Lynette Morgan
Author, Partner at SUNTEC International Hydroponic Consultants
Dr. Lynette Morgan holds a B. Hort. Tech. degree and a PhD in hydroponic greenhouse production from Massey University, New Zealand. A partner with SUNTEC International Hydroponic Consultants, Lynette is involved in remote and on-site consultancy services for new and existing commercial greenhouse growers worldwide as well as research trials and product development for manufacturers of hydroponic products. Lynette has authored five hydroponic technical books and is working on her sixth.
It should come as no surprise that the number of people who are crazy for oyster mushrooms is dramatically increasing. After all, they so useful for cooking an
Nitrogen is a fundamental element for healthy plants but in hydroponics, growers need to know the different nitrogen forms and sources.
For substrate-grown crops, moisture dynamics in the root zone can be a useful tool to steer crop development.
A beautiful display of blooms or a mixed floral border can make an indoor garden and hydroponic system into a truly magnificent sight.
With the advanced nutrition and lighting used in hydroponics, ornamental plants and ferns can be grown into large, good-looking specimens.
Understanding ppm levels and how they differ over the life of a hydroponic crop is important for working through the process of nutrient formulation.
Think a greenhouse is a greenhouse is a greenhouse? Think again! The design of your greenhouse should be tailored to your local climate in order to produce max
Are your plants getting the most out of the nutrients you are giving them?
A key tool in the hydroponic toolbox is a good filtration system, which keeps pathogens and contaminants at bay.
Follow Lynette Morgan’s advice on how to identify symptoms and mitigate damage should a virus appear in your garden.
With banana plantations around the world under attack by a soil-borne pathogen, many are realizing hydroponic bananas have some major advantages.
Understanding a plant’s vascular system and what makes it healthy and efficient can go a long way to achieving better yields.
Iron availability and uptake by plants can be a little more complex than many other elements, however, a few simple rules can help prevent iron chlorosis.
If you’re dealing with a small space for your hydroponic setup, Lynette Morgan shares her insights on how to optimize that space with the right system and maxi
With some system modifications and careful genetic selection, it is possible to hydroponically grow cool-season leafy greens in tropical conditions.
While hydroponic strawberries are not an uncommon crop and are relatively easy to grow, hydroponic blueberries, cranberries, and raspberries can also be produced on a...
While we all know coir is a by-product of the coconut processing industry, understanding its properties and potential as a horticultural growing medium can be slightly...
When it comes to good food, we are all looking for taste, aroma and texture. Sometimes these all come together to create a sensory delight, but when it comes to fruit,...
Growing organically means different things to different growers, but there are some basic principles at play when it comes to applying the concept to hydroponic systems.
There are additives lurking in most gardening sprays, but not to worry, that's a good thing!
Like humans, plants have little tolerance for freezing-cold or sweltering-hot conditions. And because most indoor gardens need some fresh air from the outside to remove...
With hydroponic nutrient solutions acting as conduit for pathogens, growers need to safely disinfect their systems.
Dr. Morgan explains just how much light your indoor garden needs—and what colors it should be.
While asparagus is often shipped long distances to provide a year-round supply of this delicacy, nothing beats locally harvested spears - especially those grown in your...
While root growth and health may go largely unobserved by many indoor gardeners, well-functioning root systems are vital to plant productivity.
Colorful, healthy, delicious, and well-suited to thrive in a hydroponic setup, dragon fruit are quickly becoming popular among indoor growers.
If your water is not right your plants won’t reach their full potential.
Open and closed hydroponic systems both have their own pros and cons and suitability for different growing situations and inputs.
Here is a guide to growing the best cucumbers you have ever tasted using the hydroponic method.
Sweltering conditions, overbearing heat, extreme humidity or arid dry air—these are the difficult outdoor climate challenges that many growers face for at least part of...
Like many fruiting plants, grapes respond well to the controlled nutrition and climatic advantages of protected cultivation and produce high-quality fruit with an...
Wasabi, an Asian plant with a strong flavor has gained popularity in recent years. Turns out, the semi-aquatic plant is well suited to hydroponic production, and we’ll...
