Thursday (31-October-2019) — New Jersey

Indoor Hydroponic AeroGarden Farms 01-03 Week Six (42 days) Update.

AeroGarden Farm 01, Left Tray, Day 42. Red Heirloom Tomatoes and Golden Harvest Tomatoes (seed pods from AeroGarden). All plants sprouted, but growth is still slow. Reflectors didn’t seem to help much. I checked the pH (5.56) and TDS (>1000 ppm). I decided to clean the bath and replace the water (8.0 L rain water) charged with 16 mL of the Miracle Grow/AeroGarden plant food. New pH (6.24) and TDS (418 ppm). Three of the Golden Harvest tomato plants that seemed to be dead were replace with new pods.

AeroGarden Farm 01 Left Tray at 42 days. Position 1-6 Red Heirloom Tomatoes. Position 7-12 Golden Harvest Tomatoes. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 100, 35 mm, f/11, 1/10 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
AeroGarden Farm 01 Left Tray at 42 days. Position 1-6 Red Heirloom Tomatoes. Position 7-12 Golden Harvest Tomatoes. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 100, 35 mm, f/11, 1/10 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)

AeroGarden Farm 01, Right Tray, Day 42. A variety of lettuce plants have not grown much in the last two weeks. Red Romain, Deer Tongue, Paris Island, Black-seeded Simpson, and Red Sails (seed pods from AeroGarden). Some leaves were harvested during the last two weeks. I checked the pH (3.60) and TDS (804 ppm). The pH was too acidic. I put my chemist hat on and did a titration to figure how much buffer I needed to add to bring the pH between 5.5 and 6.5. Based on the titration I added 5 mL of buffer And 8 mL of the Miracle Grow/AeroGarden plant food. This brought the pH up to 5.99.

AeroGarden Farm 01 Right Tray at 42 days. R03 Red Romaine; R02 Deer Tongue; R04, R06 Marvel of 4 Seasons; R05 Paris Island; R07, R09 Black-seeded Simpson; R08 Red Sails; R10 Dill; R11 Chives; R12 Genovese Basil. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 160, 35 mm, f/11, 1/10 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
AeroGarden Farm 01 Right Tray at 42 days. R03 Red Romaine; R02 Deer Tongue; R04, R06 Marvel of 4 Seasons; R05 Paris Island; R07, R09 Black-seeded Simpson; R08 Red Sails. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 160, 35 mm, f/11, 1/10 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)

AeroGarden  Farm 02, Left Tray, Day 42. Mini-Jalapeno Peppers, Purple Super Hot Peppers, Red Fire Peppers (seed pods from AeroGarden). Growth is still slow, even after adding reflectors. I checked the pH (5.24) and TDS (>1000 ppm). I decided to clean the bath and replace the water (8.0 L rain water) charged with 16 mL of the Miracle Grow/AeroGarden plant food. New pH (6.34) and TDS (400 ppm). Removed F02L08 (didn’t germinate/moldy). Replaced with F10L10 Sprouted New Mexico Hatch pepper. Filled positions F02L10, F02L11, F02L12 with sprouted Szechuan peppers from F10L10, F10L11, F10L12.

AeroGarden Farm 02 Left Tray at 42 days. L01-L03 Mini Jalapeno Peppers; L04-L06 Purple Super Hot Pepper; L07-L09 Red Fire Pepper Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 640, 35 mm, f/16, 1/25 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
AeroGarden Farm 02 Left Tray at 42 days. L01-L03 Mini Jalapeno Peppers; L04-L06 Purple Super Hot Pepper; L07-L09 Red Fire Pepper Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 200, 35 mm, f/11, 1/10 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)

AeroGarden Farm 02, Right Tray, Day 42. Romaine Lettuce (seed pods from AeroGarden). All plants sprouted, and most are growing but some developed brown tips. Several leaves harvested during the last two weeks. I checked the pH (4.27) and TDS (459 ppm). The pH was too acidic. I did a titration to figure how much buffer I needed to add to bring the pH between 5.5 and 6.5. Based on the titration I added 4 mL of buffer And 16 mL of the Miracle Grow/AeroGarden plant food. This brought the pH up to 6.2 and TDS to 760 ppm. I’m thinking of completely removing the middle plants to allow the outer ones more room to grow.

AeroGarden Farm 02 Right Tray at 42 days. R01-R09 Romain; Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 200, 35 mm, f/11, 1/10 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
AeroGarden Farm 02 Right Tray at 42 days. R01-R09 Romain; Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 200, 35 mm, f/11, 1/10 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)

AeroGarden Farm 03, Left Tray, Day 42. Broccoli, Swiss Chard, and Arugula (seeds from Botanical Interests). All Broccoli plants sprouted, but one is growing much faster than the others. The remaining Swiss Chard plant that was moved to position 10 is also growing robustly. The Arugula in position 11 an 12 came from a different Farm tray and are fighting to find some light. I checked the pH (6.45) and TDS (215 ppm). The pH is OK, but the robustly growing plants need more fertilizer. Added 15 mL of Root Farm Base (4-0-1) and 10 mL of Root Farm Veggie (1-5-7). The new pH (6.25) and TDS (788 ppm). Harvested some Broccoli leaves, and Swiss Chard leaves (that were both used to make soup for lunch) to make room for the other plants.

AeroGarden Farm 03 Left Tray at 48 days. L01-L03 Broccoli; L10 Swiss Chard; L11-12 Arugula. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 250, 35 mm, f/11, 1/10 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
AeroGarden Farm 03 Left Tray at 42 days. L01-L03 Broccoli; L10 Swiss Chard; L11 Arugula. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 250, 35 mm, f/11, 1/10 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)

AeroGarden Farm 03, Right Tray, Day 42. Cauliflower, Kale, Arugula (seeds from Botanical Interests). Two Cauliflower plants are growing robustly (F03R01, F03R03). Two of the Kale plants are growing robustly and had been moved to positions F03R07 and F03R11. The Arugula plant in F03R09 came from a different Farm. The unused positions were all plugged. I checked the pH (6.86) and TDS (327 ppm). The pH is a bit high, and the robustly growing plants need more fertilizer. Added 15 mL of Root Farm Base (4-0-1) and 10 mL of Root Farm Veggie (1-5-7). The new pH (6.64) and TDS (824 ppm).

AeroGarden Farm 03 Right Tray at 28 days. R01-R03 Cauliflower; R07-R09 Kale; R10-R12 Cilantro; Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 320, 35 mm, f/11, 1/10 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
AeroGarden Farm 03 Right Tray at 42 days. R01, R03 Cauliflower; R07, R11 Kale; R09 Arugula; Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 320, 35 mm, f/11, 1/10 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Electric Energy Used (52.9 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (3.1 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Clouds and rain all day, some heavy.  Overall a net deficit of 49.8 kWh.

Monthly Electric Energy Used (1759 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (792 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Overall a net deficit of 967 kWh. The first month since March where I will be paying a power bill (although significantly reduced based on the surplus remaining from the summer). The hydroponic systems will be adding ~ 700 kWh/month to my power use.

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Author: David Mathre

I am a scientist by training (Eckerd College, BSc; Caltech, Ph.D.). I worked for 27 years as a Chemist in the Pharmaceutical Industry developing processes to manufacture medicines for human and animal health. I now spend my time as a photographer and world traveler. My interests include the natural world, wildlife, landscapes, sky, and seascapes, travel, and astrophotography. I look for unique ways of viewing the world and presenting my images. I have traveled to over 55 countries in six continents, often on Semester at Sea voyages. While at home in New Jersey, I spend time on home renovation and expansion of a wildflower garden/meadow.

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