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Tom Smykowski posted:Is there any light getting to the water? That might be a cause. Not a lot since I was trying to cover any open areas of the tray, but apparently not enough. The tomatoes looked worse again so I've decided to end their misery and moved my equipment over to the peppers.
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Dec 28, 2015 01:50
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Picture time I guess. So here are the peppers, doing their thang.  Chilies still going strong. For some reason, one of them has yellowish/green leaves. Doesn't look burnt and none of the other plants are doing it. And it's only a couple of lower leaves. The newer, top leaves seem fine.  The green peppers are a giant green mat at this point. Can't wait to move them to the rig.  And while I was looking through my plants the other day for issues, I found this:  Bizarre the sprout appeared after almost two months, but there you go. I'll see if it can handle the nutrients.
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Dec 28, 2015 03:34
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Is that white mold on the soil? Might need some fans to circulate the air.
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Dec 28, 2015 21:21
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Fozzy The Bear posted:Is that white mold on the soil? Might need some fans to circulate the air. I have a fan but I unplugged it when I was building the frame. Good catch, I'll go plug it back in. Not sure why I didn't notice that. Also the peppers are showing yellow leaves on the lower branches. Research seems to indicate that this is a magnesium deficiency. I'm going to try and pick up some mag supplements tomorrow. Supposing it doesn't snow storm again.
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Dec 28, 2015 23:50
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Put roughly 10ml of epsom salts in the tank (5ml per gallon). Hopefully by tomorrow some of the leaves will be looking better. Unfortunately the drat hydro place had everything except any CalMag mixtures. Yet another thing I might need to order... I'd prefer to make my own.
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Dec 29, 2015 19:40
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The reservoir slime you're seeing is likely to be Pythium. It likes higher temperatures and I strongly suspect that its appearance is is related to your fan not being on. A short-term stopgap solution could be to make sure it's plugged in at all times. But if in July/August your nighttime temperatures fail to fall below 32°C you will need a way to lower your reservoir temperatures below ambient. I suggest a thermoelectric chiller. http://www.ebay.com/itm/thermoelect...E8AAOSwPcVV2JUL Select a temperature on the control panel and it'll automatically heat and/or cool the water until it is at said temperature. It hasn't got any moving parts inside (it's just a temperature sensor and a Peltier module inside) so you should expect it to last a while. Forgetting to reactivate your fans can have adverse effects on your water temperatures. Dirt is a real good insulator and plants don't generally have to worry about temperature fluctuation in the root zone. Corollary: If your root zone temperatures fluctuate more than your plants are used to, they will not be happy plants. You might want to get a thingie to keep your temperatures where you want them. Some internet people suggest that you maintain a root temperature of 30°C. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11539775 http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF02220188 Other (smarter) internet people will tell you not to go above 25°C http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01904169009364127 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1066404/ http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/opp7957
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Dec 29, 2015 21:03
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Thanks for the info! I've been seeing the same thing regarding temp and the water has been sitting at around 22C at the moment. Since I just put the epsom salts in, I'm going to wait till tomorrow and do a flush of the res. Canada Post indicates that my valves should be in tomorrow. If they are, I'm going to run the main res and if everything pressurizes correctly I'll be setting that up. My main res has its tote box cover and the mesh cups will be full of clay. So hopefully I'll have an easier time keep the water clean.
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Dec 29, 2015 22:12
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By the way, what is your water source? If you are on a well and softening your water, magnesium and calcium have been removed and replaced with sodium. Plants do not like sodium.
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Dec 30, 2015 01:41
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Currently it is well water. I was hoping it would be able to handle the calcium/magnesium situation, but apparently not.
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Dec 30, 2015 02:09
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You're just on limestone, right? Edit: If you are softening your water, there are two solutions: 1. Purchase potassium-based water softener. 2. Bypass the softened water. Sodium is bad for everything that doesn't live in the ocean. Animals need sodium. It is an electroyte and our nervous system would not function without it. Terrestrial plants haven't a nervous system and haven't a need for sodium. Potassium on the other hand is a valuable nutrient and your plants will love it if you give it to them. Also your septic bed will function better as a garden bed than it used to. But if the $22 price tag on a bag of K-softener is too much (vs $8 for Na-softener), there's probably a garden hose faucet on your well just under the accumulator tank. Take your water from there and it will (probably) contain enough natural calcium and magnesium for your plants. (And more importantly, no sodium). DreadLlama fucked around with this message at 04:10 on Dec 30, 2015 |
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Dec 30, 2015 03:55
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DreadLlama posted:You're just on limestone, right? This isn't my house so I'll have to see if they put softener in the water. I don't think they have, but no harm in checking. Completely emptied and cleaned the res since I think the problem is nutrient lock out since the epsom salts didn't make a difference.
