Multichip LED, Remote Phosphor - Guess who it is.

[heckler73]

Well, 10 days since the birth.
Time to put these babies in soil.

First some shots of the rockwool action.

Here you can see how they have developed. I've never seen hairs like this on tomatoes which I've grown outside. There is definitely something special about LEDs and their effects on plant chemistry (I still don't know what the link is, though. Perhaps it is something to do with the blue light).


This is a closeup of Juliet #1. I'm not sure why the roots were crawling all over the top of the cube, but what the fuck... it didn't seem to care
Perhaps SHe's just impatient (note the use of SHe... c/o Tim Leary's androgynous view of spirit... however, we are dealing with a hermaphrodite, so it is appropriate. I'm sure alchemists would agree)


This is just a shot of the nutrient breakdown of the Pro-Mix (herb and vegetable) soil I am using as a base. I added about 1/3 Perlite, since it looked a little weak on the filler material. I like my soil fluffier.


I put a little layer of soil in the bottom of the pots, then stuck the cubes in. The idea here being to bury some of the excess stem, so it will encourage more rooting development on the stalk (which is just uselessly stretching otherwise).
I mixed my 0.3mL/L 3-part GH nutes, but I also added 0.3mL of a 1-2-3+1% Vitamin B supplement.
pH 5.8
ppm 420
They sucked up the entire Liter without even getting phased.


And then, back under the light. I have lowered the light (relative to this photo) and have mixed up a 620ppm pH5.8 mix of 3-part GH for the general feeding, although, I think I may just give them some straight water (pH adjusted) for the next few days, since the soil is already loaded.


And now it becomes a waiting game. If I am going to have problems, this is where it will most likely be. So if these Lady-boys take kindly to the conditions, then I'll be on my way to (relatively) smooth sailing ahead.
Next on the development list is a yeast-based CO2 generator since I can't use the Baking soda trick effectively without the dome on the plants.

 

[Bumping Spheda]

Wait, what?

I feel there's something uniquely deep being said here, but it's juuust over my head. Care to rephrase for a poor layman?

 

[heckler73]

FUCK ME!!!

Within hours of transplanting, I noticed Juliet #1 (the freak) started getting some odd reactions.
First the cotyledons started withering and crisping.
Then I look this morning, and here is what I see:


PLEASE tell me this is just transplant shock and NOT Mosaic Virus.
Yes, I am a tobacco abuser, but I did wash my hands before transplanting.
I just remember SDS mentioning something about LEDs and Mosaic virus being a possible problem, and this has got me spooked. However, the new growth is not showing any symptoms, and it doesn't seem to have spread to any other part of the plant.

Anyway I'm just tossing it out there in case someone has any opinion or insight into the matter.

 

[Bumping Spheda]

Aloe vera juice can increase a plant's defense mechanisms and vigor. Maybe mix a tiny bit in with her water. Also, I heard baking soda mixed with water and vegetable oil can be used as a foliar spray for certain problems. I don't know what Juliet's caught, but maybe these two methods can help her kick it. GL

 

[heckler73]

Aloe vera juice can increase a plant's defense mechanisms and vigor. Maybe mix a tiny bit in with her water. Also, I heard baking soda mixed with water and vegetable oil can be used as a foliar spray for certain problems. I don't know what Juliet's caught, but maybe these two methods can help her kick it. GL

Thanks for the input... I have no Aloe Vera (I'm allergic to it).
But I need to go visit some friends and will be away from my babies for 36 hours, so as a precaution I think I will pull J1 out of the group and isolate Hir (Him/Her) until I get back. Then I'll be able to see if it has spread at least. If it hasn't then I can conclude it is a Shock/Nute-issue (or maybe fungus?)...

 

[Bumping Spheda]

Tried again with the WhiteOptics film just because I have so much of it, this time with the bake setting. Film starts to look sweaty, but there's no way in hell a regular household vacuum could have enough suction to form this film at this point. I slowly heated up another piece past the point where it starts to get sweaty and the film just gets tighter and tighter to the point that it begins to rip and tear holes at various points. From what I've researched this is abnormal. It should begin to sag, meaning it's approaching its melting point. So, despite having a lot left even after all these test runs, it was all for naught. I still have nothing to show for my work.

So, I guess I'll just have to try some film from another company and hope for the best. I'm saving that Furukawa film for last because it's the nicest stuff, imo, and I don't wanna trash it, but it might get to that point. Again, though, if all attempts fail I'll just use the specular reflector and 75mm RP lens on the spotlight and the adhesive White97 stuff can line my supplemental panels. So, I guess any which way I look at it it's no real loss, just a little disappointing.

