Batch#01 - 09 Dec 2020 - Day 0

Starting on the right footing

Finally, all the stars are aligned. The mesh nets are here. Water hose from the toilet was adapted for easy use. Bought a variety of seeds from Ban Lee Huat (BLH).

Decided to ensure the starting should be with as best an optimal condition as possible. The correct pH, EC, and water quality.

Hence, I dismantled the system, and wash all the parts as much as I can.

Removed water reservoir and found that the pump inlet is affixed with a metal filter. This is great as it prevents loose leca balls from entering and jamming the pump.

 

On closer observation, there seems to be some oxidation at the bent parts of the filter. Will leave it be for the time being.

Introduced additional filter at each tier inlet pipe as shown. To do that, I folded a mesh in half and secured it with a cable tie. The cable tie has to be angled in such a way to allow the net pots to sit properly in their position.

Did a bit of innovation. I forced-fit a 3cm hose with a closed-end over the outlet of the water at the top tier. I made a cut along the hose to about halfway. The intent is to have a water jet instead of a placid trinkle. By doing this I am hoping that the aeration of the water is improved.

I re-assembled the system and with prior experience, moved the system near the bathroom to top-up water. Also re-used a simple rack to elevate the electrical and water pump control from the floor. There is also shelf space for the day-to-day tools such as EC and pH meters. 

Started the pump and and turned it to 75% to get the water flowing and to check for leakage in the pipes, in particular pipes #2. Everything looks good and water is circulating well. The additional mesh cover over each water outlet seems to be working fine too.

Water Condition

Singapore's water is slightly alkaline (pH7.6-7.7). Decided to down the pH with the pH down solution from BLH. (essentially a concentrated phosforic acid). I measured out 5ml (from about 30 drops) and added to the water. To my horror, the pH drops from 7.7 to 3.4 instantly! What a mistake not to heed the instruction on the bottle to slowly add small number of drops to the water.

To up the pH, I changed out the water repeatedly until the pH in all tiers are around 6.3.

As simple as ABC

Next, following the Yash tutorial, I added 40ml o A, B and C to the respective tiers. But I forgot o shake the solution! Just read that when I wanted to copy & paste his information.

• 40ml of A into the top tier.
• 40ml of B into the 2nd tier.
• 40ml of C into the bottom tier. 

Interesting, on immediate measure, the ECs for the different tiers are all different. 900, 1000 and 1400 respectively! The pH also dropped to 5.3!

As instructed, I left the motor on to allow water to circulate and went for lunch. One hour later, the EC in all tiers are giving a similar reading of 900 and pH is 6.3. Yes!

Preparing to seed

Placed in the leca balls to just almost the top of the pot.

 

Lettuce Lettuce Lettuce

Yashponic tutorial for beginners recommended the following approach:

For the first month, you MUST use the seeds provided, American Lettuce and Butter Lettuce, to grow both of the seeds provided in the package. This will ensure you complete the “Yashponics Course” and fully understand how the hydroponics system works. At the end of the month, you’ll also get an amazingly beautiful photo of your system

There are 4 tiers and 2 types of seeds, so plan the following way: 

Top tier 10-12 American lettuce seeds in each net pot

2nd tier 1 American lettuce seed in each net pot, (you can also place 2 seeds inside and a day after it germinates, remove the weaker seedling and keep only one seedling per net pot)

3rd tier 10-12 butter lettuce seeds in each net pot

4th tier 1 butter lettuce seed in each net pot, (you can also place 2 seeds inside and  a day after it germinates, remove the weaker seedling and keep only one seedling per net pot)

Having the benefit of reading some of the experiences shared by fellow Yashponic owners in the group, seems like this approach is not an issue. So I decided to self-advanced a little. Lettuces are clearly the easier green to start off with. And from the data table, all the lettuces do well hydroponically within the same parameter ranges of pH 5.5 - 6.5, EC800 to 1200. 

Decided to heed his choice of seeds (which also allows me to find out if the seeds supplied are of quality) and to blend them with other lettuce seeds from BLH.

My Green Choice

So this will be my choice for Batch #01:

Tier 1: Romaine or Cos lettuce (BLH*)

Tier 2: Grand Rapid (Yash's and BLH*)

Tier 3: Red Oak (BLH*)

Tier 4: Butterhead (Yash's and BLH*)

*pelleted seeds - for pelleted types, 2 seeds were placed in each pot

For non-pelleted ones, about 10 seeds sprinkled around each pot.

My preference is for large leaves over quantity. The intention is to trim and keep a single or two plants to a pot, especially those which germinates from non-pelleted form.

Seeding

Time to open up the seed packaging and start the seeding process. First time seeing the different seeds and in pelleted form.

Seeding the pelleted seeds is easy. A tweezer is best and I simply pick one seed up and insert into the leca balls.

As for the non-pelleted ones, I pinched a small handful and just sprinkled over the leca balls. I moved the leca balls around so that the seeds drop into the spaces in between to make sure none are visible to the eye. Not sure why but I guess that's how seeds are usually replanted in the ground.

After the seeding, the EC and pH were measured for all tiers. These are the readings:

EC 940

pH 6.8

Good starting point IMHO. 

That's it for today!