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Dec 30, 2015 14:01
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Welp, I'm a moron. Apparently I bought 1/4'' valves instead of 1/2''. I'm going to keep them for future spaghetti line, but gently caress I feel dumb. Now I have to order more...
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Dec 30, 2015 19:35
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This morning, checked the plants and water and everything seems much better. pH is hovering at 5.8 and 13000ppm. The yellowing stopped and the previously yellow leaves have toughened up again. Looks like the flush helped a lot. Also trying different brands of white rice vinegar and the Kikkoman version seems to holding better.
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Dec 31, 2015 15:15
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This feeding I put some of the Armor SI in to see if I can boost their heat tolerance up a bit.
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Jan 2, 2016 14:29
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See? Get 5.8 and everything is good. Go to 5.9 and you'll get fat and lose your hair. Go to 5.7 and your wife will leave you and start a youtube channel about your inadequacy as a man. 5.8 all the time forever.
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Jan 2, 2016 22:48
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Man, I didn't realize the business was this serious. 
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Jan 3, 2016 01:08
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Hey Stretch, thanks for the thread. Interesting stuff to read. Can you tell me a little about your oyster mushrooms? What medium are you growing them on? Did you get a kit, or did you put everything together from scratch? Where did you get your supplies from? I'd like to start growing them on used coffee grounds, but am having trouble tracking down grow bags and either spawn or spore syringes. The one lady I found advertising them on Vancouver Island is (Surprise!) incredibly flaky.
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Jan 3, 2016 03:46
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B33rChiller posted:Hey Stretch, thanks for the thread. Interesting stuff to read. Can you tell me a little about your oyster mushrooms? What medium are you growing them on? Did you get a kit, or did you put everything together from scratch? Where did you get your supplies from? I'd like to start growing them on used coffee grounds, but am having trouble tracking down grow bags and either spawn or spore syringes. The one lady I found advertising them on Vancouver Island is (Surprise!) incredibly flaky. Thank you for showing interest and Incoming  Oyster mushrooms are one of the easier mushrooms to clone. All you need is to go to your super market and look for whole mushrooms, as fresh as you think you can get them. The important part is that the stems must have a little bit of the mycelium still fuzzing around it. That's all you need to clone, which is what I did. Cost me maybe $3 for the mushrooms. The main fruiting bodies aren't needed so you can eat those portions. Kitts obviously go faster to colonize a substrate but they usually cost over $30. As for coffee grounds as far as I'm aware it doesn't matter what type of coffee is used so there's no advantage to using more expensive coffee. Running the coffee through a coffee maker is enough to sterilize it so what I get people to do is once they're done to put the coffee grounds in a plastic bag and immediately freeze it. Mold is the biggest killer of your mushrooms and, as I've learned, not properly sterilizing the coffee can make you waste a lot of time. I have Crohn's and coffee actually triggers flares, but my family drinks it and gives me the grounds. I would be cautious of other people giving you them unless you plan to sterilize them again. I actually sent emails to Tim Hortons, Mc Dicks, and a couple of local coffee places and most just told me to ask at the counter. I have a french press that lets me make large batches really quickly. For starting, all you need is a mason jar (doesn't matter what size though obviously the bigger the jar the more mycelium you can grow) and some way to sterilize it. I've seen a few methods, but the easiest I've found is to get 99% Rubbing alcohol and scrub the jar with it. You can also steam or pressure cook them. Once the jar is clean and sterile, put in about an inch of coffee grounds, then a few pieces of mushroom stems, then more coffee, then more stems, etc, until you reach the top. Mushrooms breath oxygen and thus need an air source. However, you must also project the coffee from mold since mold grows faster than the mycelium. What I do is take a coffee filter, take a small plate and cover the bottom in rubbing alcohol, sit the filter in it to absorb a bit, then put it over the opening of the jar and screw on the cap. I'll post some pictures of the Mother Jar in a bit. To clone a future jar, just break up the contents of the first and put them in new jars with fresh coffee. As long as everything is sterile, after a week or two they should have a good grip on the jar. For the mushrooms themselves, you then use your spawn mycelium and spread it through sterile straw in a bucket, like I have been trying. I'm still working on the actually flush portion of it. My bucket got hit with black mold and wiped out the mycelium. Luckily I still have mother jar. I'll probably go about setting up a new one here in the next couple of days.