And a few shots of the plants just so I'm not completely boring.



I FIM'ed the top shoots on Little Chiesel just for kicks. I'm actually not quite sure if this is what I should be looking at. The other FIM job looks worse, I think I basically topped the other shoot apart from like two leaves I didn't quite get. Meh. It is what it is, we'll see what happens. I'm not too worried, she's just a mother.


And Misty. Her second tier of leaves were curling up pretty badly, despite still looking alright. I decided to chop them. She's got two shoots down at the soil, two shoots just under head, and then all that nonsense on top that's trying to grow out. Seems like a LOT for a little clone with barely any root structure to try and manage. Maybe this is why people say tops don't make as good of clones, Little Chiesel's lower branches don't have as much going on.



Alright, well I'm out. Take it easy, guys.

 

[heckler73]

The Generator has been constructed.
Just the normal hobo-grow 2 Liter bottle (with back-pressure chamber)...
3/4 cup of sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of yeast... yadda yadda, I'm sure there are 100 threads on this forum that already discuss it.



Now I do have the CO2 elevated, since the air will be a little warmer at 6' above concrete. And so I ran the 1/4" hose into the secret enclave where the plants reside, running the hose down the chain and facing toward the back of zone. This allows for the CO2 to take advantage of the natural air currents created by the outflow of the LED light.


Now let's get geeky for minute. I wanted to know how much CO2 is this ghetto gardener contraption putting out?

Knowing that the pipe is 1/4" OD, and seeing the bubbles that come up every 4 secs. , allows one to calculate the details.
For simplicity, let's say the bubble is 1/4" (6.35mm) in diameter (which may be an underestimate, in actuality)

Using simple geometry, one can calculate the volume.

V = 4/3 π r[SUP]3[/SUP] = 134E-9 m[SUP]3
[/SUP]
Using external air pressure (P) to be ~1 atm = 1.013E5 N/m[SUP]2[/SUP]
and the Ideal Gas Law:

PV = nRT ---> PV/RT = n (# of moles of gas) | T= 293K, R = 8.31 J/mol.K

we find,
n = 5.575E-6 mol ... that's tiny at first appearances, but this is being put out EVERY 4-5 SECONDS !!

If we multiply that by Avogadro's number (6.02E23), the resulting # of Molecules (remember this is a rough approximation since CO2 isn't exactly an Ideal Gas) becomes:

~ 3.36E18 Molecules... or
3,360,000,000,000,000,000 !!!!

That's a little bigger, eh?

But really, knowing the number of moles initially (5.75E-6) tells us the general ratio relative to the air. So if one wants 1200ppm, that means 1200/1E6 = 1.2E-3...
To get that from the above n, we'd need 1.2E-3/5.75E-6 = ~208 bubbles...
208 bubbles * 4 secs = 832 secs = 13m52s ... approx. every 14 minutes, this device will have pumped out enough to fill a mole of air (22.4L @ STP) with the appropriate level of CO2 concentration.
A cubic foot is ~ 28L so the ratio of Cubic Feet (L) to Moles (L) is ~1.25.
My zone is ~2x2x4 = 16 cubic feet.
16*1.25*832s = ~4.5hrs to get the area optimized (from a ZERO level, so any natural background CO2 will reduce that number dramatically)

The point being, this device is not that hokey after all! It actually will work quite well for tiny grow spaces.

And judging by the erections my plants have after 36 hours under this, I'm sold...
(Note: the following pic was taken using the White Balance correction on the camera, so the colour is still not quite perfect, but it looks more natural)


It turns out, thankfully, that J1 was not diseased (it was probably shock), and I have trimmed just a few leaves from other plants that were looking like Finshaggy blessed them. So everything is back on course, and I am looking forward to seeing flowers soon...

 

[stardustsailor]

FUCK ME!!!

Within hours of transplanting, I noticed Juliet #1 (the freak) started getting some odd reactions.
First the cotyledons started withering and crisping.
Then I look this morning, and here is what I see:
View attachment 2592317View attachment 2592319

PLEASE tell me this is just transplant shock and NOT Mosaic Virus.
Yes, I am a tobacco abuser, but I did wash my hands before transplanting.
I just remember SDS mentioning something about LEDs and Mosaic virus being a possible problem, and this has got me spooked. However, the new growth is not showing any symptoms, and it doesn't seem to have spread to any other part of the plant.

