Garage Indoor Garden update #2

I am moving right along in the grow room. Thanks to a donation from one of our readers (thanks mom) I was able to build my first of three grow bed tables. I built a 3x6' grow bed and stand for under $100 and it's totally waterproof. This is a bargain when you consider just a 3x6' plastic grow bed costs $170 without a stand! I will show you step by step how to build it in my youtube video, soon to follow.

As far as the Cocogrowers go, the cherry tomatoes are looking extremely healthy. Together, they have about 20 tomatoes and are growing about 3 inches a day! They are also drinking over a half gallon of nutrient rich water every day. The Brandywine tomatoes are still puzzling me. I do have 2 tomatoes starting on one of them though.

The seedlings, now small plants, are looking healthy as ever. They were just planted in the red solo cups about 10 days ago and already need bigger containers. I have about two months before I can move the tomato plants outdoors. I hope they don't get too big, too early! I am planning on growing them in 5 gallon buckets, instead of planting them in ground. Should be interesting.

Hydroponic grow experiment #1

Dec. 26, 2009

The lettuce in the turbogarden are really filling out. They are almost ready to pick. I think next time I will try other taller plants with the lettuce, to give them more room. I'm getting ready to switch things around a bit.

Here are the nutrient levels and ph in each system:

-Turbogarden 500ppm and 6.1 ph

-Ecogrower 450ppm and 6.2 ph

-Cocogrower #1 (Chadwick cherry) 600ppm and 6.0 ph

#2 (Brandywine) 330ppm and 6.0 ph

-The turbogarden runs 24/7 misting plant roots.

-The Ecogrower runs 24/7 dripping water over the top of the plants.

-The Cocogrowers run while the lights are on and off when the lights are off. I have added an airstone in every systems reservoir that runs 24/7 for the roots.

Hydroponic grow experiment #1

Dec. 10, 2009

I am experimenting growing vegetables and herbs in hydroponic and aeroponic systems as well as soil less potting mix. In the turbogarden (aeroponic) I am growing four varieties of lettuce including red oak leaf, outstanding red romaine, buttercrunch and waldens dark green lettuce. I am also growing a basil plant and garlic chives. In the ecogrower I am growing a relleno pepper, two basils, bouquet dill, english thyme and peppermint. In the Cocogrowers I'm growing Chadwick cherry tomatoes and Brandywine heirloom tomatoes.

The primary nutrients I'm using are General Hydroponics 3 part flora series. I supplement with Florablend, Floralicious plus, Cal/Mag, Koolbloom, Sweet and Silica blast. I am using Great White Mycorrhizae for the roots.

The lighting system I am using is a 12 lamp T-5 Badboy, with red and blue spectrum lamps. I am growing in a Growlab 5'x5' grow tent with exaust ports and a viewing window. For an air intake, I went to home depot and bought a 6" inline fan for $30. I put a 150 micron stainless steel screen on the outside of the fan to catch carpet hairs and dust as well as pesky bugs. I don't have an active exhaust, meaning I let the air naturally escape through the 6" exhaust hole in the ceiling of the tent. By doing this, I can keep the humidity up around 65%. The temperature is steady around 78F. during the day and 69F. at night.