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Jan 3, 2016 04:35
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Forgot to mention that Oyster Mushrooms are more or less indifferent to light but do like to be somewhere warm. They don't have to be overly moist as I've found if you freeze fresh made coffee grounds it'll retain enough of the water than when you put it in the jar for the mycelium to use. Here are a few pictures of the Mother Jar: First a side picture. I need to top the jar off with fresh grounds. I think I'll let it chew on that first before starting a new jar, though I could easily do one right now.  I've noticed that mycelium likes to gravitate towards the bottom of the jars. Tends to eat everything below before heading up.  Finally a shot of the plants with regular white light on.  I'm hoping monday the new valves arrive. I'm really getting antsy over then still being in the tray. I could move them to the 3 inch trays but I don't want to shock them especially if I might have to move them again.
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Jan 3, 2016 05:01
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Thanks for the write-up. I'll give a good look around at the supermarket and see if I can find oysters. All I can recall seeing are white button mushrooms. I suppose I could make up my own spore syringe if I can get my hands on fresh mushrooms to start out with. I have been trying to find something like these in Canada. I figured I could fill the bag with coffee grounds, seal it up, give it a boil/steam, and it would be all sterile. Once cooled, give it a shot from the spore syringe, and let it colonize. Then once the mycelium has taken over, I've basically got the same thing as what's inside those kits you can order for $30. I think the process of adding your spawn to straw, and essentially starting the whole colonization process over again in a new medium is opening you up to contamination. I don't have access to a laboratory grade clean room, or anything like that. And I know mold spores basically get everywhere all the time, so I want to minimize the chance of any contaminants getting in there. I've been saving up coffee grounds, sticking them in the freezer just like you suggested. B33rChiller fucked around with this message at 09:20 on Jan 3, 2016 |
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Jan 3, 2016 09:08
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Honestly practicing aseptic technique at home isn't that hard. Here's a little secret - most bio lab work isn't done in any kind of clean room; most of the time we just wipe down a lab bench. Having a flow hood helps, though you could mimic it at home by building a little still air box. Other things you could do - flame sterilize a jar by wetting the inside with alcohol, then burning it off. The same goes for any tools you're using. You can mostly sterilize dry grounds in the oven (jars too). It's hard to sterilize anything with water outside of a pressure cooker or autoclave. Also, get a cheap box of gloves to wear.
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Jan 3, 2016 14:44
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B33rChiller posted:Thanks for the write-up. I'll give a good look around at the supermarket and see if I can find oysters. All I can recall seeing are white button mushrooms. I suppose I could make up my own spore syringe if I can get my hands on fresh mushrooms to start out with. Oyster mushrooms will grow in coffee grounds just as easy as straw. The reason I'm using straw is that a lot of people who do this as a hobby or professionally tend to use it as their flush substrate. You can do it with coffee grounds, it tends to be a bit more expensive. The trick to growing the pins is that once the mycelium has the substrate you have to put holes in the container to let the mushroom poke out. It's those breach points where it's most likely to pick up mold spores.
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Jan 3, 2016 17:21
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My new valves have arrived and I installed them down each line of the feed tubes. Waiting for an extra set of hands to become available to assist in case something pops.
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Jan 6, 2016 02:34
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My seedling heat mat arrived. Managed to find one on Amazon.ca for under $30. Everywhere else I've seen them were over $100. Should help when the cactus seeds arrive.
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Jan 6, 2016 18:07
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Thanks for the thread Stretch Marx. It's really neat to follow along. This is something that interests me but I would likely be awful at, so I like to live vicariously through others. Sorry the tomatoes didn't make it, but hopefully, the peppers will.
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Jan 7, 2016 00:24
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No worries. I made the thread for the purposes of people helping people. I say get into it. You can only get better through learning by doing and accidental vegecide.
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Jan 7, 2016 05:48
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Tested the valves this morning and everything drips perfectly. Very surprised how well it works. Hopefully will have the plants in the rig tonight.
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Jan 10, 2016 16:30
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Valves work perfectly. I have the right pressure for everything and the drip system works! All I need to do now is put the lid back on the reservoir and BANG Water start gushing out the side of the res... Welllll poo poo.... Now I'll have to buy a new res. I think I'm going to buy a shallower one this time. Narrowed my peppers to the top 9 and top 3 chilies. Le sigh
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Jan 11, 2016 02:36
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I guess while I try to find a suitable res, have a picture. Moved my best plants to the 3 inch trays. One of my chilies lost all its leaves but is budding new dark green ones. The green peppers seem to be doing well. 