Anyway I'm just tossing it out there in case someone has any opinion or insight into the matter.

Yes ....
That is most probably Mosaic Virus ....

And while it rarely kills mj ....
Can't say the same happens with plants ,belonging to Solanaceae family ...

(... I.e. :
-Datura Species
-Mandragora (mandrake),
-Atropa belladonna (deadly nightshade)
-Lycium barbarum (wolfberry aka Goji berry)
-Physalis philadelphica (tomatillo)
-Physalis peruviana (Cape gooseberry flower)
-Capsicum (chili pepper, bell pepper)
-Solanum (potato, tomato, eggplant)
-Nicotiana (tobacco)
-Petunia
-Hyoscyamus )

Try spraying with milk ..(yes,ordinary cow's milk ...)

 

[heckler73]

Yes ....
That is most probably Mosaic Virus ....

And while it rarely kills mj ....
Can't say the same happens with plants ,belonging to Solanaceae family ...

Try spraying with milk ..(yes,ordinary cow's milk ...)

Son of a bitch! I did NOT want to hear that, SDS

Well, if it is the Virus, then it should show up some more, no? I have not seen anything spread since that photo (nor any morphological distortions like twisting or blistering on the leaves).
Upon further investigation, I came to an alternate hypothesis that it could have been a Manganese issue (resulting from shock).

But I did read something about washing hands with milk when transplanting, so I will keep the idea in mind in case things change. Thank you for the suggestion.
With that said, what is it in milk that is antagonistic to the Mosaic Virus? Is it the vitamin D, or Lactic Acid?

 

[Scotch089]

Knowing that the pipe is 1/4" OD, and seeing the bubbles that come up every 4 secs. , allows one to calculate the details.
For simplicity, let's say the bubble is 1/4" (6.35mm) in diameter (which may be an underestimate, in actuality)

Using simple geometry, one can calculate the volume.

V = 4/3 π r[SUP]3[/SUP] = 134E-9 m[SUP]3
[/SUP]
Using external air pressure (P) to be ~1 atm = 1.013E5 N/m[SUP]2[/SUP]
and the Ideal Gas Law:

PV = nRT ---> PV/RT = n (# of moles of gas) | T= 293K, R = 8.31 J/mol.K

we find,
n = 5.575E-6 mol ... that's tiny at first appearances, but this is being put out EVERY 4-5 SECONDS !!

If we multiply that by Avogadro's number (6.02E23), the resulting # of Molecules (remember this is a rough approximation since CO2 isn't exactly an Ideal Gas) becomes:

~ 3.36E18 Molecules... or
3,360,000,000,000,000,000 !!!!

That's a little bigger, eh?

But really, knowing the number of moles initially (5.75E-6) tells us the general ratio relative to the air. So if one wants 1200ppm, that means 1200/1E6 = 1.2E-3...
To get that from the above n, we'd need 1.2E-3/5.75E-6 = ~208 bubbles...
208 bubbles * 4 secs = 832 secs = 13m52s ... approx. every 14 minutes, this device will have pumped out enough to fill a mole of air (22.4L @ STP) with the appropriate level of CO2 concentration.
A cubic foot is ~ 28L so the ratio of Cubic Feet (L) to Moles (L) is ~1.25.
My zone is ~2x2x4 = 16 cubic feet.
16*1.25*832s = ~4.5hrs to get the area optimized (from a ZERO level, so any natural background CO2 will reduce that number dramatically)

I remember rocking math and chemistry up until Calculus... and I am strung along this example of genius by a thread... I have never seen someone roughly calculate the actual draw of one of these DIY bottles..

I was recently looking into buying a whole rig... and the ol' lady about nut, with good grounds, but still.

This may be my alternative.. but I am a number's nut (or so I thought..) and want to know exactly what I am getting/needing/using..

...now I need to figure out how to plug my digits into that formula... and deal with my ventilation... lol

+rep for initiative

 

[heckler73]

I remember rocking math and chemistry up until Calculus... and I am strung along this example of genius by a thread... I have never seen someone roughly calculate the actual draw of one of these DIY bottles..

I was recently looking into buying a whole rig... and the ol' lady about nut, with good grounds, but still.

This may be my alternative.. but I am a number's nut (or so I thought..) and want to know exactly what I am getting/needing/using..

...now I need to figure out how to plug my digits into that formula... and deal with my ventilation... lol

+rep for initiative

I'm glad you appreciate the effort. I actually NEED to know this stuff because I am studying it right now
And when I can apply knowledge (even incorrectly), I am better able to absorb it... to comprehend its nature.

