The plants that are growing have shown significant growth. The one plant that was breaking out its seed now has its stem out. The other plant has grown taller and now has a third leaf. The pH level is currently at 6.4 (its getting high, but it is still in the recommended range).
4/21/14
Plants are staring to grow again. Shows that are changes to the system didn’t effect the growth of our seeds. The plants are a lot greener than before. I also checked the pH level and it still falls in between the necessary range (it is currently at 6.1).
4/9/14
After our recent setbacks, Bob and I have done an overhaul on our ebb and flow system. We’ve drilled three large holes into each corner to allow our system to easily drain the water and
solution we have in it. We also added a pipe tee to reduce the force of the water flowing through the system. Hopefully these additions prevent any future flooding.
3/26/14
The system flooded again. The cup lasted for awhile, but it lipped over because the holes we drilled didn’t drain the water. The nutrients in the water clogged the holes and the pipe couldn’t take the rest of the water. Unfortunately we can’t turn our system on again until our system is fully functional and properly tested. Good news is that the jalapeño seeds slightly grew despite the fact they were not properly watered.
3/24/14
The system flooded in the lab. It seems the water coming out the pump was stronger than what we expected. It lifted the lid and water started flowing out the back. To prevent this from happening again, we decided to put a cup over the pipe. If the cup were to be lifted by the water, the cup would hit the lid and keep from overflowing.
3/10/14
The system isn’t working as efficiently as it should. Not all of the water and nutrients is leaving the top container because of how the pvc pipe is positioned. The pipe is raised to keep the water from overflowing so anything under the pipe won’t exit the top container. To fix the problem we decided to drill holes into each corner of the systems to drain the rest of the water and nutrients. Tests are showing that it works, so we are going to plug the system to run over Spring Break.
3/5/14
For the hydroponic activity, our group wanted an easy to build system that was cheap and reliable. So we decided make an Ebb and Flow System. The system is to consist of two containers that combine into one with pvc pipes running between the two. One pipe will be connected to the pump and send in the water and nutrients while the other pipe deposits water and nutrients. The plants will be held in cups that are suspended on the lid of the container. We haven’t tested the system, but it should work fine.
Important Update!
This is an update on the Hydroponic Peppers blog. The posts for this blog were placed in an incorrect spot where no one could actually see the group’s progress. So I’m going to update the blog with the previous posts with their appropriate dates and continue from there.
– Khyree