Friday, August 7, 2009
Tomato Successfully Cloned!
Well it looks like the tomato plant has survived the cloning process. As I was watering the other jalapeno sprouts, I did a quick check to see if it had roots yet, and sure enough it had a great set of roots already. I decided that I would transplant it to the hydroponic system, since the roots will be able to sit in the fog. While I am away for the weekend I hope that the root system will grow through thelava rock, and the planter and sit in the fog. I poured the nutrient solution that was in the gatorade bottle into the tub. It is a very very diluted amount of nutrient. I will mix the appropriate amount when I return Sunday night.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
LED Lights
As I mentioned in my first post, I decided not to go with the standard for indoor growing lights. There are a couple of reasons for this. They are an expensive investment. They create a lot of unneeded heat. They are expensive to run. They are expensive to maintain. An alternative to HID lighting is compact fluorescent bulbs, or CFL. The downside to CFL is that they aren't nearly bright enough or have the correct light spectrum for the plants. A relatively new type of lighting that is just now being used is LED.
Light Emitting Diodes, or LED's for short are small diode's that emit directional light. The advantages of LED's are the size, cost, and maintenance. There is no need for a reflector because all the light from an LED is emitted in a single direction. The next advantage of LED's over conventional lights are the amount of energy they use. LED's use 85-90% less power than a conventional light. This is because LED's do not use heat to create light. When compared with metal halide (MH) lighting, LED's consume only the fraction of the power that MH lights need and do not need a ballast. And in terms of intensity LED's produce the same spectrum as MH lights at 1/4 the wattage. Therefore a MH light at 100 watts can be replaced by a LED light of 25 watts to produce the same intensity of light.
The size of LED's makes them practical for use in places where space is confined. I am using a small walk in closet as a grow room. It has no ventilation, but that isn't a problem because the LED's create next to no heat. It is actually cooler in the closet then the rest of the house. Years ago the argument about LED's Lighting was such that they are expensive, but they have come down so much in price that they are cheaper now. My grow takes place with only LED light. You will be able to see the progress.
The main reason LED's are superior to other forms of lighting are because of the way the plants create energy. This is through photosynthesis. The plants are green, and thus they reflect green light. So any light in that spectrum is essentially useless to the plant. The plants absorb red and blue light. Since the LED's only make red and blue light of the appropriate wavelength, all of it can go to creating energy, which means less is wasted. In an HPS or MH setup, much of the light created is going to be in the green and yellow spectrum, and thus no use to the plant.
Light Emitting Diodes, or LED's for short are small diode's that emit directional light. The advantages of LED's are the size, cost, and maintenance. There is no need for a reflector because all the light from an LED is emitted in a single direction. The next advantage of LED's over conventional lights are the amount of energy they use. LED's use 85-90% less power than a conventional light. This is because LED's do not use heat to create light. When compared with metal halide (MH) lighting, LED's consume only the fraction of the power that MH lights need and do not need a ballast. And in terms of intensity LED's produce the same spectrum as MH lights at 1/4 the wattage. Therefore a MH light at 100 watts can be replaced by a LED light of 25 watts to produce the same intensity of light.
The size of LED's makes them practical for use in places where space is confined. I am using a small walk in closet as a grow room. It has no ventilation, but that isn't a problem because the LED's create next to no heat. It is actually cooler in the closet then the rest of the house. Years ago the argument about LED's Lighting was such that they are expensive, but they have come down so much in price that they are cheaper now. My grow takes place with only LED light. You will be able to see the progress.
The main reason LED's are superior to other forms of lighting are because of the way the plants create energy. This is through photosynthesis. The plants are green, and thus they reflect green light. So any light in that spectrum is essentially useless to the plant. The plants absorb red and blue light. Since the LED's only make red and blue light of the appropriate wavelength, all of it can go to creating energy, which means less is wasted. In an HPS or MH setup, much of the light created is going to be in the green and yellow spectrum, and thus no use to the plant.
