M&S Hydroponic

Today we checked up on our hydroponic system and noticed that some of our seeds began to sprout. However, after looking at some of our rockwool, we noticed that it wasn’t totally soaked in the water. We solved this problem by adding more water to the whole system. We’ll check next class to see how it is working.

This is a picture of the pH strip that we tested our water with. The results showed that our waters pH is a solid 7. We are happy with this result and will continue to check the pH as the system progresses.

Today we planted our mesculn seeds into the rockwool of our water culture, hydroponic system. This is a picture of our system. It is a basic water culture system, which includes an air pump. The 3 1/2” PVC pipes hold our water and nutrients. We have four cups, each filled with rockwool, which hold our mesculn seeds. Holes were punched into the bottom of the cups to let the water in, so that the rockwool would absorb it and transfer it to the seeds. Holes were also drilled in the top of our PVC pipes for the air pumps tubes. The tubes are going to allow the water and nutrients to keep circulating thought out the system. This will have a great impact on the growth of our lettuce, because the more the water circulates, the more nutrients will flow and reach the seeds to create a healthier plant. We used a wooden frame to hold our PVC pipes. It seems to be doing great!

We also tested the pH level of the water. The results showed a level of 7. This is the level we plan to maintain through out our system.

Today we germinated about 30 seeds of mesculn lettuce. We wrapped them in a damp paper towel to germinate. Next class we plan to transfer the seeds into rockwool and start our hydroponic system.