a regular in-ground garden, you need to think about spacing so plants don't overcrowd and impact each others ability to grow successfully. This will be different for everyone, every single grow as you rotate what items you grow so this will never be perfect and will always learning.
The biggest takeaway from this section should be, you'll likely never use all grow spaces at the same time IF you're taking the plants from seed to harvest in the same unit. If you're just starting seedlings and moving them later on then that's different.
I know its tempting to use every single grow space and I did the same thing when I got my first hydroponic setup.
When it comes to how many seeds to put in each sponge, depending on the plant I usually do 3-4 seeds. If more than one sprout I wait until they're about to touch the top of the clear domes and then thin out/cut down all but the tallest seedling. The only time I don't do this is when growing small herbs that require multiple seeds. Chives is a good example of a herb that needs multiple seeds per sponge/basket.
---------------------------------------------------
Importance of Grow Basket Stickers/Covers
Your MUFGA unit came with grow baskets, sponges, and stickers. These stickers serve a very important purpose which is limiting the amount of light hitting the grow medium (the sponges) as well as limiting the amount of light entering the reservoir. The soaked nutrient rich sponges can easily grow algae and mold if left uncovered. This can be detrimental to your plants health and can lead to issues down the road.
Because these grow baskets are reusable you'll eventually run out of stickers to cover the baskets. But no need to worry you can purchase more stickers on Amazon. Any stickers that are compatible with the AeroGardens will also work for the MUFGA pods. Same applies for the growing sponges.
You can use this Amazon search to help find those
You can also use household items to create your own grow basket covers such as aluminum foil!
Alternatively, you can also purchase reusable grow basket covers from Etsy using this hyperlink.
---------------------------------------------------
Clear Domes
The clear domes that comes with the unit are to be placed over the grow baskets while seeds are germinating and the beginning of the seedling stage(s). These domes keep the humidity higher and slightly warmer for the plants to kickstart their journey. These should stay on until the plant is about to touch the top of the dome(s).
---------------------------------------------------
Importance of Covering Empty Grow Spaces
For the same reason as using something to cover the grow baskets, you need to cover any space that doesn't have a grow basket when growing. Allowing light into the reservoir can cause algae to grow which impacts a few things such as:
- Uses the nutrients your plants need
- Can cause the water pH to change, causing plant issues/nutrient lockout
- Can cause premature damage to your water pump
For whatever reason these units do not come with space covers but there are so many options you can use to cover these.
The most popular household items I've seen people use for systems like these are:
- Golfballs
- Ping Pong Balls
- Poker Chips
- Aluminum Foil
- Blue Painters Tape
Alternatively, you can also purchase space covers designed specifically for the MUFGA units from Etsy using this hyperlink.
---------------------------------------------------
Light Setting & Height
No matter what you're growing you can start out by using the veggie light setting. Even if you're growing plants that produce flowers you can use the veggie setting while the plant grows and switch to the flower setting once buds/flowers start to form. Or if you want to try and force your plants to form flowers sooner you can just use the flowering setting from day 1.
Light height is also crucial when growing plants. In general you don't want the light too close or too far away.
Too close can burn leaves, yet too far away can cause the plants to stretch toward the light and become 'leggy' and weak.
Luckily for the MUFGA's they use 22-24 watt grow lights so its less likely you'll burn plants with these lights.
When starting your seeds I tend to keep the light ~2 inches from the grow baskets and then maintain that 2 inches as the plants grow.
Depending on what you're growing, eventually you'll run out of vertical height with the light and the plants will touch the light. My plants are currently touching the light without any burning so that's not really an issue. The bigger issue is when the plants are touching the light its blocking light from the other plants which can/will hinder their growth/success. So it's best to try and keep everything pruned, but that's easier said than done since everything grows so fast hydroponically!
---------------------------------------------------
The Control Panel
Unlike other more sophisticated hydroponics units out there you cannot set the light on/off times. As you read in the manual once the unit is turned on the grow lights will be on for 16 hours and after that time they will turn off for 8 hours. So make sure when planning your grows you're only planting items that can get 16 hours of light. For most plants, this is fine.