Experimenting with various nutrients and boosters is not just for commercial growers—thanks to the wide range of products available today, the hobby gardener c
With just days between seed germination and harvest for many varieties and ideal for small spaces, microgreens are increasing in popularity amongst even the most...
Few things in life are perfect, but a grower needs to do whatever it takes to get their hydroponic garden’s pH levels as perfect as possible.
Lynette Morgan examines how continuous light methods compare to light/dark stages.
Many of the problems we encounter in a hydroponic garden are fairly easy to identify. But sometimes the problem plaguing your plants isn’t so clear. Here we diagnose...
Aquatic plants are easy to grow in modified hydroponic systems and provide both great indoor displays and exotic food crops to tempt the taste buds. Better yet, aquatic...
While we know hydroponics can provide advanced and balanced plant nutrition, sometimes a little reassurance or detective work is required when it comes to the analytical...
Many people value the distinctive flavors that herbs and spices from faraway places add to a dish and the good news is many of these tropical and subtropical plants...
Saffron is not difficult to grow indoors and saffron bulbs are readily obtainable at the right time of year for those who want to grow some of their own exotic spice.
In hydroponic systems, it’s not uncommon to see extremely lush vegetative growth at the expense of fruit yields, or plants that take forever to produce flowers—or don’t...
While growers often focus on the visible portion of their plants—the stems, leaves, flowers and fruit—there’s a whole world of things going on in the root system. For...
Indoor gardening offers to plants conditions that are fully under the gardener’s control. So, when physiological disorders strike, they can seem strange, mysterious and...
Whether you’re sitting down with friends to watch a movie or you’ve got holiday guests over, impress everybody with some tasty snack foods you grew in your hydro garden.
Here’s a closer look at some best watering practices in the hydroponic garden, based on what substrate you’ve chosen.
Whiteflies are one of the most persistent and damaging pests to infiltrate indoor gardens and greenhouses. Luckily, Dr. Lynette Morgan has some tips to help you win the...
With the majority of commercial hydroponic crops grown using drip irrigation, indoor gardeners have long adapted this solution delivery method to small scale systems and...
Lynette Morgan explains how home hydroponic horticulturists can take advantage of CO2 enrichment.
Crops that currently receive the highest returns on local markets include those such as ginseng, bay, tarragon, and saffron, all of which are suited to both hydroponics...
Hops are not the first thing one thinks of when considering a hydroponic crop, but as Lynette Morgan explains, they are increasingly in demand and do very well in a...
As many as 76 million people in the United States report coming in contact with some form of foodborne illness every year. Of this, around 5,000 cases result in death...
Often overlooked in hydroponic growing, many citrus varieties make for excellent indoor growing cultivars and reward horticulturists with some tasty fruits and...
NFT systems can present problems — for both home and commercial growers — if they aren’t monitored properly.
Understanding the benefits of microbial life in the rhizosphere of your hydroponic plants will go a long way toward growing healthy, productive crops. But how do you...
Using a jug to measure the volume of nutrient solution from each dripper in hydroponic systems is important for irrigation. Growth differences between plants in the same...
Mexican cuisine crops are well-suited to grow successfully in hydroponics. Lynette Morgan explains how to successfully grow these flavorful products while ma
No longer your run-of-the-mill cauliflower and broccoli best consumed under heaps of cheese sauce, modern brassicas are colourful, flavorful, healthy, and suitable for...
Most hydroponic crops only require a small root zone volume. However, as Lynette Morgan points out, the restriction methods used are just as important as the result they...
While hydroponic crops are robust and quick growing, sometimes the taste quality can leave a lot to be desired. Lynette Morgan looks at how plant stress, and other...
Solution Culture Systems may be the purest hydroponics system. That’s because in float, raft, raceway, pond, deed flow technique, and nutrient film technique systems,...
If you want to keep your grow room free of mites and other nasty plant-killing pests, the key is early detection to vanquish them before they start reproducing and...
Dr. Lynette Morgan tells us how root zone manipulation can have a huge impact on plant performance.
Though not as common as Western crops like lettuce, Asian greens grow just as well in hydroponic setups and offer a diverse range of flavors alongside their stacked...
