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Plants in hydro progress

W

wordwiz

I must say, the cukes and toms are doing better than I thought they would in hydro. Last week's tomato plants:

115hydrotoms.jpg


A week later - the back internode is about how tall they were last week:

1113toms.jpg


Here's a close-up of the toms. They are Green Sausage which only get about 15" tall. They are under a 23 and 13 watt CFL bulb panel.

1113closeuptom.jpg


Mike
 
Now for the cucumbers. A Holland Hothouse, Sweet Jade and Diva.

Last week:

115cukes.jpg


Seven days later. The one in the back, that I thought was a goner, has sprung to life:

1113cukes.jpg


Mike
 
imaguitargod said:
Those leaves do not look to happy. Wilty and thin...hmmm....
Click to expand...

I dunno. They look green and as thick as they should be up close and personal. They aren't having an erection but that may be because I need to get a fan on them to make them stronger.

Mike
 
I'm moving them tonight. Currently, the toms are in a 5-gallon bucket. I drilled a hole in the lid and a small one on the side. Using a small air pump and airstone. The light is a single 25-watt cfl in a reflector.

The cukes and toms will go inside an armoire this evening if I can get it upstairs and either painted or lined with some foil gift wrap. It will have at least one 105 watt CFL, maybe two.

Mike
 
millworkman said:
Looks good to me Mike, how bout up close of your setups?
Click to expand...

Okay,

Got the armoire upstairs (by myself, which involved some McGyverisms), somewhat painted and the plants I wanted inside it.

The thing itself:

outside.jpg


What the top part looks like inside:

inside.jpg


I still need to touch up some corners and perhaps add mylar - more on this later in this message. Only one light outlet is being used, I wanted to see what kind of intensity I was getting.

The tomato plant:

1119tom1.jpg


My light meter showed a lux reading of 5,200 at the top of the right-hand stem. That's more than enough for me when it comes to foliage.

Now the cukes:

1119cukes1.jpg


The meter showed a reading of over 10,000 lux at the top of the right side of the plant.

All of this is from a single 105 watt bulb. Once (if) the plants start blooming, I'll add another bulb. The due date for the cukes is somewhere around December 10. For the Green Sausage, it'as about the Ides of January. It's a determinate tom so I don't know if hydro and bright lights will make a difference or not. But If I can make some fresh salsa in time for Groundhog Day, I'll be a happy camper.

Mike
 
Talas,

I use a 5-30-5 Azalea fert. Add a lidful (about two ounces) to a quart of water. I use to add three tablespoons per day but once I got too busy with other things I had to do, I've since switched to adding about four ounces once a week or so.

Mike
 
Omri,

The toms, cukes or both? The leaves on the cukes and the toms both suffered from lumen shock (for lack of a better term) the first day they were under the light. Plus I trimmed the toms and the sprouts look nice.

In person, when I can shade the plants from some of the light, they look better.

Time will tell. I should have a cuke within a month if the timetable is believable.

Mike
 
It's no shock, the cuces are suffering from some sort of nutritional imbalance. I also think I see the start of edema in your toms (no high-red pics, so can't really tell).
 
Omri,

Thanks. I'll check the ph and ppm tomorrow. The toms will probably never look "good" to you or anyone else. They are a strange growing plants and never looked healthy all summer long. But two plants produced 12 pints of salsa and it was not a good growing season.

Mike
 
Omri,

Not to point out the obvious, but why else raise plants? Okay, I did let some weeds grow so they could go into the compost pile, but I wasn't spending money on lighting or water. But I will still check the ph and ppm nevertheless.

Plus microgrowing these plants - checking a couple times a day, is different. I'm use to looking at the entire garden a couple times a week, unless fruit is ripening, and then it is once every day or two.

More pics in a week.

Mike
 
My garden is not a production line. it's not just about getting the fruits and that's it. why do Hydro if that's the whole idea?
I'm looking to better myself as a gardener and better my plants as much as possible.
 
Omri,

To each their own. My garden is a production line, at least to a point. Yes, I want to learn the best methods and practices to get the most and best fruits, but I'm not pretending I'm Gregor Mendel.

As far as why do hydro? Something to learn and try. My grandfather told me a few decades ago that "you ain't gonna learn any younger" so why not try it? Because I might fail? Because I won't achieve the same production I would growing in dirt during summer? I DON'T CARE! I'm having fun, learning things and hopefully will reap some benfits in the way of a fresh garden salad on Christmas Day in the morning.

If along the way I can grow and sell enough plants to pay for my hobby, it's a benefit.

Mike
 
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