Tue, 10/28/2008 - 12:42
This is sort of a continuation of a conversation started elsewhere.
Recap:
I bought some General Hydroponics Flora Grow, Flora Micro Hardwater, and Flora Bloom early in the summer. But my first attempt to apply them, as per the instructions on the bottles (3/2/1 tsp/gallon for vegetative growth) on lettuce didn't go so well. I cut the formula to 80%, but the lettuce still didn't seem as happy as it had on AG nutrient tabs. So, having quite a lot of those from assorted kits (lettuce gardens never seem to last the 4 months in the kit at home temperatures), I went back to those.
Peat advised me that I really needed an EC (electrical conductivity) meter to use liquid nutes well. But I didn't want to pay for one. (The good BlueLab truncheon he recommended runs ~ $135 - easily enough for another Aerogarden or growlights...)
But those AG nutrients kept melting into a slurry. AG said they worked just as well as before they melted. But - they don't seem to anymore.
But - yay!!! BB got a BlueLab truncheon, and has very similar water to mine & GH nutes (tho Flora Micro, not Flora Micro Hardwater). And he measured his formulations for me! Thank you thank you, BB!
< End recap >
(1 vote)
Tue, 10/28/2008 - 13:23
#2
Actually, though... I'm
Actually, though... I'm thinking that because height and pruning are a perpetual problem in the AG for the peppers, next time around I might cut the micro and grow components even further, and bump up the bloom proportionately.
The dratted peppers mostly set buds on top. So continued pruning on top, is a real problem. Though, not as much of a problem since I got a new Deluxe to stop playing the top-pruning game and just let them get taller. But still - my potted pepper plant is now ahead of the AG one (in terms of fruit set), due to pruning. 
Wed, 10/29/2008 - 14:43
#3
Hmmm.... Well, the one pepper
Hmmm.... Well, the one pepper plant which had never gone yellow before, started turning yellow. 
So... it's odd that it's that one (mini red bell) and not the other two (red & yellow mini stuffing), which always turned yellow before... And adding Flora Gro got them green again. And Peat did mention the other day that suggested pepper EC's ranged from 2.3 up to 3.0. So... I decided to add 3 ml each of micro / grow / bloom to the reservoir.
That was last night. So far, the yellowing pepper leaves seem just a little greener.
Hard to say for sure that the nutrient solution is the problem here, though, because a lot of roots got broken while I worked on the pump. That could also be the culprit.
Wed, 10/29/2008 - 20:00
#4
I wish BB wouldn't keep
I wish BB wouldn't keep bringing up that Mother Keeper system from HGS. 
I keep going and looking at it, and... the one I really want....
The Complete 400W Grow Tent System with 10 Coco Coir bags...
Of course, I like the Mother Keeper system too. 
Wed, 10/29/2008 - 20:06
#5
Ginger, I beat my roots up a
Ginger, I beat my roots up a little flushing and refilling, too. My old nutes had gone down to 1.5 and started to yellow overnight. I mixed up Peat's bloom mix, diluted down to 2.3 and still have yellowing. I think I'll kick it up to 2.8 and see what happens. I have to make another bloom mix 'cuz my peppers and toms used up a half gallon in three days. I think I'll add 10% more micro to get more N in the mix. Time will tell.
Glad you got this started, I see Peat is already a member, good deal! Maybe we can get rid of all the chaff and get serious.
Been out of town and now have to go eat. Back later or tomorrow.
Bruce
Wed, 10/29/2008 - 20:13
#6
Ah, I see you want the full
Ah, I see you want the full monty. Maere won't have a closet devoted to plants so I'm having to do what I can, even though it'll be even more obtrusive. We have way too many clothes and jackets...
The only drawback I can see with what I bought is the height, it's going to be short if I go with 3 gallon planters plus many really neat hydro setups are 24" wide which will be out of my league.
Getting dragged off to eat, later....
B
Wed, 10/29/2008 - 20:15
#7
YAY! Great to see you online,
YAY! Great to see you online, Bruce!
And I'm really relieved to hear you've had yellowing trouble with the peppers, too - now I'm not so worried. 
Please keep me posted on how your new mix works!
On brighter news, my yellow-leaved red pepper is definitely setting, keeping, and growing fruit. At least 6 now, plus at least 2 new fruits on the one whose old fruits are full sized (but still green). The runty potted pepper with the 17W Walmart grow light has set at least 5 fruit, too...
Wed, 10/29/2008 - 20:19
#8
Hope dinner was good.
Fully
Hope dinner was good.
Fully monty? As in, completely nekkid?
Yeah, I don't have a spare closet. That particular system that keeps singing to me, includes the closet! With ventilation fans, even... There is room in my office to add a standalone closet... So long as I can close the door on 400W lights. Though, their heat output would be welcome down there. Brrrr.
Wed, 10/29/2008 - 21:05
#9
I'm banned. No email, no
I'm banned. No email, no warning, no discussion, no nothing. You?
