Hydroponic grow experiment #3 update

This is week 3 of the hydroponic experiment #2. Everything is going great. The Growlab temp. is 78 in the day and 68 at night. The humidity is around 45%.The timer on the turbogarden is a great addition. I can't tell if the plants are growing any faster, but they're definitely not slowing down. The ph is 5.9,the ppm is 620 and the water temp. is 70-74. I'm already pulling off the bottom leaves on the lettuce for salads.One thing I have noticed is the basil plants in the turbogarden system have a stronger smell then hydroponic and soil grown. I credit that to the extreme health of the plants. The plants in the turbogarden are also growing bigger, faster then the other growing methods. It's the Ferrari of growing systems.
The Ecogrower is looking great also. I am adding a gallon of water with 1/4 strength nutrient every day to the reservoir. I've harvested three peppers so far from the relleno, compared to no peppers from the soil grown relleno. They are the same exact age and receive the same nutrient.
The pepper seedlings are sprouting away. I have 33 sprouts out of 50 so far. I can't wait to get them growing in the flood and drain table. I'm not sure which medium to use yet. I'm open to suggestions.

Hydroponic grow experiment #2 update

This is week 2 of the second experiment with hydroponics. As you can see, everything is going pretty well. I have a little helper, who has really taken to growing. I've moved the tomatoes out to the garage. I installed a timer on the aeroponic system. I programed it for 15 min. on and 15 min. off. 24/7. The plants grew just fine with the pump running 24/7 without shutting off. The only problem I ran into with the water pump running continuously was, it caused the water temp. to rise above acceptable levels. I fixed this problem by rotating a frozen 3 liter bottle of RO water, twice a day, to the reservoir. Every third bottle, I took the cap off and let it drain into the reservoir for topping off. I added the timer for three reasons. To save money on my electricity bill, lower the water temp.(which it hasn't), but more importantly, the off time allows the roots to absorb more oxygen which breeds healthier roots and a healthier plant. So it's a win/win situation.

The Ecogrower is really a maintenance free system. You can see the relleno peppers are getting bigger. There about 6 inches at less then two weeks. Since the plants are getting bigger, I have to top it off with a gallon of 1/4 strength nutrient water every two to three days.I am using the same nutrients, with the following levels:

-Turbogarden 6.3ph- 470ppm- water temp. 70-76

-Ecogrower 5.9ph- 700ppm- water temp 69

I've planted 50 pepper plants, for the garage grow room. Half the tray is sweet peppers and the other half hot peppers. There are about 10 different varieties total. I plan on growing them in a 4x8 flood and drain table. We're still about a month away for that.

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.