Fruits, Vegetables and Flowers? Dr. Lynette Morgan tells us that, Though it fell out of fashion for a while, feasting on flowers is seeing somewhat of a resurgence...
Just as hydroponics was once the tool of scientists until growers modified the technology for their own use, tissue culture is now being carried out in home kitchens, on...
Lilies are a beautiful and popular flower that can be very effectively grown hydroponically, but all systems are not created equal. Which systems are best?
Hydroponic specimens of bulb, tuber, and root crops are surprisingly diverse and well worth planting in your indoor garden.
Planting seeds ends in either the thrill of that first tiny green shoot or the disappointment of a failed germination.
While dried lentils are cheap enough to buy at the grocery store, fresh legumes have a place in your hydroponic garden.
Lynette Morgan provides us with the best indoor growing practices for spinach, endive, and chard, and provides some harvesting tips for maximum health benefits
Algae, a green slimy plague that can rapidly overrun an unprotected hydroponic system, is a constant battle many growers face in keeping their indoor garden sparkling...
A well-run indoor hydroponic garden can give results which often surpass outdoor grown flowers.
Growing basil and cilantro outdoors is easy, but growing these herbs indoors presents challenges. Discover a few tips to keeping the flavor and overall quality of these...
Garlic, onions, shallots, scallions and chives thrive in hydroponic systems and deserve a place in the indoor vegetable garden.
Ah, calcium complexities. Improving calcium nutrition within the plant is not merely a simple case of dosing up with increasingly higher levels of this element.
When it comes to selecting and testing the genetics of seeds, it’s important to do your homework.
From helping solve nutrient issues to performing a vital role in crop research, here are the benefits and drawbacks of plant analysis.
The application of a balanced nutrient solution to plant roots is a basic principle of hydroponic growing. Making this irrigation as efficient and effective as possible,...
In spite all our modern technology and information, hydroponic disease outbreaks still can get the better of us. So, here’s a primer on how to identify, get rid of and...
Biofilms are often poorly understood by hydroponic gardeners. Here's why.
Pollination and the resulting fruit set are vital processes for many common hydroponic crops, and an indoor garden can pose challenges to both.
Bored with growing tomatoes, peppers, and lettuce? Try growing spicy rhizomes!
Problems with parasitic pathogens in your indoor garden? You’re not alone. Unfortunately, parasitic or infectious diseases are not an uncommon occurrence in the growroom.
We’ve known for a long time that plants see light differently than humans do, and scientists continue to examine how plants respond to different wavelengths.
While that may seem relatively straightforward, climate control within a hydroponic garden is a little more complex than simply providing four walls and a roof.
We all know fresh fruit and veggies are highly nutritious, but some pack a bigger punch when it comes to their health-giving, bioactive compounds. Luckily, many of these...
When many of us dream of our ideal hydroponic garden, the thought of plagues and pestilence don’t usually spoil the idyllic image. So, discovering a pest outbreak in...
Plant breeders are continually coming up with new cultivars, but some of the most interesting new prospects for hydroponics are actually ancient crops with great...
For a fast-growing, high-yielding crop, you can’t go wrong with hydroponic cucumbers. These slender, green salad essentials produce a greater weight of fruit per unit...
To achieve maximum yields, growers need to ensure they are providing the right amount and type of light and optimal environmental conditions for plants to...
Ever since plants were first cultivated for food or ornamental value, growers have been snipping, shaping, trimming and tying to achieve the most from their crops.
Some of the beneficial elements for plants that have undergone considerable investigation by scientists are aluminum (Al), cobalt (Co), sodium (Na), selenium (Se) and...
Venting in cool air is only one way to lower the temperature of a greenhouse or growroom. Here, Dr. Lynette Morgan shows us how to dissipate heat using a breeze and...
Fresh, sweet, vine-ripened melons, exotic eggplant varieties and the lesser-known, fragrant pepinos are just some of the culinary delights we have come to expect from...
Cloning is a satisfying, rapid and economic way to multiply favorite plants, producing exact copies of the parent with the same desirable characteristics and growth...
The “kill everything” approach to sterilizing a hydroponic system during a massive cleanout is an outdated idea. After all, you don’t want to kill the good microbes that...
