Deep Water Ebb-Flow System

Germinating Chinese Kale Using the Hydroponics to seed and germinate Chinese Kale from Nparks. Seeds are about 6 months old, although it's kept in the fridge at about 5 to 10C. Not the ideal temperature range of 2 to 4C. Expecting a lower germination rate.  Seeded about 20 seeds. Actual seeding is on 27 Feb.  These are meant for the soil based farming along the corridor.  Thinning down the greens for wash down during March hols.  Also to mention that we had our chili padi grown from sprouts donated by an unknown stranger.  Our one and only that turned red. There are 2 more little green ones that we are waiting for. 

Winding Down Batch 1 Have been harvesting pretty regularly. Enjoying the produce thus far.  Seems like the fungal or mildew or nutrient lock issue is spreading from Tiers 1 and 2 to Tier 4. So perhaps it's time to wind down this batch and to clean the system. Target system clean is 18 Mar, during the Mar hols. Will experiment with new batch of lettuce, with dedicated equipments (scissors) and portable fan for top up tiers and to apply crop rotation.  Hypothesis here is that with crop rotation, each batch of water nutrient mix can be further prolonged.  Will harvest the Red Oaks and Lollas till then.  Also have to start thinking of a plan to transfer the Basil too.  Thanks to a fellow YH enthusiasts, improved the water level indicator with this mosquito prevention net. DATA EC1020 pH6.56 Temp 29C Water Level: @MIN Topped up with 4L water, moderated by 20Down

No further signs of yellowing due to suspected fungal or mildew after removing all infected leaves 2 days ago.  Will continue to monitor.  Missed 3 days of data. 😅 Dta seems pretty good and within desired range.  EC1065 pH6.22 Temp 29C Water level: at Min level Topped up 3L of water, 10ml AB and 10 down

VDay Good morning!  Harvested a batch of Red Oaks for dinner to accompany the Prosperity burger from Macs.  Harvested some sweet basil for Thai styled basil minced pork.  Observed some issue with a few Cos and Lolla leaves. Not sure what caused it. No insects underneath that can be seen. Placed an ask in the Yash group chat for help.  DATA EC1262 pH6.33 WT29 Water level: at Min level. Top up 4L 20 down

Day 2 of CNY Double Harvest Harvested a colanderful of Red Oaks for brekkie.  Red Oaks tasted very earthy, hinting at end of life. Although no signs of bolting yet, perhaps at 60 plus days, these batch is almost at senior citizen phase. And lollas for lunch. Tasted a little earthy but young and tender. At 24 days young.  Balance of Red Oaks after harvest.  Lollas are definitely ready for harvest. Just waiting for the right meal opportunity to come along.  Feeling guilty (slightly) for missing 2 days of data in a row! 😅 So here's the lay of the land for today. Data shows OK EC but pH creeping up. Water level is at Min level. So some topping up in order.  Harvested  DATA EC1262 pH6.35 WT29 Water level: at Min level. So top up 4L of water, 10mL AB from BLH, moderated by 20 down

Day 1 of the New Ox-spicious Year A day full of special meal plans. And thanks to the greens from the school rooftop garden, lots of Chinese lettuce, Kale and tang oh, did not harvest any home grown lettuce!  Had Loh Hei for lunch and steak for dinner. And a whole big bowl of greens from the school garden.  Again, didn't take any data!  😅

It's CNY Eve! And amidst all the preparations, completely forgot to take any data!  Good news is that all seem to be growing well!  So let's log some info on system maintenance.  Algae issue  Some algae started to form around some leca after seeding of new Cos seed batch. Likely due to wet leca. Fortunately issue is not pervasive and as the leca dries off, the algae issue seems to have taper off.  Instead, some white powdery substance seem to form on some of the the leca. Suspect that this is calcium deposit. Likely due to the introduction of calcium nitrate.  A slight rubbing action can easily remove this white powder.  Healthy Roots According to Benn from Bootle's, signs of healthy roots are the "clean", crisp touch of the roots. If the roots feels slimy to the touch, then it is an indication of problem with the system. So far the roots feels healthy and therefore delaying the need of cleaning and reseting the system. This sample is from

Top Up Time On the way to a new year with abundant growth 🤞🏻😁 Lollas looking good.  DATA EC1316 pH6.14 WT30 Water level: at Min level. Top up 4L of water with 20mL AB, moderated by 10 down. 

