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Ah... well, good luck! Few questions, - What kind of light is it? The purple LED ones are effective but very very ugly in my opinion, which can affect where you place your setup. - What are the dimensions of your growing area? Want to be sure you have plenty of room for everything You can buy these light hangers that might make it easier for you in that department. You might also want to get a timer for the lights. An oscillating fan is good to have as well. Not sure if you will have to worry about PH or not depending on which nutrients you are using, but if you do, you will have to.
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Aug 15, 2017 15:42
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| # ¿ Apr 30, 2024 04:47 |
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Well, obviously you're excited about this, so I hope you can sustain that. I would say it's better to do too little than too much initially because when (not if) something goes wrong, the fewer variables involved the easier problems are to diagnose and fix, and things can get out of control if you just go nuts at the start. But live and learn! I personally don't have much experience growing hydroponically, but I would also do the Kratky method if I were you. Seems like an easy and effective way to start out. I'm afraid I can't offer more advice on that front but keep in mind when you're searching for info online, weed is just a plant much like any other, so don't discard that info just because you don't happen to be growing it, though I'm sure radishes need much fewer nutrients in general. Make sure to watch your PH. You really don't need to fertilize seeds at all, they come with the nutrients they need inside; you should be able to wait a week or two before giving nutrients. FWIW, it's better for the plant to have slightly too little nutrients than too much, and it's more conducive to learning to let them express a deficiency and fix it than to just try to follow everybody's instructions and do it all perfectly the first time. Different plants have different requirements for seed germination, I would just do a quick Google. Some of them need light and should just be scattered on the surface, others need darkness and to be buried a bit, some take a really long time, etc. That said after they sprout you definitely want to get them under lights immediately. For your light, I would say you might want to get a couple more; not sure if a reflector is needed or not, it couldn't hurt. The thing about CFLs is that you have to place them very close to the plants, as the light intensity drops off quickly. I doubt you'd be able to grow a tomato plant under a single CFL, you'd probably need a bunch arranged all over the plant. But you are probably OK for starting seeds. You might also look into fluorescent lights, it might be a better fit for your setup. As I said previously the purple LED lights are also effective but very ugly in my opinion. You can also buy a bunch of cheaper lower-wattage CFLs, just make sure they are 5500K spectrum (I believe,) like these or these. Clamps like these might come in handy. For your radish seeds question, I might just give them a bit longer to see if one is obviously more robust than the others. I wouldn't read too much into the stem color at that point. When you do cull, be merciless. Good luck!
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Aug 16, 2017 15:07
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