However, there is something else that needs to be factored into this system of equations, and that's the intake of the plants themselves.
How much CO2 is being absorbed by the plants? Even a ballpark range would be good enough... like mol/day or something.
That number is vital in determining the efficiency of this setup.
Unfortunately, I am not wise enough to figure out that number yet--I must do more research...

But from there, it becomes just a matter of scaling up the components depending on room size and active Bio-mass (for lack of a better term).

I don't think I've posted this vid, but it may answer some of your questions (as it did mine):
[video=youtube;u1CPn9yTiFI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1CPn9yTiFI[/video]

A 5 Gallon Bucket can work wonders...

EDIT: If anyone reading this has a CO2 monitor & generator in their room, and can help me collect some data, please write me a PM. Thanks

 

[heckler73]

The jungle is developing nicely.



Even the "freak" (J1) came back without batting an eyelash (and there are plenty on that stalk!). I think the Mosaic Virus hypothesis can be put to rest now...THANKFULLY.
Check out the tight internodal action!




I have now changed to using proper chemicals for the feeding regimen.

Calcium Nitrate Ca(NO[SUB]3[/SUB])[SUB]2[/SUB]
Monopotassium Phosphate KH[SUB]2[/SUB]PO[SUB]4[/SUB]
Magnesium Sulfate Heptahydrate MgSO[SUB]4[/SUB][SUP].[/SUP]7H[SUB]2[/SUB]O (that water part is important for ppm calcs!!!)
Iron Chelate (13% by weight)
and Trace Elements (all the micros sans Iron)

So how does one calculate their nute requirements?
Step 1: get a periodic table with Atomic Weights

Consulting Resh's Magnum Opus for re-learning the calcs:
(DAH!!! I tried to post a couple snips from the book, but I think I've hit my pic limit for the day... which I guess is 6)
Okay... let's do it long hand.

EDIT: Here are the two snapshots from the book


First the atomic weights need to be calc'd
Ca = 40.08 g/mol
N = 14.008
O = 16.00

So for Calcium Nitrate Ca(NO[SUB]3[/SUB])[SUB]2 [/SUB][SUB], [/SUB][SUB]one finds[/SUB] 1Ca+2N+6O = ~164.1 g/mol
Therefore, {1Ca,2N,6O}/164.1 = {0.244, 0.171, 0.585}

Knowing these ratios, it becomes a trivial matter to calculate ppm (i.e. mg/L and yes, that is a reasonably good translation for it. I worked out a different equation that was more complicated and still got the same answers ).

So if 164 mg = 41mg of Ca, then X mg = 185mg Ca
164(185)/41 = X = ~740 mg to get ~185ppm
Simple, right?

In my case, I wanted to start with a proven formula I stumbled across in a paper I read recently from the 90's. The formula was called "Cooper's" which used:

N: 236 ppm	P: 60 ppm
K: 300 ppm	Ca: 185 ppm
Mg: 50 ppm	S:68 ppm

Now, I was somewhat limited (I need to get some other chemical), but settled on a mix of
0.76 g/L of Ca(NO[SUB]3[/SUB])[SUB]2[/SUB] = Ca:~185ppm, N:~130ppm
1.05g/L of KH[SUB]2[/SUB]PO[SUB]4[/SUB] = K:300ppm, P:239ppm (that's a little troubling)
0.49g/L of MgSO[SUB]4[/SUB].7H[SUB]2[/SUB]O = Mg:50ppm, S:66ppm

For Iron and Trace minerals, I just use 0.05g/L... I already know those are adequate and safe levels, but I did calculate the iron, just to check...

It's important to keep in mind that these chemicals are generally not pure; Calcium Nitrate can be expected to only have 90% purity, etc. So in the case of the high P, there still might be concern. But we'll see.
Unfortunately, KNO3 is controlled in Canada, so I'll have to find some other mixture to use for adjustment purposes, if the Phosphorous becomes a problem.

Another odd thing is what the total ppm works out to in the end. After mixing everything, and sticking the meter in, I got 1200ppm or so.
Seems pretty steep, no? But I've pushed plants higher than that before without issue, and adding up the Macro total, I get about 970ppm.
So that means the Iron and Micros are adding 200ppm?
Perhaps... My water is normally around 10-20ppm clean (nice water supply, eh? Gov't infrastructure at work!!!)
I may have to sit down and crunch all the numbers (those micros are a pain, and I have to dig out my dusty journals where I wrote down what the ingredient %'s were... sigh)

In the meantime, I splash the nute mix (pH5.8 ) first on the soil, THEN use some pH5.8 water as an adjunct whenever the plants seem light.
I've noticed the top soil may be moist, but the base gets dry (probably because the LED doesn't irradiate the plants with heat, and the heat pad beneath does).