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Jan 15, 2016 03:32
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For anyone in Canada who are playing along, I picked up a 1L bottle of Grotek pH down from here. So far I've put 1 ml into the water tray and my pH hasn't gone above 6 in three days. It's 15-20% phosphoric acid and is cheaper than General Hydroponics pH down. Just an FYI. Also, I've started using a 1L spray bottle with 1ml of AN Grow (which is mostly Nitrogen) and about 1/2ml of ArmorSi and started misting the plants every so often. Even though it's the middle of winter, that room gets really try. Also I've noticed that the water gets a whitish film on it after awhile. It only appears on the hydroton that isn't holding a plant as I have them just at the water line so I can gauge the water level. I haven't put any vinegar in this time so could it be some type of infection? I think I saw it before with the tomatoes. Stretch Marx fucked around with this message at 06:07 on Jan 15, 2016 |
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Jan 15, 2016 05:54
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Mini update: Still looking for a suitable box. In the mean time, my chilies are doing their thing. The 3 I selected and transferred started losing their leaves. The two in the back seem to have stablised but the middle one there has had a rough time. It started putting out flowers so I picked those off and it seems to have gotten the hint and really started pushing the leaves. As you can see, the other chilies are budding new leaves as well. 
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Jan 19, 2016 21:27
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I read this with interest. Is there any reason I can't do a variant of this with filtered natural light? My problem is the soil is poor and hard, and the sun destroys everything during the best growing season. It seems like something interesting to try.
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Jan 20, 2016 12:22
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Nope as long as the intensity is high enough. That's the main thing when it comes to light. Wavelengths are important, but they won't matter if the light isn't bright enough to stimulate photosynthesis. I've seen plenty of rigs setup outside or in windows using sun light. As far as I've read that is.
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Jan 20, 2016 13:25
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I have a small-medium seed warming mat new in the box that I don't think I'll ever need - if anyone wants it drop me a PM or e-mail (mattmcallaster(at)hotmail) and I'll send it for cost of shipping.
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Jan 20, 2016 18:57
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I don't get paid till Tuesday but if no one else steps forward I can always use it. I'll let you know.
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Jan 21, 2016 04:41
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My original Peruvian Torch package got lost in the Canadian postal ether so the guy sent me another package with express. He also threw in a package of Golden Torch seeds. I want to see if I can dutch bucket one of the Peruvian versions. Doubt it, but I think if I can keep the water low enough I might be able to do it.
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Jan 21, 2016 19:41
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Status Update: Everything is doing much better. Now that I can keep the drat pH stable they're greening up again.  My littlest chili. It has been coming back with a vengeance so I'm hoping I can move it later.  One of my chilies. If you look in the crutches between the leaves you can see flowers starting to bud.  My other chili. Also budding.  A couple of glamour shots of the green peppers. A few are starting to bud flowers, but I've been picking those as I want the peppers to regrow some leaves from week earlier.   I also came into possession of a bunch of salad green seeds of various types. I'm thinking I'm going to move my plants to the rig this week and use my trays for the greens and cacti. Should be interesting. -e- For bad anglais Stretch Marx fucked around with this message at 04:34 on Jan 25, 2016 |
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Jan 24, 2016 22:56
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Astonishing Wang posted:I have a small-medium seed warming mat new in the box that I don't think I'll ever need - if anyone wants it drop me a PM or e-mail (mattmcallaster(at)hotmail) and I'll send it for cost of shipping. Many dankes again my man. I appreciate the support.
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Jan 27, 2016 20:37
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Just a couple of pictures. Haven't taken a picture with the regular lights on in awhile so here's the latest. I have a new res that I'm hoping to get everything up and running by this weekend. Glad to see everything greening up again. Here's a picture of my little hydroponics corner. Plastic and chemicals galore. 
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Jan 28, 2016 04:23
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So for a new side project I've decided to grow some Peruvian and Golden Torch cactuseses. The torch family of cactupuses apparently is very forgiving and tolerates a lot of conditions. As such, I feel that a normal cactus grow wouldn't interest me as much so I'm going to try and grow them clay pellets rather than cactus soil as I don't want to deal with the peat. I'm going to use rock wool as the seed starting substrate just to give them a space to germinate. It should maintain moisture levels on it's own in the dome. But just in case, I poured a little bit of sprout food into the tray to sit at the bottom and keep the humidity up. As you can see, the dome is already fogging up. Temp inside is about 23 C.  Closer look. You can sort of see the rock wool plugs. I put about 4 seeds into each plug.  My hope is that the cacti will use the rock wool as a base until they're large enough to stand up by themselves in the hydroton. Then they should burrow down like any other plant. I'm going to try and keep a small flow of water going when I can get the pieces to do so. But that won't be until a while.
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Jan 29, 2016 02:35
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