This control panel is very sensitive and is easily triggered. I've covered mine up so I don't accidentally touch it and mess up the light schedule. If you accidentally turn the light on or off, that resets the timer and you'll have to wait until the next morning to get it back on schedule. That's the biggest pain in the butt with this unit in my opinion!
---------------------------------------------------
Water Usage & pH
Okay in the section above I mentioned how algae can impact water pH so I thought I touch on that next. This is a huge rabbit hole so I'm just going to skim the surface for now.
If you don't know, the pH of your water needs to be within a certain range for your plants to absorb nutrients in order to grow. Generally speaking, your water pH needs to be between 5.5 and 6.5.
NOW, don't get too hung up on this, if you have city water that goes through a treatment plant then you're likely just fine as it comes out of the tap.
Lets go through some types of water sources
City Water:
Comes out of your faucets if you're within an urban city and are hooked up to municipal water
Well Water:
Common when you live in a more rural setting. Well Water can be hard on your pump and impact your plants if the ground water has significant minerals. This will all depend on your location.
Softened Water:
Can take place with City or Well Water. If you have a water softener you DO NOT want to use that in your hydroponic garden(s). Water softeners remove calcium and magnesium from the water and add in sodium which is not good for the plants. It can also cause the waters pH to vary.
Takeaways:
- If you have softened water (have a water softener) you can still use that water, but you'll need to run it through a Reverse Osmosis (RO) water filtering system or a water distillation unit first.
- If you have Well Water, you'll likely need to do the same with an RO filter system.
- If you're having issues growing, test your water. You may need to use a product such as "pH Up" and "pH Down" to adjust your water's pH levels.
- Worst Case Scenario: Just use store bought distilled water as that in practice tests out to 5-6 on the pH scale.
- OR you can also use collected rain water if you have water catchment devices setup.
---------------------------------------------------
Nutrients
I had an AeroGarden prior to owning a MUFGA so I've actually never used the A/B solution that came with the MUFGA unit but I know some people really like it.
Because I had an AeroGarden already I just used the AeroGarden plant food instead because for me, I find it much easier to use. When using the AeroGarden Liquid Plant Food you simply measure out 11 ml of plant food per gallon of water and add that to the reservoir every 2 weeks (14 days) instead of every single watering. Meaning if you have to add water between those 2 weeks you DO NOT add more plant food.
So on plant food day for me, I take my 6.5L capacity (since I have a 18 pod unit which holds 6.5L of water) and convert that into gallons. 6.5L is roughly equal to 1.71 gallons. So the amount of plant food needed is 11x1.71=18.81 or ~19 ml
I take the 19 ml of plant food and pour it into the tank, then top off the water to the max fill line. BOOM, done for 2 weeks!
I know I know, the dosage on the bottle is different and that's because those are measurements dictated by water volume on the AeroGardens. These MUFGA's don't align with AeroGarden when it comes to volumes so the 11 ml per gallon is the standard that is used across all the hydroponic groups I've come across, and it works great!
A member of the MUFGA Hydroponics Grow Systems Facebook Group uses the A/B solution and requested their method be added to help those who use the A/B:
---------------------------------------------------
Cleaning
The user manual goes through how to clean the tank which is done at every harvest, according to the manual. Just to clarify, you don't need to clean the reservoir every time to clip/harvest from the unit. You only need to clean the reservoir/tank each time you take down the plants completely and reset for a new grow. Of course they are exceptions if you run into issues but as a general rule, clean at the time of starting a new grow.
Since I reuse my grow baskets I thought I'd share my process of cleaning those:
- Remove plant from the MUFGA unit
- Trim the roots as close to the basket as possible
- Grab the plant stem with one hand and the grow basket in the other
- Pull them apart
- Wash the grow basket by hand OR simply put it in the dishwasher in the utensil holder.
- I personally just put them in the dishwasher. It runs super hot and doesn't impact the baskets whatsoever.
Additional Tags: SP01L4, SP01L8, SP01L12, SP01L18
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