Germination
I decided to start this as sort of a journal to track my progress with my first hydroponic set up. I'll start off by describing my set up a little bit. I am growing 6 Jalapeno plants from the seed. I am trying to spend as little money as possible, and since I am an economist at heart, I will also give a breakdown of what it costs.
I am using a sterilite 18 gallon tub. As far as the exact dimensions go, it is not very large. And also not very deep. Maybe a foot deep. I wanted it like this however because of the type of growing I will be doing. I took the planters I was using, and traced them on the top in two rows of three. I cut the lid with a skill saw, slightly inside the line I drew so that the planters would sit on the top. It appears I am fairly skilled with the saw! This is a picture of the completed grow set up.
Next is the light I went with. Most indoor growers use some type of CFL, or other expensive, heat creating, power draining lights. These high pressure sodium, or metal halide lights can cost hundreds of dollars and require a special device called a ballast to make them light. They create lots of heat, and take lots of energy to make light. I am using an LED light that I bought off of eBay for only $28 shipped to my house. Compare that to a HPS or MH light that can cost upwards of $3-$400 for a set up! No way do I even have close to that amount of money to spend on this hobby! Not yet anyway! Here are two pictures of the lights. When the light is off you can see that it is made up of 225 LED's a mix of both blue and red. I will go into more detail in another post as to why this is. For now there is what it looks like lit and unlit.
I am using a nebulizer to create a mist for the roots. The mist will have the nutrients and water for the plants roots. The nebulizer sits in the bottom of the tub, submerged in the water and nutrient solution and fills the tub with fog. It has corny LED's on it that change color and are supposed to create a cool effect. I don't care for it since you can't even see them with the lid on, but thats how it came. I also got this from eBay for $17 shipped to my house. Amazing deal. In another post I will explain why I am using this system. The nebulizer is really cool, and works amazing. It fills the tub up to the lid with fog. That really is the only way to describe it.
I germinated the seeds in what started out as little round discs. I soaked them in water and they grew like a sponge. I popped the seeds in there and waited for them to germinate. It took sometime but they finlly did. I transplanted them to their final growing medium, a tad early maybe but we will see. I moved them to 4" netted pots filled with lava rocks. It is just a medium for the plant to get a base in, the roots will grow through them and suspend in the tub. Where the 100% humidity will give the roots nutrients, water, and oxygen. I also took a clipping from my tomato plants outside which are growing in soil. It was on the top, and already has two flowers. It is in a solo cup filled with miracle grow potting soil. I am attempting to clone it, and hope that it will develop a root system so that it can later be put in a hydroponic system with the jalapeno plants!
I am starting off with Botanicare's Pureblend grow formula. I have premixed the correct amount for seedlings in a 20oz Gatorade bottle, it was tablespoon per gallon, but since this stuff was expensive and I don't have a job($18) I divided it out and determined I needed half of a teaspoon per 20oz, just about anyway. Since the seedlings do not have a root system yet, the fog in the tub isn't going to be able to maintain the correct level of moisture for the plants. So everyday I am going to water them with an eyedropper.
So here is a rundown of everything that has gone into this project so far:
1x Sterilite tub - Free (thanks mom)
1x LED Light - $28 (eBay)
1x Nebulizer - $17 (eBay)
6x Netted Planters - $7.50(Store)
1x PureBlend Grow - $18(Store)
1x PureBlend Bloom - $18(Store)
2x Lava Rocks - $6
1x Jalapeno Seeds - $2.29
Total = $96.79
Not bad, for under $100 I was able to get what I think will be a decent set up. Of course I am no expert and this is just a trial run, but in theory it should work fine. There is however a shopping list that I still have. I would like to get/need the following:
2x Timers
1x Wardrobe
1x Extension Cord
Essentially the Timers are going to be a requirement for both the light and also the nebulizer. The light needs to be on for a certain number of hours each day so that the plant knows what season it is in, and the nebulizer creates a lot of fog. It does not need to be constantly running. I feel like a timer for it would save me some money in the long run as I would not have to replace the discs that create the fog.