For now, she looks good to me....
Keep Calm and Eat Bacon.

 

[Bumping Spheda]

Whoa, those plants look Brown. Kinda cool.

Ack. I should probably update, too, though. Here we go.

So remember I tried FIM'ing and I said I thought I basically topped one of the heads? Well I couldn't have been more wrong, that seems to be the one that actually took, and boy it's ugly. I took these photos last night when I was tripping on DXM and I honestly had no idea what was going on with all these tops, it seemed like new shoots were coming out of the wood works, and I mean friggin' everywhere. I did seem to like how compact and petite this plant is, though. It seemed cute. Anyway, here are the shots.



Here's a close up on the FIM job.


If you follow that bent and sort of autistic looking branch down you'll see two more branches coming off the bottom. Then there's some sad looking growth just above that big deformed leaf that's in the forefront of the picture. Not sure if that's another head, or what. Then there's the top. Weird growth, not really sure what's going on there, but it seems to want to keep on growing so... I couldn't tell you how many heads I've got yet.

Misty died. It seemed like it was taking too long and the top leaves were starting to turn darker Green. I pulled her out of the soil and there were no roots. No slime, though! Yay... Okay, so another attempt is under way, this time it's one of the lower branches. Smaller leaves, smaller stem, and I was able to tear the bottom tier leaves away form the stem to expose those sites and hopefully force some root action. This one is holding up a LOT better already, it's about three days old. Same deal as the last, though, so no need to take pics.

 

[heckler73]

Whoa, those plants look Brown. Kinda cool.

Heh... that's just camera tricks... I'm still playing with the white balance. But it does have some interesting artistic effects...

Misty died. It seemed like it was taking too long and the top leaves were starting to turn darker Green. I pulled her out of the soil and there were no roots. No slime, though! Yay... Okay, so another attempt is under way, this time it's one of the lower branches. Smaller leaves, smaller stem, and I was able to tear the bottom tier leaves away form the stem to expose those sites and hopefully force some root action. This one is holding up a LOT better already, it's about three days old. Same deal as the last, though, so no need to take pics.

Eh? What do you think went wrong? I've NEVER had any luck with cloning in soil (or rockwool, for that matter), so I'd be curious for my own benefit...

 

[Bumping Spheda]

When I took Misty out of the soil the bottom of the stem was dry and kind of hard. I got her from the top of Little Chiesel and I only wanted to cut so much off, so it actually didn't extend too far into the yogurt container, it was maybe halfway into it which was too shallow. I think this was keeping it from staying moist, since the dirt near the top was drying out more. Also, since the cutting was so short I didn't want to rip the bottom tier leaves off so I just cut the bottom of the stem in half for about and eight of an inch. Given I had to cut the leaves off very early on in the cuttings life anyway I probably should have stripped them off and sunk the cutting a little deeper into the soil. Last, but not least, there was just way too much growth on it I think. The head was working on a lot of leaves, there were four tiny baby branches that had been started, those big leaves near the bottom that I had to cut off very early on, etc. It was just too exhausting for a new clone in far from ideal settings, imo.

I'm keeping the soil sanitary with a tiny bit of peroxide in the water, keeping the temps a little high, keeping RH high, and using a tiny bit of aloe vera (a little goes a long way) and hoping I'll be okay. I'll let you know what happens. I don't have much experience with cloning directly in soil, but I was successful before when using Dip N' Grow so I'm hoping the aloe vera can be an easy substitute.

 

[heckler73]

Last, but not least, there was just way too much growth on it I think. The head was working on a lot of leaves, there were four tiny baby branches that had been started, those big leaves near the bottom that I had to cut off very early on, etc. It was just too exhausting for a new clone in far from ideal settings, imo.

I've heard that can be a problem. And going back to look at Misty's pics, I see what you mean... I'll have to remember that.

 

[Bumping Spheda]

Update.

I had no luck with the diffusive films. Screw it! I'm done!

It's made. I've actually been using it for a couple weeks I think, and Kid seems to absolutely love it. The mixing chamber and RP lens both get pretty hot, so we'll see if I run into issues with those. That's not the color of the light, btw, that's an improper White balance setting. It looks like a Warm White light to me, and it's very bright.