All Growing Well Just 3 more days to the Niu Year.  Let's see if the little Lollas can grow big enough to be harvested.  The dependable Red Oaks just keeps going!  DATA EC1316 pH5.89 WT30 Water level: near Min level. Added 1L of water. 

EC Pen Juice Learnt something. Needs a bit more time to verify the effect. It would seem that replacing the battery of the EC Pen has given me a more reliable EC measure. Readings are instant and the mode has remained the same through out the measure.  In order to coax the lettuce into a healthy and prosperous size for the coming Niu Year, I have extended the lights off time from 10 to 1030pm. DATA EC1374 pH5.53 WT30 Water level: at mid level.

Let down by my little red float. Fashioned from the non-stick side of a double sided tape. Had performed its duty admirably till today. It was stuck below the min level.  That prompted me to top up 4L of water. After a short while, by a stroke of luck, noticed that the water is actually near the lip of the level check. The red float is still stuck at the bottom.  Had to drain about 1L and replaced the ref float with a white Styrofoam like plastic from glass Let down by my red float. By a stroke of luck, noticed that the water is actually near the lip of the level check.  The red float is still stuck at the bottom. Hence I have added too much water. Drained about 1L and replaced the ref float with a white Styrofoam-like plastic from those used to protect glass products.  Possibly not food grade, but a short term measure till I find something more suitable.  Also wondering if the Lollas will be big enough for the coming Niu Year. Seems a little slow growing compar

Completely missed taking any focused observation or data for this day! 🤭 By and large plants are growing OK. Had trimmed off the yellowed leaves with burn tips to reduce the nutrient demands on the system. 

Time to add CaNO3 and MgSO4 EC reading strangely dropped to 700 plus before slowly rising to 1200. This is unusual. The reading is usually quite immediate.  Still some signs of yellowing and burn tips. So time to top up CaNO3 and MgSO4.  Added 1L water with 1/2 teaspoon each of CaNO3 and MgSO4 (Epsom salt).  EC1210 pH5.87 WT30 Water level: just below mid level.

Still signs of yellowing and burn tips Reached out to FB hydroponics group and some suggested to increase the nitrate.  Data looks strange too. EC is still above 1200. Pen problem or EC of the whole system affected by earlier addition of CaNO3 and Epsom salt.  Recalled that I have been adding mainly AB lately. Inbalance caused by lack of C. However many mentioned that A and B is enough. 🤔 EC1488 pH5.90 WT29 Water level: just below mid level. Added 1L of water with 10mL AB, 20mL C

Signs of yellowing and burn tips    And also burn tips.  Strangely data seems to show high EC. Faulty pen?  EC1488 pH5.85 WT29 Water level: just above mid level.

Leaves a little yellow Leaves of Lollas, Cos and even the Butterheads are looking a little malnourished despite the addition of AB yesterday.  EC has gone up. Will monitor over the next 2 days.  DATA EC1488 pH5.85 WT29 Water level: just above mid level.

Drastic EC drop For some strange reason, the EC drops dractically from 1132 to 740. The thought of what a fellow Hydroponics enthusiast commented in FB echoed in my mind, "adding calcium nitrate will screw your EC readings".  The signs of nitrate shortage is rather evident in the yellowing of leaves.  The single kitchen towel experiment with GR Microgreens didn't go right too. Too moist, causing molds to form. 2 pcs seems better.  DATA EC740 pH6.32 WT30 Water level: just below mid level. Top up 2L 20ml AB, moderated with 20 down