First Time, E+F System :)

[csvd87]

First time, Flood and Drain system, so far It's all set up with only a couple seedlings in it, a Short Yellow Tabasco, and a Piri Piri pepper, soon to join them are Orange Manzano, Peter Pepper (Red), Sweet Chocolate, and Chile de Onza.

I will also be growing in another tub, some basil and lettuce. Here is a couple of photos of pre-growing and setup.

Since I'm cheap, I built this to deflect the water from spraying up through the side handle of the tote.


and here is a look at the overall setup, I do have longer chains now, and both systems are ready to go now (more photos to come)

[hydroguy]

Nice set-up you've got '87, so the top (flood) tray sits down inside the reservoir? The deflector is a cool idea, a lot of guys use some sort of screen there aswell to keep those pesky little rocks from going down the tubing to the pump on the drain cycle. Just a thought.

Best of luck to ya buddy,

hydroguy

[csvd87]

I have a seperate overflow hose sitting up at about the level I want the water to sit at (which is actually about an inch over the overflow) and I have several 1/8 inch holes drilled in the flood tray to drain it back into the reservoir. I'll get a few more pics up when I clear off one of my many SD cards It works so far, but I'm waiting to actually see some growth out of my peppers.

[Halfway]

87, I broke down and bought a pair of those locking pulleys for the lights. Very convenient!

On the "other tub" you mention....consider the growth of the basil...it will grow tall as the lettuce branches out. This way cause some issues with keeping the flourecents close enough to the lettuce while accomodating the basil.

[csvd87]

i will force the basil to be quite bushy. probably regular harvests to keep it short. i want some of those pulleys but i can't afford it for rest of month. so far the lettuce is out growing the basil. 2 days for germination. basil was around the same but it slowed down once the cotyledons came up. only have 2 lettuces so far.(waiting for delivery on others)

[hydroguy]

You'll be amazed at the growth of your plants once they get rooted 87. My dad is an old grain farmer and has been around my gardens some but not often. He was over last week and then again today. He couldn't believe how fast things grow in water.

Looking forward to seeing some more detailed pics of your system when you get the chance, sounds interesting. I hear you about spending cash on new gadgets. Started some pepper plants and had intended on getting my latest system running before they were ready to be transplanted. Didn't happen LOL but they will get their new home soon enough.

Keep us updated.

hydroguy

[csvd87]

Haven't noticed much growth on the Piri Piri, the lettuce and basil are still quite small, expecting some good growth in the next week. I bare rooted a very small Himalayan Blue Poppy I had that wasn't doing to well, washed it off really well and buried it in the hydroton, it has perked right up in just a day.

My problem is that I have my system ready, but not all my peppers are cooperating, Chile de Onza is almost poking up, same with Sweet Chocolate. Peter Pepper is taking its time, and the Orange Manzano I understand takes about 2 weeks to germinate, so what I did was carefully tear one of the seeds open and pulled out the seed inside and put it back in the rockwool(see if that speeds it up ). Here is a few photos, camera died before I could take on of the whole system.

Italian Large Leaf Basil

Green Oak Leaf Lettuce

Skyphos Lettuce

[Halfway]

Looking good!

[Hydrogardener]

I agree that growth is rapid. I put these plants in my systems on October 18th, and now on the 16th of November they are really taking off. It looks like we will have a very large salad on Thanksgiving.

[csvd87]

I'm hoping for a Salad come Christmas, but we'll see, i've got yhe Oak Leaf (Leaf Lettuce) and Skyphos (a red butterhead) some purple basil and large leaf basil. That's all I had for seed, I have some seed in transit, and I have some I just ordered from Thompson and Morgan, I really wanted Chartwell Romaine which i keep reading is the best tasting, and found it there, also got some Asian greens.

I thought I saw the beginnings of a leaf of lettuce on the Oak Leaf, and now all the Amethyst Basil is up

[Halfway]

That amethyst basil is very cool.

What is the flavor described as?

[csvd87]

I can`t find anything on the flavour, except one person saying it is full of flavour. Guess I will find out

[csvd87]

So that Rocoto that I had peeled the seed coat off of, is showing a radicle, so mark that down. It did speed it up, so 9 days until germination instead of 14+. Also, It's snowing outside right now, and I'm glad I got everything inside, and have my hydro systems running.

Also, what are other people using for EC or TDS meters?

[hydroguy]

I use a Milwaukee Sharp tester to keep an eye on the PPM. This is the only place that it gets tricky with hydro. All testers are not the same, meaning that they use different conversion rates. Mine uses the 0 - 1999 scale and sells for around $50. A good PPM/TDS/EC and PH tester are the most important tools in a hydroponic gardenrs tool box.



hydroguy

[csvd87]

Thanks hydroguy, cheapest one I found was at a place in town, a Milwaukee CD-600, 75 bucks, but I didn't get out today, so i'll have to get it Monday, I need it, my peppers are looking like they are overfed, but it could be a wonky pH (trying to keep it around 6ish), getting some brown tips and curl, which to me is a sign of overfeeding, tomorrow I'll change out the reservoir, needs a cleaning anyways, lots of sludge from the hydroton.