Onto the plants.

Kid has still got some yellowing leaves. The older growth just doesn't seem to want to stick around for forever. Still, though, he's getting BIG and his oldest tomato has recently begun to turn Red a bit. Lots of new flowers, lots of tomatoes being worked on and new healthy Green leaves that look amazing under the RP spotlight, the color I see when looking down was not even remotely captured in these pictures. If there was a color called super-freaking-neon-Green I'm pretty sure Kid's new leaves would be it. Also, I dropped something on that Reddish tomato, that's a battle scar from installing the RP spotlight.



And Little Chiesel. I decided to tie some of her branches down. Pretty even canopy, lots of "main colas" if I decided to flower her (which I might, actually, once a fuggin' clone roots). I think there's about 10 heads right now of appreciable size.


FIM job. Still no idea what's going on there...


Random shot. Tons of "branches" littered all over the place. If this was a plant I was going to flower I'm not sure when I'd flip her. All these little baby shoots makes me wanna just keep vegging her into infinity, I want her to be a tree!



Still no pics of "Misty Part Deux," I'm not sure if she's gonna make it, tbh. I might have to buy some Dip 'N Grow, 'cause this is ridiculous, or I just suck.

And that's all for now. Stay safe, guys.

 

[Bumping Spheda]

I've been watering Kid pretty much everyday because it seemed to be what he liked. Just a full soil soak. I noticed some Purple splotches on his leaves, though, which means P deficiency. I read that over watering can inhibit the mobility of P so I decided to change my watering regimen and see what happened. I decided on every other day, but I forgot to water on the second day. Then this morning (3rd day) I opened the tent and he looked completely depressed! Droopy ass leaves and completely limp branches. He was barely standing, I mean completely out of it. I was worried about bugs, maybe fungus or bacteria or something, it looked that bad. I watered him and within an hour or two he was completely unfazed...

Also while I was checking him out two of his tomatoes have blossom end rot. Calcium def, also exacerbated by over/under watering. Added some Azomite to the last watering, but I'm going to have to find a happy medium here. I'll try to water every other day, or perhaps everyday but a lot less water.

I also trimmed him up, there was a lot of superfluous branches here and there, many of which were covering lower shoots (some of which already have flowers on them). He's a lot less cluttered now, and most of the ?nute burned? leaves were on those branches so he looks pretty happy overall right now except the blossom end rot on those two guys.

Daytime high was 95 degrees, though. That RP spotlight has thrown me over the edge concerning temps. I'm going to have to get a window AC unit, it's not even that warm around here yet, it'd definitely get over 100, maybe even 110 or something horrific when summer kicks in. Little Chiesel is already affected, I'm noticing taco leaves. Not good.

And I'm still dealing with low RH. Highest it's ever gotten is ~35, lows on a daily basis are in the teens. I do still have that Aprilaire unit, however. I'm thinking of a cheap way I can implement that. I have a hygrometer that I can use, solenoid is still attached to the humidifier. Basically all I need is a reservoir to drain runoff into and something that can pump water up to the solenoid. I'm thinking something as simple as this:
http://www.amazon.com/Chapin-20000-1-Gallon-Garden-Sprayer/dp/B000E28UQU
Connect the hose/nozzle to the solenoid inlet, fill with water, pump it up by hand, and just let the hygrometer/solenoid combo do its thing. Sure, it's big and clunky, the fan's probably loud, but I'm not having much luck with the wet towel trick so I'm not sure what else I can do. An evaporative cooler could help with both my high temps and low RH, but would it really solve my temp issues? I'm really not so sure.

 

[heckler73]

DAMN! Fruit rot? I had that issue last year with my tomatoes (outside)... I had no functioning pH pen, and that was my problem back then, for sure.

What are you feeding Kid anyway? Have you calculated the ppms?

 

[Bumping Spheda]

Nope, no calculations, no pH/ppm testing. Just tossed a bunch of ferts into the soil when I transplanted. Azomite, Dolomite, Rock Phosphate, Green Sand, Bone Meal, worm castings, and high P bat guano off the top of my head. Apart from the burn, which never really got out of control and seems to be correcting itself, I don't think there's much of an issue with what's in the soil, it's just been my overwatering which has locked out the Phosphorus and Calcium. I haven't even cut the two tomatoes with the rot off, I'm thinking they might straighten themselves out once I correct the watering schedule? Dunno.