Hi Guy's
Just wondering how many of you are getting through the dark day's and night's of winter
Here in Scotland today my sunrise was 08:35 and sunset 15:40 ........and not really "light" for another 30 minutes after that !
I've kind of stumbled into a winter Kratky hydroponic experiment..........
I stumbled across some dried Hungarian Black chillies I grew back in 2018, curious to see if they were still viable I chucked a few in wee pot of soil covered with a plastic bag and put them in the greenhouse to my amazement they all germinated ! I had no intention of keeping them and didn't bother recording date sown etc.
As our temperatures tumbled I brought them into the kitchen window sill, from experience I know seedlings get real leggy on our window sills over winter due to such low natural light. Hence a few year's ago a made a DIY light box which has been transformative
Given my basic exploration of Kratky hydroponics earlier this year an idea formed about using these seedlings for a micro kratky experiment.
Photo taken 1st November of my Hungarian black seedlings..............
Also photo taken 1st November I pricked out a single seedling slapped it in some rockwool and put it in a tiny jar of water wrapped the jar I electrical tape to keep light out. And i left a single seedling in soil.
Both seedlings have just been left on my kitchen window sill no artificial light except when the kitchen light on but it way too high to really help.
Next photo 24th November the difference quite remarkable ! The temperature on the window sill is pretty cool the soil seedling has lost its cotyledons
and is obviously not happy but saying that it's not leggy but probably because it doesn't seem to be growing........
The micro kratky seedling still has it's cotyledons and seems to be growing nicely and not leggy
Today 10th December all seems well with the micro kratky (dispite still not having any artificial light) the soil seedling appears to be in suspensioned animation !
As I am planning a mini kratky grow this winter with some F6 seed's under light's this has been an interesting but unexpected experiment.
Any of you got any experiments on the go ..............??
Just wondering how many of you are getting through the dark day's and night's of winter
Here in Scotland today my sunrise was 08:35 and sunset 15:40 ........and not really "light" for another 30 minutes after that !
I've kind of stumbled into a winter Kratky hydroponic experiment..........
I stumbled across some dried Hungarian Black chillies I grew back in 2018, curious to see if they were still viable I chucked a few in wee pot of soil covered with a plastic bag and put them in the greenhouse to my amazement they all germinated ! I had no intention of keeping them and didn't bother recording date sown etc.
As our temperatures tumbled I brought them into the kitchen window sill, from experience I know seedlings get real leggy on our window sills over winter due to such low natural light. Hence a few year's ago a made a DIY light box which has been transformative
Given my basic exploration of Kratky hydroponics earlier this year an idea formed about using these seedlings for a micro kratky experiment.
Photo taken 1st November of my Hungarian black seedlings..............
Also photo taken 1st November I pricked out a single seedling slapped it in some rockwool and put it in a tiny jar of water wrapped the jar I electrical tape to keep light out. And i left a single seedling in soil.
Both seedlings have just been left on my kitchen window sill no artificial light except when the kitchen light on but it way too high to really help.
Next photo 24th November the difference quite remarkable ! The temperature on the window sill is pretty cool the soil seedling has lost its cotyledons
and is obviously not happy but saying that it's not leggy but probably because it doesn't seem to be growing........The micro kratky seedling still has it's cotyledons and seems to be growing nicely and not leggy
Today 10th December all seems well with the micro kratky (dispite still not having any artificial light) the soil seedling appears to be in suspensioned animation !
As I am planning a mini kratky grow this winter with some F6 seed's under light's this has been an interesting but unexpected experiment.
Any of you got any experiments on the go ..............??
I should have used my Scotch brains yellow f5 and given it artificial light to get f6 quicker 
.......but I didn't......
but in future that exactly how I shall use what I'm learning from the experiment.
