Month: April 2013

Use of SolidWorks to develop technical drawings of complete system

Our plants have really taken off!  Last week we increased the amount of nutrients from a 1/2 tsp. to 1 tsp. per gallon. The plants seem to really like this! The nutrients we are using are the from the Liquid Grow. We are still a little high with the pH, around 6.5 and the temperature of the water is still around room temperature, 70 degrees.

On April 17 we decided that our system was in need of nutrients and fresh water. We pumped out about 4 gallons and put the nutrients and pH down in each gallon to ensure that our plants were receiving what they needed. The temperature of the water is still steady around 71 degrees even though the lettuce does prefer cooler temperatures. It is difficult for us to maintain cooler water temperatures because we do not have control of the room temperature. But with the fresh water and nutrients, our lettuce continues to grow and is about 5″ tall!

So after the system was switched back, the lettuce has begun to re-hydrate and is looking good. The water is still a little high in pH, so the pH down was used. The lighting is still on for about 18 hours and with the increase in water the lettuce should continue to grow well.

So this morning we discovered that our plants did not do well over the weekend. We switched the system over to the nutrient film technique because some of the roots were becoming too saturated, but apperently they were not long enough to keep the plants hydrated. In hopes of bringing them back to life, we switched the system back, providing them with more water.

So, Monday I took our initial measurements of the plants, we are just short of 3″ for the tallest leaf. The pH was at 7.0 and the nutrients needed to be refreshed. I removed 3 gallons of water and replaced it with 3 gallons of water with the FloraNova liquid grow and also applied pH down to the mixure. Once the 3 gallons were introduced to the system, the pH read 6.4.

Also, our roots were begining to look a little water logged and brown, so we decided to open our water valve. This lowered the water level. As soon as the roots are long enough, we will fully implement the nutrient film technique by tipping the system 20 degrees.