Deep Water Ebb-Flow System

Just a normal day The lowest tier. All growing well, except the butterheads it would seem. A little on the yellow side. However, EC shows a good read so will monitor for a day or two. GR microgreens after 1 day. Some have started to germinate. Lollas are spot on for CNY! DATA EC1210 pH5.90 WT29 Water level: just below max level.

GR Microgreens Harvest Harvested some Red Oak, basil and Wasabi Mustard and Grand Rapid Microgreens for brekkie. Tastes a tad on the strong side of earthiness. GR mg tastes mild and almost tasteless. With little body.  The after harvest look.  Reseeded again, and this time with a totally dark cup.  The shelf is looking like this right now. Lollas are looking on point for the coming CNY.  DATA EC1126 pH6.33 WT29 Water level: just below max level. Added 10 drops of Down

Totally from Farm-to-Table Red oaks, and Genovese sweet basil (cut into smaller segments) from Yash system. Chinese Kale from soil - based pot along the corridor and Wasabi Mustard Microgreens from Kratky courtesy of Bootle's Farm.  The look of Tier 4. Just transplanted a short stem of GSB.  The Wasabi Mustard greens in all their splendour.  DATA EC1262 pH6.35 WT29 Water level: just below max level.

Just another day WM mg are growing awfully well. In just 2 days under light, it has prospered well.  Growing to about 5cm tall. Tasted a few stems and hmmm... Indeed the wasabi effect took a while to be realized. But the taste is there. Salmon sashimi with crunchy WM anyone?  GR mg growing well too but not as tall as the WM.  Topped up 3L of water moderated by 10drops of down. DATA EC1316 pH6.36 WT29 Water level: near min level.

Green Wasabi Mustard!  So very green! Just 2 days after being removed from the dark.  Each is nearly 4cm tall. Tried one stem in the morning and yes, a mild wasabi taste to it. Looking forward to Saturday.  GR Microgreens growing well too. Not as tall as the WM, but looks equally green.  DATA EC1316 pH6.24 WT30 Water level: slightly below mid level.

4 day old Wasabi Mustard microgreen What a sight greeted me as I removed the WM from my kitchen cabinet. Golden fields crew cut tops! A quick check with Benn from Bootle's assured me that this is normal and by leaving these babes under the light for 2 - 3 days, they will turn green. Apparently they are also good to harvest in 3-5 days.  So under the light it goes.  The GR mg are also coming along nicely. Leaves are growing  bigger and better. Looking to a bountiful of mg this weekend.  The 3 little Cos has sprouted too! 3 days after seeding.  DATA EC1370 pH6.08 WT30 Water level: slightly above mid level.

GR Microgreens - Unveiled Unveiled the GR microgreens in the morning, to promote real leaves growth. They seem to be ok. Will leave it for a few more days to see how tall these will grow before harvesting. The weekend seems like a good time to have some GR microgreens for breakfast. Placed the wasabi mustard (WM) into a kitchen cabinet that is hardly open. Complete darkness for just one night and this is the result! The WM looks a little dry, so added a little water.  A close-up of the WM. Looks like tauge, but thinner versions. The Lollas looks healthier. Will thin it in a day or two. Cos are growing well too, 9 days into seeding. No signs from the three pots yet, 3 days after seeding. A close-up of the Lolla leaves. DATA EC1370 pH6.29 WT29 Water level: near bottom level. - topped with 2L of water and 5Down.

Fixed up the new air pump! Time to fix up the new air pump. Unfortunately, the pet shop is short of one air-stone and hence placed the two into Tier 1 and 2 respectively. And the GR microgreens are growing well! Transplanted the mini capsicum into potted soil, and placed by the corridor. Left 4 in a 200g Moccona bottle, using the Kratky method.  Used an old black sock to wrap around the glass bottle to slow down algae growth. Placed the bottle inside a pot, near to the Yash tower. Hopefully, just enough light gets to it.    DATA EC1510 pH6.14 WT30 Water level: below mid level.

Spring Cleaning Time! Chinese New Year is just around the corner, and so out with the old and in with the new! Cleared all the remaining Cos and Butterheads, and seeded new pots of Cos using pelleted seeds! Transplanted some BH to individual pots, thereby thinning the overpopulated pots. Adjusted the pots to the one nearest to the water outlet free, for measurements and topping up of ABC. Thinned out the Lollas too, but kept a few healthier looking ones alone. Will thin again in a day or two once it is clearer which is the fittest. Topped up with 10ml AB and 2L of water. Why just AB? Cause the Lolla looks a little yellow. Suspect that it's short of Nitrogen. Rearranged the bottom Tier. to leave the BHs in a row, nearest to the front, and moved the basils and strawberry mints to the back, together with the GR microgreens. A side story. Seeded some wasabi mustard Microgreens from Bootle's Farm. DATA This time took readings fro Tier 1 and 4. Results are rather similar. EC1400 pH6....