Working out your garden’s daily light integral, or the total amount of light your plants receive during a 24-hour period, is an illuminating process that provides some...
Most common problems experienced in hydroponic gardens are caused by one of four main things: nutrition, the plant’s growing environment, pests and pathogens and—less...
Many of the following 10 common mistakes in the growroom can be prevented with a little diligence during the initial stages of plant growth.
Sometimes taking your time truly does produce better results, which is why microfiltration using sand is one of the best defenses against nutrient-borne pathogens.
Producing clones from cuttings in hydroponics is a great way to yield new, healthy planting stock genetically identical to your carefully selected parent plants.
Belgian endive, also known as witloof, is unlike any other vegetable grown hydroponically and its unique value and sophisticated flavor are two reasons why it is gaining...
Light—we all know it’s what powers photosynthesis and growth; however, a plant’s response to different parts of the light spectrum is wide and varied and much
When is an organically grown hydroponic tomato not organic? When it’s Canadian, apparently.
This is an interesting question as recirculating systems share the same nutrient solution, so any chemicals or compounds released from the...
There is a connection to CO2 levels in a growroom dropping when the lights come on. This is caused by the plants switching on...
There can be several different reasons why tomato leaves may curl like this and it’s not an uncommon problem, however, your photo is...
If you are using a good quality A and B nutrient product, then it is unlikely the nutrients are the cause of the lack of fruit set and...
Young cilantro plants tend to naturally have quite thin stems, so obtaining a really thick stem is probably not likely. However, there are...
There can be several reasons for tomato plants flowering but then failing to produce fruit. One of the main ones with indoor or greenhouse...
Hydroponic nutrient solutions already contain all the essential micro elements required for growth: these being iron, manganese, zinc,...
There can be a number of reasons why the nutrient solution in a closed recirculating deep water culture (RDWC) system might become...
Electrolysis can be used to produce oxygen in a liquid – this is a well-known process often termed the “decomposition” or...
The type of damage you are seeing is termed “outer leaf marginal necrosis,” also known as leaf burn, and is a physiological...
This is a rather difficult question as the absorption of magnesium from different magnesium-containing compounds by humans is not only...
The type of concentration of plant hormones (plant growth regulators) to use on chili pepper plants depends on what process you are trying...
When propagating with clones, its best to only use clean, sterile water for both misting or fogging the tops of the clones and for...
Bolting in lettuce is the premature formation of a flower head which causes the plant to elongate and creates a looseness of leaf formation...
Sunshine Advanced #4 contains some added fertilizers (as well as naturally occurring salts in peat and coir) to give early plant growth a...
Evaporative cooling can be highly effective, however, the amount of cooling that can be achieved with evaporative methods is not unlimited....
Growing saffron hydroponically is relatively straightforward; however, the type of system you set up depends on whether you simply want to...
Cucumber plants that are healthy and growing vigorously under good conditions can develop an excessive number of flowers—far more...
Fruiting plants such as muskmelons being grown on this scale really do need to be provided with different vegetative and fruiting...
It’s a good idea to start small with your first indoor garden and gradually increase in size as you gain experience. Three tomato...
Biofilms usually contain a number of different microbial species, some of which may be pathogenic (but usually many which are also...
Hello, Page. Thanks for the detailed information. Unfortunately, it’s not just a case of simply switching from normal hydroponic...
Hello Scott,Unlike tomato fruit, cucumbers don’t tend to develop a particularly strong flavor: however, they shouldn’t taste...
Natural and organic fertilizers can be used in hydroponics. However, the process is highly technical and comes with a few challenges...
Ginger grows extremely well in hydroponics and there have been a number of research trials investigating the best methods of production as...
Unfortunately, there probably isn’t much available in the way of wasabi seed at certain times of the year, as when the plants would...
The best varieties for a small, hydroponic greenhouse in your climate would be hybrid types of tomato and cucumber plants, and...
Watermelons grow extremely well in hydroponic systems. Provided conditions are warm enough, plants will produce large, sweet fruit. The...
There are more than 20 varieties of wasabi known in its native habitat, Japan, where cultivars are often region specific. In the United...
Shipping containers have been turned into highly successful hydroponic systems in many different climates and they can be a good choice for...
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