I am using a sterilite 18 gallon tub. As far as the exact dimensions go, it is not very large. And also not very deep. Maybe a foot deep. I wanted it like this however because of the type of growing I will be doing. I took the planters I was using, and traced them on the top in two rows of three. I cut the lid with a skill saw, slightly inside the line I drew so that the planters would sit on the top. It appears I am fairly skilled with the saw! This is a picture of the completed grow set up.
Next is the light I went with. Most indoor growers use some type of CFL, or other expensive, heat creating, power draining lights. These high pressure sodium, or metal halide lights can cost hundreds of dollars and require a special device called a ballast to make them light. They create lots of heat, and take lots of energy to make light. I am using an LED light that I bought off of eBay for only $28 shipped to my house. Compare that to a HPS or MH light that can cost upwards of $3-$400 for a set up! No way do I even have close to that amount of money to spend on this hobby! Not yet anyway! Here are two pictures of the lights. When the light is off you can see that it is made up of 225 LED's a mix of both blue and red. I will go into more detail in another post as to why this is. For now there is what it looks like lit and unlit.
I am using a nebulizer to create a mist for the roots. The mist will have the nutrients and water for the plants roots. The nebulizer sits in the bottom of the tub, submerged in the water and nutrient solution and fills the tub with fog. It has corny LED's on it that change color and are supposed to create a cool effect. I don't care for it since you can't even see them with the lid on, but thats how it came. I also got this from eBay for $17 shipped to my house. Amazing deal. In another post I will explain why I am using this system. The nebulizer is really cool, and works amazing. It fills the tub up to the lid with fog. That really is the only way to describe it.
I germinated the seeds in what started out as little round discs. I soaked them in water and they grew like a sponge. I popped the seeds in there and waited for them to germinate. It took sometime but they finlly did. I transplanted them to their final growing medium, a tad early maybe but we will see. I moved them to 4" netted pots filled with lava rocks. It is just a medium for the plant to get a base in, the roots will grow through them and suspend in the tub. Where the 100% humidity will give the roots nutrients, water, and oxygen. I also took a clipping from my tomato plants outside which are growing in soil. It was on the top, and already has two flowers. It is in a solo cup filled with miracle grow potting soil. I am attempting to clone it, and hope that it will develop a root system so that it can later be put in a hydroponic system with the jalapeno plants!
I am starting off with Botanicare's Pureblend grow formula. I have premixed the correct amount for seedlings in a 20oz Gatorade bottle, it was tablespoon per gallon, but since this stuff was expensive and I don't have a job($18) I divided it out and determined I needed half of a teaspoon per 20oz, just about anyway. Since the seedlings do not have a root system yet, the fog in the tub isn't going to be able to maintain the correct level of moisture for the plants. So everyday I am going to water them with an eyedropper.
So here is a rundown of everything that has gone into this project so far:
1x Sterilite tub - Free (thanks mom)
1x LED Light - $28 (eBay)
1x Nebulizer - $17 (eBay)
6x Netted Planters - $7.50(Store)
1x PureBlend Grow - $18(Store)
1x PureBlend Bloom - $18(Store)
2x Lava Rocks - $6
1x Jalapeno Seeds - $2.29
Total = $96.79
Not bad, for under $100 I was able to get what I think will be a decent set up. Of course I am no expert and this is just a trial run, but in theory it should work fine. There is however a shopping list that I still have. I would like to get/need the following:
2x Timers
1x Wardrobe
1x Extension Cord
Essentially the Timers are going to be a requirement for both the light and also the nebulizer. The light needs to be on for a certain number of hours each day so that the plant knows what season it is in, and the nebulizer creates a lot of fog. It does not need to be constantly running. I feel like a timer for it would save me some money in the long run as I would not have to replace the discs that create the fog.
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