Microgreens are growing well. Just into day 4 and these little babes are shooting up fast.  First batch of Cos fully harvested. Taste relatively more bitter, which is likely caused by age and increased EC.  So learning point on Cos, best harvested between 25 to 35 days.  Lollas growing fast too. The cotyledons continue to show signs of yellowing and browning. Main leaves are light green and looks really tender.  A side note, I just seeded some mini capsicums, and interestingly quite a few germinated. Since the EC needs is about 2200, capsicums are therefore not compatible with lettuces.  Got to find a way to transfer some of the sprouts.  Data EC1532 pH6.01 WT29 Water level: at mid level.

It's all about the GR microgreens today!   And that is just 2 days after seeding. The kitchen towel method seems to be working till now. Let's see what happens in 8 days. For the time being, will keep the cup to cover the mini sprouts. Now the lollas. A close-up of the tip burn like of the cotyledons. Interesting to see that the lolla young leaves are relatively tender and thin compared to Cos. DATA EC1532 pH5.83 WT29 Water level: at mid level.

Time for some Epsom Salt (Magnesium Sulfate) What triggered that? The lollas actually. Seems like the cotyledons are yellowing and some are showing tip burn like signs. Not too sure why, or if this is even normal, but no similar observation on the real leaves. The lolla leaves though look a little yellow compared to the Cos or even Butterheads. Did a bit of reading and was reminded of this picture. Added 1/4 teaspoons of Epsom into 1L of water. On top of that added, 5ml of ABC into another 1L of water, moderated by 10 Downs. A side story. The GR microgreens. These little babies! Another side story. The Genovese Sweet Basil has recovered! DATA   (before top up & Epsom) EC1466 pH5.90 WT29 Water level: at mid level. Water level rose to max after addition of 2L of water.

2nd Cycle of Cos/Romaine Lettuce Germinated! And the Start of Grand Rapids Microgreens Placed 1 seed each in eight pots on Tier 1, two days ago. And ALL of them germinated successfully after seemingly 3 days plus. Experience from the first seeding cycle suggests that this is slow. Important to note that the seeding took place in the evening, and the seeds were placed a little deeper than the usual "sprinkled over the leca balls" method. Wanted to find out if this will keep the Cos more anchored and upright.   Seems like pelleted seeds are a good investment. Since seeds usually expire 3 months after the seed package is opened. So what do we do with those plants that come in quantities like 2500?  Microgreens seem to be the obvious answer. Grand Rapid Microgreens Did a little research and came across this site on microgreens. Seems like quite a large variety of microgreens are edible. Lettuce family is one of them. So decided to try out the Grand Rapid from Yash's set. Dec...

Start of Next Seeding Cycle Effectively started the next seeding cycle. Placed one pelleted Cos in Tier 1. The lollas are growing well and in a few days, some thinning is necessary to ensure good health. The balance to be consumed as microgreens. Some learning points. After harvest, it seems that this is to be expected. Remains of roots trapped at the outlet, thanks to the mesh. Just need to check and clear with tweezers, to ensure that water flow is uninterrupted. DATA: (after 4L water top-up) EC1488 pH5.55 WT28 Water level: near Max level. - Topped up 4L of water with 10Down, in the early morning, resulting in water level near to Max. Moderated by 10 drops.

Yup. It's my eldest son's Jie Ren's 22nd birthday! Did a leaf harvest and so the result is as shown. Just 4 Cos, 12 Red Oaks, and 3 more BH left from the first around of seeding. DATA EC1552 pH5.89 WT29 Water level: below mid level. 

A Busy Day - Harvesting, Clearing, Reseeding Cos and Transplanting some Basil  Started off by harvesting fully 8 Cos lettuces for brekkie and tomorrow's night dinner! The long roots of the cos, still crisp to the touch. A good sign. Left 4 more for a few more leaves harvest over the next few days. Removed a couple of Grand Rapids and Butterheads each from the bottom tier too. After some further RO and BH leafs harvest, the total weight is 183.6g. Sustainable Crop Cycle The idea here is to stagger the crop cycle in order to have a sustainable supply of lettuce. Another aim is to see how long this Batch 1 of nutrients last before the need to flush and clean the systems becomes a must. Cleaning Cleaning is actually very easy. The process I took: Remove the roots by hand. Pour out the leca and remove the stem and remaining roots. (of course there are left-over roots and some debris) Thankful for the sink filter. Keeps the leca together, and prevent the larger left over roots from getti...