Serious Growth over Break

The first day back from Thanksgiving break, Monday 11/28, we noticed a lot of growth took place.  There are some roots coming out of the bottom of the cup that now reach the reservoir tank giving our plant more solution.  The pH level was a little high, around 7-8 so we used some pH down to get it around 6-6.5.  This is the first time we have had to adjust the pH in a while though.  We didn’t get a chance to get a picture or measure the growth because of the ping pong prosthetic challenge.  We will however have that information in the next update.

Back on The Right Track

On Wednesday 11/06 our pH level seemed to be getting a little high so we added some pH down to get it to our “Comfort zone” of around 6.0-6.5.  We did not have class today, Monday 11/14, but I stopped by open lab to make sure everything was running OK.  I tested the pH level which was still around 6.5 so I did not change anything.  There has been definite growth which can be seen in the two pictures below.  All and all things seem to be back on the right track and running smoothly.

Another Bump or Two

During open lab on Wednesday 11/02 team Brawndo checked the pH level once again and needed to add a little pH down to the solution in the system.  The lamp above our plant was lowered during class.  The picture below shows the plant outside of the cup.  You can see the roots coming through the bottom of our sponge. 

 Our plant seemed to be growing well so we did switch our watering system to a ring, leaving more room for the plant to grow in the middle.  The ring can be seen in the picture below to the left. It is made of tubing with holes made by an X-acto knife to drip around the sides of the plant and a valve dripping in the middle. We used duct tape on the sides of the cup to make sure the ring does not pop out of the cup. 

Phil stopped by the lab on Friday to check on everything and found some upsetting news.  Part of our plant had died somehow.  He changed out the nutrient solution, pouring in completely new mix from our extra supply.  Figuring that it was not receiving enough water with the ring, he also put the regular dripping valve back on.  He also added a watering cycle to the timer, causing our system to be watered four times a day now instead of only three. The timer will go off every six hours now.