September 30, 2009 by Peat
Cucumbers Grown in the AeroGarden - Episode III (A Change of Nutes)...
After two previous grows (successful to a small degree), using the General Hydroponics Flora Series (micro, grow & bloom) I will now change tact and use different nutrients...
What I'll use now is FloraMato which seems more suited to growing cukes. The FloraMato I will use is in liquid form and has to be mixed with FloraMicro (normal & not hard water variety) - I cannot get the one-shot dry formula.
I've worked out the dosage for the AeroGarden and it follows below :-
EC Plant Phase Approx. Weeks FloraMicro FloraMato
0.85 Seedling 1 3.2mL 3.2mL
1.6 Small to Medium Growth 2 to 5 6.4mL 9.6mL
2.1 Medium to Maturity 6 Onwards 9.6mL 12.8mL
As per my other grows, my Classic AG is modified. I have taken the whole water pump and stand out, I have an airstone supplied with an air pump producing bubbles and aeration. I am using rockwool for my substrate and this has been placed in an AG6 pod which is longer, the original smaller Classic pods have been dispensed with. I will not be using the standard light hood, in it's place is a 125watt CFL grow lamp in the blue (6400K) spectrum.
The lighting cycle will be 16 hours on and 8 hours off.
Weekly Pictures
Wed, 09/30/2009 - 12:49
#2
Welcome back!!
Will be following this grow with interest. I've had minor success in a Classic, using the MaxiGrow & MaxiBloom but still don't get any more than 1 cuke at a time. I'm still trying. My outside trash can cukes do wonderfully though. I'm also doing trash can bell peppers which are doing great too. Will be trying tomatoes in a trash can shortly.
I'll try the flora mato with next grow if yours do well. I haven't been able to get a better light yet, so I don't expect it to do as well as yours.
Enjoy!
Wed, 09/30/2009 - 14:26
#3
It's a shame about your Classic cuke grow, I managed 5 at one time but could get no more - a little frustrating!
Good to hear that the trash can grows are doing great, I hope the FloraMato will turn up trumps, how many experiments are required to get the perfect cuke?
Wed, 09/30/2009 - 14:52
#4
Right now I'm feeling like I'll keep at it for a while longer.
Wed, 09/30/2009 - 20:13
#5
Sure not much left of the Aerogarden in that grow rig, Peat. Sure you don't want to use a Rubbermaid tub?
I wonder how similar our dry FloraMato is to your micro/floramato mix.
So far, I've only really used FloraMato on my carmen pepper in a Deluxe. The recipe on the tub gave 1.5 teaspoons per gallon as a very aggressive growth, use with caution. And I've had enough of the over-fertilization-poison thing, so I just went with 1.25 tsp. Which yielded only about 1.7 EC, which is low for peppers. And the pepper didn't yield much. Lately I've been pushing the EC higher (to around 2.0, then letting the water run low due to neglect...) and I've got a lot more peppers on board.
Thu, 10/01/2009 - 06:17
#6
Hi Peat,
I'm going to give the cucs another try, too! I need to order nutes, I haven't decided on what to use yet. I'm up for experimenting if anyone has a suggestion on what to try...
Beth
Thu, 10/01/2009 - 13:38
#7
Yes, I've pretty much butchered my AG's now - not much left of them.
I was tempted to use my aero unit but wanted to try the new nutes in the AG and see how this went, if it works then I may do an AG grow with it's 'proper' light.
I was wondering about the dry FloraMato which you can buy but we can't Beth. It's supposed to work with cukes/tomatoes and I've seen posts where people have used this as the only nutrient from start to finish. I'm stuck with the liquid version as I can't get the dry one, this needs supplementing with FloraMicro which is annoying.
Thu, 10/01/2009 - 16:51
#8
You can't beat the dry FloraMato for convenience - not much more trouble than tossing in AG tablets.
But so far, I haven't grown any repeats with it yet, to compare with other nutes. I also wasn't being particularly careful with it, distracted by the outdoor stuff over summer. I shall do better now. 
Tue, 10/06/2009 - 11:41
#9
Week 1
Plant has grown as expected, upping the feed now to the new dosage.