Wed, 10/29/2008 - 23:53
#10
WOWser! Yep, I am too. I had
WOWser! Yep, I am too. I had to use a web browsing proxy to see what h2o had to say. He's been busier tonight than I've ever seen him. I didn't mention you at all on the forums, just "the other place". You think he's looking at our PMs?
Thu, 10/30/2008 - 00:02
#11
He didn't have anything to
He didn't have anything to say, to me. Not a word, not when you and Ellen had the icon tiff, not now. This doesn't surprise me much - as moderator on that board for 6 months, I think I've had 3 email exchanges with him. (No doubt Ellen keeps his mailbox full... but he's never around, never answers, why would I email him?)
I only knew anything was up, because I got an email telling me one of my glogs had been moved (actually, they all had - he nuked "Gisette's Glog" sub-board and moved all the topics). I asked why :
Why has "Gisette's Glog" been removed?
A comment I didn't consider particularly rude...
And next screen refresh, i was banned :
For solicitation and disrespect of other members.
Yeah, the board went silent, and now he's trying to make himself pleasant, I guess.
I wonder how Peat knew he'd be back "tomorrow". In all the time I was on that board, I never had any idea when H2O would be back - not even what month.
Thu, 10/30/2008 - 01:35
#12
OK, I lied, I haven't gone to
OK, I lied, I haven't gone to bed yet, this board is taking a little getting used to. All I can say about Peat knowing when he'd be there is hmmmmm.......... but I can't imagine Peat doing anything bad intentionaly. Edited, since I see Peat is a member..
Did h2o delete all your things or just move them? Guess that's a moot question since you supposedly can't even see the board, like me.
While we're on the subject, who is h2o and why does he even have the forum? It's surreal, like Charlie's Angels or something. Is it full of ads for revenue? I have a pretty strong ad blocker so dont see any if they exist. Otherwise, I can't figure out why he'd go to the trouble and expense.
OK, I'm going to bed. Unless something else comes up after I save this.
Thu, 10/30/2008 - 09:59
#13
I had no idea he would be
I had no idea he would be back tomorrow, it was all a little joke with you Bruce. That's, unfortunately, become some coincidence? Don't worry, I'm no James Bond type double agent!
H20 has adverts on the site, revenue. Gisette told me as my pc blocks all his adverts as well, quite funny that. I wondered the same as you about this.
Thu, 10/30/2008 - 10:30
#14
H2O does get revenue from his
H2O does get revenue from his site. I'll use AdSense ads here, too - they're not obnoxious and add a few pennies here and there to defray expenses. But the Google terms of service state we're not allowed to say how much money we get from those ads. It's not a lot, unless a site really takes off.
My stuff was just moved, not deleted, so far. Valuable content... Yes, I too can use proxies. 
Thu, 10/30/2008 - 11:01
#15
Gisette, did LukeSkyWalker
Gisette, did LukeSkyWalker meet the same fate? He posted his new site on AG, that's the last we ever saw of him...
It's good that your stuff is still there, if he deleted it then there would be holes everywhere; 1249 of them! Very petty to remove your glog, he must see that as a major demotion?
By the way, you are still 'cosette' with this spellchecker. 
Thu, 10/30/2008 - 11:10
#16
Yes, I think LukeSkyWalker
Yes, I think LukeSkyWalker was banned for his new site. But I don't really remember him before he posted his new site, so I didn't really notice at the time, just that he posted enormous hydroponics tracts that no one was discussing, then was gone. H2O didn't discuss it with me, naturally... He never did.
Actually, it's not good that my contributions are still there and I have no access to them anymore. It amounts to theft. But I'll at least glean the growlogs off before asking that all my posts be deleted. Dunno that they'd honor the request, tho.
Thu, 10/30/2008 - 11:14
#17
Once you chop your image
Once you chop your image links to your pictures, it's going to look a right mess on there.
Am I able to help with getting anything off?
Thu, 10/30/2008 - 11:17
#18
Well, that's true, I could
Well, that's true, I could rename my Picasa albums & my older images on my server.
But at the moment, I don't want to do anything until I've finished gleaning out my growlogs. Thanks, no, Peat - I can read stuff. And you can't delete or change it.
So! My tap water is borderline hard and ~7.2 pH. (BB's is higher.) Based on his experiments, and Peat's guideline formulas (from Peat's Guide to Hydroponics, which we'll persuade Peat to attach here sometime
), the formulas I started using last night are (Flora Micro hardwater edition):
Peppers: 8.5 ml micro / 10.6 ml grow / 12.7 ml bloom, in one gallon water (should yield ~ 2.3 EC, and pH near 6.5)
Lettuce: 6.3 ml micro / 10.6 ml grow / 2.1 ml bloom, per gallon (should yield ~1.7 EC, and pH near 6.5)
I wasn't sure what to do with my coleus and snapdragons. The snapdragons are in full bloom, and I don't want to encourage the coleus to bloom, so I stuck with a neutral formulation. May change my mind and go with a bloom formula if the snapdragons stop blooming. They're in a mini, so made a half gallon.
Mixed coleus/snapdragons: 4.3 ml each micro / grow / bloom in 1/2 gallon.
Wish me luck.