Click and Grow

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, CanadianHomeChef said:

That blows  

 

Do you bury them or just scatt r them on top?

 

After harvesting, 2 of 3 lettuce plants are still thriving. The third seems to have kicked the bucket, but I’ll give a while longer to see if it thrives. If not, I plan on planting some seeds in the empty pod. Cooks Illustrated reported there was enough nutrients left to get a good yield of lettuce. 

 

Also so looking into liquid fertilizer since the roots seem to be growing through the wicks. (The one with the most extensive root system in the tank is the one having issues thriving after harvest)

 

The dead ones I respectfully buried in the trash.  The new peas I planted about an inch deep, maybe a little less.

 

My basil and the one lorn pea plant are doing splendidly.  I would love to hear of your results with fertilizer.

 

 

[heidih]

12 hours ago, CanadianHomeChef said:

That blows  

 

Do you bury them or just scatt r them on top?

 

After harvesting, 2 of 3 lettuce plants are still thriving. The third seems to have kicked the bucket, but I’ll give a while longer to see if it thrives. If not, I plan on planting some seeds in the empty pod. Cooks Illustrated reported there was enough nutrients left to get a good yield of lettuce. 

 

Also so looking into liquid fertilizer since the roots seem to be growing through the wicks. (The one with the most extensive root system in the tank is the one having issues thriving after harvest)

 

Horticulturally speaking lots of roots (thready) are not a sign of best vigor. You want one strong tap root. When you transplant those whispy guys shrivel and you get die off.  Think desperation versus "I got this"

Edited January 14, 2019 by heidih (log)

[CanadianHomeChef]

Makes sense. 

[CanadianHomeChef]

I’ve got some flowering happen on my tomato plants  🍅 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

My single germinated pea is halfway to the lights.  Last I checked Click and Grow website still had no extension arms in stock to sell.

 

I'll love to see what tomatoes you get.

 

[rotuts]

@CanadianHomeChef

 

make sure you fertilize those flowers

 

no Bee's inside ?

 

use a soft brush

[KennethT]

1 hour ago, rotuts said:

@CanadianHomeChef

 

make sure you fertilize those flowers

 

no Bee's inside ?

 

use a soft brush

Or just vibrate the truss with an electric toothbrush.  Do it once a day - vibrating until you can see pollen falling from the flowers.... you'll probably only need to do it twice or three times per truss (if that) before you see the fruit set.

[TicTac]

So this is basically a plastic tub with an aerator and an attached (what appears to be very low wattage) LED?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

2 hours ago, TicTac said:

So this is basically a plastic tub with an aerator and an attached (what appears to be very low wattage) LED?

 

No aerator.  What would you want to aerate?

 

LED's are said to be 13 Watts total:

https://support.clickandgrow.com/hc/en-us/articles/115015415567-Smart-Garden-9-specifications

 

 

 

[TicTac]

For whatever reason I was under the impression this was a hydroponic system.

 

What is the growing medium and how are the plants getting nutrients?

Edited January 17, 2019 by TicTac (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

21 minutes ago, TicTac said:

For whatever reason I was under the impression this was a hydroponic system.

 

What is the growing medium and how are the plants getting nutrients?

 

 

This explains it pretty well:

https://blog.dilbert.com/2015/09/30/super-soil-reduces-the-odds-of-you-starving-to/

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

The Click and Grow accessories are back in stock on their website.  I ordered extension arms in hope of more than one pea.  It's quite possible the temperature of my apartment is too warm for optimal germination.

 

[rotuts]

@

JoNorvelleWalker

 

 

"  Note: I am about to make a tiny investment in this company, primarily for social reasons.n"

 

I dont believe this for an inastant

 

Dill made his move

 

and Dill is trying to appreciate his possition

 

dont believe it 

 

until its on your plate

 

the Dil might have  financial issues ?

 

or not  the dill is helping him self

 

perhaps w options ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[KennethT]

1 hour ago, TicTac said:

For whatever reason I was under the impression this was a hydroponic system.

 

What is the growing medium and how are the plants getting nutrients?

 

Evidently it's some type of prefertilized media that self waters with a wicking system into the reservoir

[KennethT]

2 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

No aerator.  What would you want to aerate?

 

LED's are said to be 13 Watts total:

https://support.clickandgrow.com/hc/en-us/articles/115015415567-Smart-Garden-9-specifications

 

 

 

In normal hydroponics, you would want to constantly aerate your reservoir to make sure you get O2 to the roots, as well as keep anaerobic pathogens at bay.  In reality, aerating the reservoir only works really well if you keep your reservoir under 65degF since dissolved O2 in temps higher than that is very low.

 

I'm dying to see how the tomato plant does under 13W of LED light...  I have a hard time believing that will be enough to get any decently flavored fruit, unless they're providing some kind of new breed of tomato that loves the shade....

Edited January 17, 2019 by KennethT (log)

[TicTac]

3 minutes ago, KennethT said:

In normal hydroponics, you would want to constantly aerate your reservoir to make sure you get O2 to the roots, as well as keep anaerobic pathogens at bay.  In reality, aerating the reservoir only works really well if you keep your reservoir under 65degF since dissolved O2 in temps higher than that is very low.