Excuse the messy AG base, remnants of glue left behind by the last grow - the sticky silver tape. Thought I had it all cleaned up!
Oh, it's not parsley, it's a cuke - honest.
Dosage: FloraMicro 6.4mL, FloraMato 9.6mL, EC of 1.6 and pH at 5.5
Tue, 10/06/2009 - 16:37
#10
Bright lights! Nice short and healthy little seedling. 
Tue, 10/13/2009 - 10:09
#11
Week 2
Coming along nicely so far, probably about on par with the other cuke grows.
Tue, 10/13/2009 - 10:56
#12
Healthy looking plant. Can't wait to see if you get multiples. (I never did)
Enjoy!
Tue, 10/13/2009 - 16:29
#13
Is that really on par with previous grows, Pete? It's so nice and fat and short! Have you started them under such strong light before?
Wed, 10/14/2009 - 15:37
#14
Fair point Gisette, just checked cuke II at the same week and this one has got a bigger leaf. The other cuke grows were under AG bulbs only, I switched to the 125 watter at week 6 on this one. When they started the first signs of brittleness I switched to the bigger lamp in case the AG ones weren't up to the job - they still exhibited leaf problems but produced more, probably a combination of the different dosage plus better light.
Tue, 10/20/2009 - 03:23
#15
Week 3
Coming along just fine, plant nice and stocky and not stretching for the light, first cukes just forming.
Complete drain and refill with a new batch of nutes.
Dosage: FloraMicro 6.4mL, FloraMato 9.6mL, EC of 1.6 and pH at 5.5
Tue, 10/20/2009 - 08:15
#16
Looks great!
Tue, 10/20/2009 - 18:33
#17
Huh. I wonder why the top leaves are puckered at the edges. Did Dr. Resh also recommend such a low pH?
Wed, 10/21/2009 - 10:09
#18
The Dr. Resh recommendation was for 5.5 to 6.0
I've seen other grows for cukes and they have gone for 5.5, so that's what I settled with. As Cuke II could only manage 5 grown at one time, I decided to try a lower pH - I'll wait a little longer and see how it turns out.
Tue, 10/27/2009 - 12:06
#19
Week 4
Here we are at week 4, the plant has surged ahead and has grown a little too big for what I want. I've removed the growing tip to tame the thing as I'd like it stockier, I'd much prefer the light close to the plant so all the leaves benefit. It's now about 16 inches high.
One of the bottom leaves looks a little limp, all the rest are fine - apart from light burn to one of the leaves. I'm attributing the limp leaf to pH issues I'm having in the AG, they like to wander down to levels they should not be at... Nothing a drop of pH up won't solve though.
Wed, 10/28/2009 - 09:29
#20
Love it!
Wed, 10/28/2009 - 10:29
#21
That's a very lush cucumber plant for 4 weeks!
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 11:42
#22
Week 5
The cuke has got very big, I've had to prune it down to size a few times to contain it within the light.
OK, now the problem... I've not been able to maintain the stability of the pH, it will crash from 5.6 to below 4 in less than one day! Extremely frustrating as this is not the ideal environment for the plant to grow. 
A few reasons spring to mind:
1. The nutes are just not good enough to maintain the pH? I would have hoped this is not the case as they are GH!
2. I have a disease in the root zone which is effecting the levels? Roots look fine, healthy and white with little/no decomposition?
3. The plant is so big it has outgrown the AG? The roots are massive and want to escape the bowl when you open the front flap - I think this may be the problem, the plant is pot bound!
Anyhow, nothing I can do but keep my bottle of pH up handy for daily use. Nutes have been changed, now on the 2.1 EC level, the 1.6 was getting depleted very rapidly also.
For scale, one of the leaves at the front is 10 inches long!
Dosage: FloraMicro 9.6mL, FloraMato 12.8mL, EC of 2.1 and pH at 5.5
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 12:52
#23
Yeah, it could easily be root-bound. I'm toying with the idea of growing a cuke passive-hydroponically atm, and was thinking at least 3 gallons tub capacity. The plant seems to really like what you're doing - fruit at that level of development at age 5 weeks is pretty advanced, isn't it?
