Big Harvest

Took 6 lettuce plants out of the AeroFlo36 today.  Salad for dinner tonight (and a few more nights too).  We transplanted many of the Grow 3 plants into the AeroFlo36 today.  I have to tell you that my fears of the Rapid Rooter cubes came true.  Very "crumbly" medium - especially when it comes to transplanting.  Rockwool and STG are no problem to transplant.  I am still using STG hail in my net cups around the transplanted seedling cube.

We took a fairly equal number of Rapid Rooter and Rockwool seedlings into the AeroFlo36 from Grow 3.  Only two STG seedlings were taken due to the slower growth rate, and well, we had enough for a transfer in this grow.  I still have Grow 3 seedlings germinating.  Two Spinach seedlings !  I am going to give them another week or so, then see if we can transplant.  One is in Rockwool, one in Rapid Rooter.

I think I am going to move forward with Rockwool for seed germination on future grows due to the results and observations during Grow 3.

Grow 3, Grow Room Update, AND HARVEST !

Significant changes were made to the grow room in the last few days.  We added a 30 amp circuit to provide 240 volt power to a new Power Box; we split some existing electrical circuits, added some outlets, and eliminated all but one extension cord; we changed the routing and support system for the exhaust fan which kicks on when the room is too hot (due to HID heat output); and we installed a new Ebb and Flow system from C.A.P. called Ebb and Gro.



The Basil plant has been picked several times for recipes over the weekend, not to mention the great salad we made with Buttercrunch and Arugula.  Nice to finally have some rewards for all the hard work.  Grow 3 continues, and it is a toss-up between Rapid Rooters and Rockwool.  STG has been a dud.  I think we may continue with Rockwool due to its ability to hold moisture better than Rapid Rooters even though Rapid Rooters had a faster germination rate.  In the end, Rockwool caught up - and didn't dry out.

Grow 1 and 2 Plants Exploding

Our AeroFlo36 and PowerGrower continue prove themselves as very good investments.  Not only have we seen great progress on our Grow 2 plants placed in the AeroFlo36 but also the two plants (Roma Tom and Basil) that we kicked back from the PowerGrower from Grow 1 that we thought would die.  Check out the root mass now on the Grow 1 Basil that is recovering nicely:

The Arugula adds more leaves every day while the Yellow Peppers aren't far behind in veg.  I  must find a home for these peppers in the PowerGrower soon (or maybe an Ebb and Flow system test?  Hmmm).  That little Leek in P1 below next to the yellow peppers is sporting good growth too.

The Buttercrunch lettuce seems to just love the AeroFlo36 as seedlings from Grow 2 are doing wonderfully. Our original Buttercrunch plant from Grow 1 is getting huge in the PowerGrower.  It may be salad time for that one in the next week.  The Buttercrunch from Grow 1 was planted as a seed on Sept. 18.  Wow, seven weeks from seed to table.  Try that in dirt!

We can't leave out the Basil......so hard to get fresh Basil where I live, not to mention Italian Parsley!  I "staked" the Basil plant tonight as it was getting a little top heavy.  Another lesson learned.  STG hail is a great medium until you start using it for tall, heavy plants.  It is light and fluffy....and unless you really pack it in (and I mean really!), it seems as it has a problem supporting these plants.  Haven't tried those little pebbles (Hydroton) yet as it has a lot of pre-use maintenance.  Maybe another test to add in the book...(Ebb & Flow, Hyrdoton, LED???)

Grow 2 Transplanted

We spent a few hours in the grow room yesterday installing the Nutramist machine and transplanting Grow 2 seedlings.  Parsley, Buttercrunch, Romaine, Yellow Peppers, Arugula, Leeks and Fennel were all put into the AeroFlo36.  Roma and Cherry Tomatoes, Basil and Grow 2 Leeks and Fennel were transplanted into the PowerGrower.  We now have the second HID light activated over the PowerGrower sporting a 1,000 watt SolarMax metal halide bulb.



Nutrient concentration was increased to 1160 ppm, with a pH reduction to 5.8 for the PowerGrower plants.  Previously we had these plants in the AeroFlo36 with nutrient levels around 780 ppm and pH at 6.2ish.  The plants were all big enough where full strength nutrients made sense.

Our C.A.P. Hum-1 humidity controller manages the humidification level in the room.  The Nutramist machine activates when the humidity drops below 40% and is deactivated when humidity levels reach 50%.

Grow 2 Is Going Green

And we couldn't be happier.....Even the parsley germinated in Grow 2!  The buttercrunch, romaine, and arugula are now at a point where we will begin to "weed out" the small sprouts and leave one per cube for transfer into the AeroFlo36.  The cherry and roma tomatoes from Grow 1 are getting bigger every day.  We will transplant them into the PowerGrower when we move the Grow 2 seedlings.  We are anticipating the move in another week.  We want to see a few roots exiting the Rockwool cubes before we move the seedlings.



AeroFlo36 Stats:  pH 6.4  ppm 802
Environment:  Temp 76, Hum 31%

Still have not received the Nutramist Fogger!

Grow 2 Seed Germination

Grow 2 continues to show fantastic progress.  The seeds in this grow, from the same seed packages used in Grow 1, were placed in Rockwool plugs soaked overnight in Europonic Rockwool Conditioner. We planted red and yellow sweet peppers, spinach, buttercrunch, romaine, arugula, parsley, leeks and fennel.

A significant difference between Grow 1 and Grow 2 included the use of the "plug tray".  We believe that this tray allows more airflow around the seed plug, as well as within the tray (notice holes between the tray plug rows).  We have not added any water to the tray since inserting the seeds into the Rockwool plugs.  We have not seen any mold, fungus, or algae growth on these plugs as we did with the 98 STG cubes used in Grow 1 that were placed (packed) into germination tray.  Grow 2 seeds were planted about 7 days ago.  Humidity dome was removed for photos.  The plug tray sits on top of a standard flat with approximately 3/4 inch of water in the bottom of the flat.  The plugs in this tray do not touch the water in the flat.  The water is in the flat is there to help keep moisture / humidity under the dome.

Above you can see a close up of our first yellow pepper plant germinating from Grow 2.  Other pepper seeds have started to form primary growth.  Seed packet indicated normal germination rate of 10 to 25 days.  We have seen germination after 7 days.  Exciting!

Our fennel grew about a half an inch between yesterday afternoon and this morning.  We are now seeing the first leaves from the seed appear.  These leaves were not seen yesterday.  An overnight wonder!  The leek seeds in the row directly to the left of the fennel (far right) are also showing progress and we anticipate we will see their first leaves in another day.

Grow 2 was germinated under "dark" conditions until we saw the first signs of leaves (buttercrunch, romaine, and arugula) and then began a 16 on / 8 off light cycle under a T5 florescent lamp.  We are now planning Grow 3 and experiment with Rapid Rooter plugs, Rockwool plugs, and Sure To Grow (STG) cubes all in one modular tray.

Seed germination update

Grow 2 is turning out great. We used Rockwool plugs in a plug tray, pretreated with Europonic Rockwool Conditioner. The  buttecrunch, romain, and arugula all showed their first leaves after three days. At six days now, we have leeks and fennel starting to emerge.

Grow 1 plants survived the transfer to our Aeroflo36 except a few seedlings we knew weren't looking good. Roma and cherry toms are almost doubling in size each day, basil isn't far behind. Grow 1 was started in STG cubes with a 25-30% germination rate, but again, I think that was due to my performance vs STG.

Grow 3 experiment will have Rapid Rooter plugs, STG cubes, and Rockwool plugs all in same germination tray, same nutrients, and seeds to see which germination medium produces better results.