 

I'm dying to see how the tomato plant does under 13W of LED light...  I have a hard time believing that will be enough to get any decently flavored fruit, unless they're providing some kind of new breed of tomato that loves the shade....

 

 

Agreed.

 

Ken clearly has a greater knowledge than I on the topic, but with some 'experimenting' with hydroponics in my youth...*ahem*, I learned that a hydroponic system requires, ideally, reverse osmosis water, a strong aerator and a close monitoring of PH and nutrients levels.

 

I cannot say the idea of some 'preloaded' cartridges appeals to me, quite frankly.  I am also curious as to what 13w will produce.

 

I was sent a KIND LED X80 strip light not long ago which I was thinking of creating a setup similar to this, though still determining the growing medium...  Also the question of housing came into play.

 

LED lights give off strong UV rays which can be harmful to the eyes.  Not sure if it is an issue at 13W, but at 80W they can certainly damage ones eyes and without an enclosure, a lot of the light is being lost - a reflective wall system would be much more efficient.

[KennethT]

27 minutes ago, TicTac said:

 

Agreed.

 

Ken clearly has a greater knowledge than I on the topic, but with some 'experimenting' with hydroponics in my youth...*ahem*, I learned that a hydroponic system requires, ideally, reverse osmosis water, a strong aerator and a close monitoring of PH and nutrients levels.

 

I cannot say the idea of some 'preloaded' cartridges appeals to me, quite frankly.  I am also curious as to what 13w will produce.

 

I was sent a KIND LED X80 strip light not long ago which I was thinking of creating a setup similar to this, though still determining the growing medium...  Also the question of housing came into play.

 

LED lights give off strong UV rays which can be harmful to the eyes.  Not sure if it is an issue at 13W, but at 80W they can certainly damage ones eyes and without an enclosure, a lot of the light is being lost - a reflective wall system would be much more efficient.

Nice - KIND has a decent reputation, although for a pro setup, I really like Fluence stuff - their lights are unbelievable... I've been testing one for a while - it's a great piece of equipment and has no fans that can go bad, which would quickly ruin the LEDs.

 

Hydro stuff ideally uses RO water because when you're adding your own nutrients, you can get imbalances if you don't account for what's in your water.  One way to do this is with RO - you basically have nothing in your water.  Another way is to get your source water tested (there are lots of local labs - or your municipality may offer it for free) and account for what's already there.  This works well if you're making your own recipe from various sources, but not really practical in a home setup.

 

LEDs in general don't give off UV - unless you have LEDs that are supposed to give off UV.  In fact, some mfrs (like Fluence) offer a UV only fixture - which can be good for ripening certain, ahem, flowers.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Whatever else the light seems quite directional.  There is not much spillover.

 

[TicTac]

Perhaps UV was the wrong harmful factor, but I know that LEDs can seriously damage your eyes if you are not using proper protective eye-ware!

 

Have not heard about Fluence....will have to check them out. 

[CanadianHomeChef]

The tomatoes are supposed to be tinier than cherry tomatoes, so I'm not expecting much. I mainly got the system for fresh herbs and have been delighted by the basil so far. Hopefully it'll grow better now that I've done an initial trim.

 

Got some thai basil seeds. Going to remove a lettuce plant that didn't thrive well after an initial harvest. Add the thai basil seeds and see what happens.

[dcarch]

4 hours ago, KennethT said:

I'm dying to see how the tomato plant does under 13W of LED light...  I have a hard time believing that will be enough to get any decently flavored fruit, unless they're providing some kind of new breed of tomato that loves the shade....

 

By the time I finish making my 4 LED lights, I will have a total of 300W x 4 = 1,200 watts of light. 

Looking forward to nice seedlings for the coming season.

 

dcarch

[KennethT]

4 minutes ago, dcarch said:

 

By the time I finish making my 4 LED lights, I will have a total of 300W x 4 = 1,200 watts of light. 

Looking forward to nice seedlings for the coming season.

 

dcarch

I hope that's for a LOT of seedlings!

[dcarch]

6 hours ago, TicTac said:

LED lights give off strong UV rays which can be harmful to the eyes.  Not sure if it is an issue at 13W, but at 80W they can certainly damage ones eyes and without an enclosure, a lot of the light is being lost - a reflective wall system would be much more efficient.

 

May be you are talking about mercury vapor lights. If the outer glass is broken, the bulb inside will send out harmful UV rays.

LED chips can only generate one single frequency (color) of light. Actually there are no white LEDs. White is generated by using phosphors or using three color LEDs in combination.

 

dcarch

 

  

Edited January 18, 2019 by dcarch (log)

[KennethT]

1 hour ago, TicTac said:

Have not heard about Fluence....will have to check them out. 

They were relatively recently bought out by Osram, but it seems like their product is still made and supported in the USA - their service is fantastic, as is their build quality... but, unfortunately, you get what you pay for!!!

[CanadianHomeChef]

The Thai basil I planted in a used lettuce pod is starting to sprout after 3 days