Maybe bring the pH up to 6.3 or so? Then it won't crash to poisonous levels as it falls?
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 13:37
#24
Thanks, it's the best looking plant compared to Cuke I and II at the moment - very compact.
Nice idea with the EC, I've upped it now for the impending drop by tomorrow...
What sort of passive hydro unit are you thinking of using? That would be a good experiment, something different from the AG's - they have their place but are very limited for the bigger grows, I don't think there will be AG Cuke IV after this; time to move onto Cuke in Aero possibly.
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 13:56
#25
Well, I need cheap, at the moment. I have my seedling shelf for a lighting unit - could use a second cheap shop light (4 bulbs total - I have the bulbs), but that will fit in the existing shelf. Then just a dishtub full of nutes. I toyed with the passive-hydroponic hydroton rocks and lift to aerate twice a day scheme. It's just not practical with that big a plant and tub. For now, I might buy a second airstone, and hook it up to my existing air pump (instead of the minis) for maybe one day in three, just to see if it makes any difference. For a cuke, I'm not sure it would matter much. Maybe toss some styrofoam packing peanuts in there, and let some roots climb on them....
With FloraMato. Siphon out and replace a gallon a week, perhaps. Grow tendergreen cukes, because of this summer's 4 varieties, they produced the most under adverse conditions.
You know. Cheap. 
Might still change my mind and just re-use a pot with potting mix from my outdoor collection. But I'm not wild about using those without buying new potting mix - I fear the fungus and bugs - and I'd need the biggest for a cuke, and that pot won't fit so well under the lights.
So, probably just a 3-gallon dish tub.
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 16:55
#26
Don't go with dirt, I want to see that cuke in water growing well in the FloraMato. 
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 17:24
#27
Sold. 
Besides, dish tubs only cost $1.88.
Sun, 11/08/2009 - 15:15
#28
I emailed Dr. Resh with a dropping leaf problem, and he thought the plant wasn't getting enough oxygen, and said he didn't think the pH was a factor. (i.e. keeping it at optimum listed low levels wasn't critical) The other possibility he mentioned was root rot. Add to this the success of my outside trash can cukes, which have lots of room to grow, and, I let the water level drop quite a bit before I add water, so they get lots of oxygen, and it would seem that the AG is just to small to grow cukes well.
Whatever you did before in an AG worked for you, so only thing you're doing different is lowering the pH, right? I NEVER checked the pH or EC on my outside cukes and they did really really well.
Just some thoughts for you to mull over.
Enjoy!
Mon, 11/09/2009 - 15:08
#29
Thanks for taking the time to e-mail Resh Judith.
After this 3rd attempt, which will be the last in the AeroGarden, I'm coming round to the fact that the unit is just too small. Its' what AG themselves say and they are the experts for growing this way.
I wanted just one more attempt with different nutes and a better CFL light (plus the LED unit of course) - just to see if there would be a decent improvement.
Monitoring the pH and EC is more important in the AG because of it's small capacity, swings are more pronounced as there is little water to buffer the plants changing needs. I'll still continue to do this and document everything as I go along, the less I can stress the plants the better they will produce.
As I said, last and final attempt for this now - future cuke grows will be done in my aero unit or some other build I may do, it's been good having a go though.
Mon, 11/09/2009 - 16:34
#30
I'm watching this grow with interest and will continue to do so. Your stuff always does soooo well!
But I've given up. It's just not worth the energy for me. $$$ I intend to continue with the outside trash cans tho. They at least, do very well. Inside I'll do more tomatoes and peppers, and maybe keep the cilantro going if it shows me something soon.
Enjoy!
Week 0 - Starting Week (Tuesday 29th September 2009)
Well, here we go again in pursuit of the elusive heavily cropping cuke plant..
The seed is Zeina F1 Hybrid (www.thompson-morgan.com/seeds1/product/877/1.html) which is all female.
First picture, not much to look at yet.
Dosage: FloraMicro 3.2mL, FloraMato 3.2mL, EC of 0.80 and pH at 5.5