Jensen
Forum Replies Created
-
The design above looks pretty good.
-
The T5’s might work. I have never seen them setup vertically but may work. I believe you could possibly mount them on a metal rack or shelf. They have modular kind and hardware stores which May be more sturdy than the pvc.
-
I think we can scale the system to whatever size you want. I ordered the water pump from amazon but you may be able to find one at home depot or possibly at aquaponics plus in Waimanalo. I have used grow lights but have never used the strips you mentioned. I am not sure what intensity is need from those strips. If its not enough you may have stretched out lettuce plants.
-
I drilled the 2″ holes in the post and then cut the pvc at an angle to make the holder for the net pot. I beleive you can use a 2″ pvc instead of the post. The base can be built using the pvc as legs and attach the pump line internally in the pvc. I would be happy to help. I have the tools to build it. Let me know when they want to start and I can help.
-
Sorry for the delay. Here is the image of the system I built. It was constructed out of material from HomeDepot. It consist of a rubermade tub and a polyvinyl fence post with pvc cut prices to hold the plants.
-
Randy,
Sorry not familiar with local distributors of small scale hydroponic systems. I have made tower systems with local materials if that’s something you may be interested in.
Jensen
-
Cheryl,
Sorry I am not familiar with any article that discuss the economics of the two systems. There are many factors that affect the economics of either system so a particular system would have to be compared with a particular system. In most cases cost of land and cost cost of materials and labor are large factors. Field production also has the benefit to economies of scale so the size of the operations would also make a difference.
Hope this helps.
Jensen
-
Indoor vertical hydroponics use similar led lighting to those shown in your images. Challenge with artificial lighting is having enough output from the bulbs. You may want to have your students look into recommended light intensity and optimal wavelength for the crops being grown. They can look into the benefit of red vs blue vs white bulbs and the best variation of colors for optimum growth.
-
Looks good, maybe add emerges from the rock wool for germination.
-
This should work fine for the leafy greens and the initial stages of the fruiting vegetables. Typically you would switch to the Maxibloom right when flowering starts.
<br>
<br>
-
Typically, there is a grow formula and a bloom formula but I typically use a lettuce formula from hydro gardens for both leafy vegetables as well as fruiting vegetables with no problems. The main difference would be an increase in potassium in the bloom fertilizer which helps support flower and fruit production. If you want to send me your fertilizer nutrient label I can try and see what else you might want to supplement with to get a more balanced fertilizer for the tomatoes.
<br>
-
There are phone apps that can measure the greenness of the leafs which can ca correlate to spad readings or the chlorophyll content which can be used to estimate nitrogen content.
-
Biomass data collection is usually a destructive process. Typically biomass is measured on a dry weight basis. Shoots are usually cut at the base and samples are oven dried and then weighed. We usually use our sample drying ovens but I believe you could use a conventional oven on low heat to dry down the samples. Root biomass can also be done the same way.
-
For lettuce, I think tap water is fine. Never used lemon juice before. One suggestion would be to keep in a cool dark place for the first night after planting and watering the rock wool. For example commercial farmers have an air conditioned room which they leave their newly seeded rock wool. The cool moist air helps break any dormancy the seed may have. A low dose of hydroponic fertilizer might also help. Maybe 1/4 strength of the regular hydroponic solution.
-
You can probably fit 12 heads of lettuce on the 20×28 board. I would suggest a bucket for the paper and maybe a trashcan for the tomato depending on the type of tomato.