Let there be white: mc130p's horticultural adventure continues

ttystikk

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
mc130p said:
Hey everyone! I hope your week went by with few problems!! Here's a quick update on the garden:) The Tangie in the back left isn't going to be very tall, but she's got a lot of branches, and super strong tangerine smell....she smells so good! The Dr. Grinspoon in the back right is still growing...I think the dark period temps are just a tad bit on the chilly side for her, but she'll have to make do! I adjusted my lights-on temps to run from 78-82F instead of 76-80F, as well. Here's the pic:
View attachment 3596831
On a side note, I'm really becoming convinced there's something to this dark-period temp >= light period temp, as mentioned in the papers discussed a while back. If you compare the growth rates to this summer(the 20's pages), when I run the AC at lights on after I come home from work, and no AC at lights off, when I'm away, so it's actually hotter in the tent during lights off. Anyway, if you look at the pics, you can clearly see that the plants grew much faster and larger. There was more stretch, but the plants were larger. That's the only difference between then and now, so this summer will really seal the deal for me. It would be great if someone else that's not a climate-control cheapskate, like me, could try it out for a cycle!
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Can you be more specific about the day and night temperatures you were running? I read an abstract from a study recently that asserted higher nighttime temps than day temps led to increased yield. I'm assembling the necessary equipment to do it myself and should have it all ready to go in a month or so.
 
mc130p

mc130p

Well-Known Member
ttystikk said:
Can you be more specific about the day and night temperatures you were running? I read an abstract from a study recently that asserted higher nighttime temps than day temps led to increased yield. I'm assembling the necessary equipment to do it myself and should have it all ready to go in a month or so.
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Lights on temps were 76-80F(but sometimes hotter, and especially at lights on, sometimes longer depending on how long i stay at work) (house AC set to 72) lights off temps were ~75 at first, then rising to 85-90 until lights on, depending on how hot it is outside...i open the house windows when i leave, and i have window fans to help circulate air, but it still gets pretty hot. I let it go until I can't stand it, haha.

if i had my choice, i'd probably keep it about 85F during lights off and stay with 76,78-80,82 lights on temp.
 
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ttystikk

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
mc130p said:
Lights on temps were 76-80F(but sometimes hotter, and especially at lights on, sometimes longer depending on how long i stay at work) (house AC set to 72) lights off temps were ~75 at first, then rising to 85-90 until lights on, depending on how hot it is outside...i open the house windows when i leave, and i have window fans to help circulate air, but it still gets pretty hot. I let it go until I can't stand it, haha.

if i had my choice, i'd probably keep it about 85F during lights off and stay with 76,78-80,82 lights on temp.
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This is something I believe I can replicate, so I'm going to give it a go here in a bit. Part of my evil plan is to tame the wily nighttime humidity monster; if temps stay up, it's easier to keep RH under control, right? It's when temps fall that RH spikes and creates ideal conditions for powdery mildew and worse. I thought it was pretty sneaky, myself!

I plan to do all this with my new 'water chiller with hot gas recovery', which will remove heat from the cooling circuit as one might expect- and then pass it directly into a hot side water circuit. I'll use this for everything from growroom dehuey to nighttime heating to home heating and domestic hot water. And more!

I've recently taken delivery of roughly half of the COB LED lights I'll replace my entire running stock of HID and T5 with. These will help me keep my daytime temps firmly under control. The hot gas recovery system will supply recycled heat to maintain desired temperatures at all times, including at night. I don't really have the ability to control nighttime temperatures right now, as I can't adequately recover heat with air cooled water chillers.

Long winded, but I believe this approach will be very efficient and could potentially help deliver big yield increases.
 
hillbill

hillbill

Well-Known Member
many plants grow better in warmer soil, look around you, watch your veggy garden. Many seeds even rot if put in cold soil, or go dormant. When I first switched to LEDs I had not considered the effect on soil temps. Plants stayed small and transpiration slowed and overwatering was hard to control. Fungus gnat army loved it.

Put an hid in winter just to help but this year I ducted in a bit of air from furnace. All is well. Hps is stored.
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
hillbill said:
many plants grow better in warmer soil, look around you, watch your veggy garden. Many seeds even rot if put in cold soil, or go dormant. When I first switched to LEDs I had not considered the effect on soil temps. Plants stayed small and transpiration slowed and overwatering was hard to control. Fungus gnat army loved it.

Put an hid in winter just to help but this year I ducted in a bit of air from furnace. All is well. Hps is stored.
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I'm bracing for this, as weird as it sounds. The two I've already installed in my veg are so much cooler the whole space runs 8 degrees lower now.

That's why the elaborate plan was already in place to ADD heat via waste heat recovery and hot water baseboard heaters. It seems I'll need them 24/7, not just at night.

What I can't do is pipe in hot air if I want to maintain sealed environment conditions, I'm supplementing co2.
 
mc130p

mc130p

Well-Known Member
im not sure if any of you guys remember the banana plant that infested my garden with spider mites last year....well i threw it outside to die because it pissed me off so bad, but it lived and grew, so I started taking care of it again. Anyway, it still has mites, which is scary, because I had to bring it inside to shield it from the cold. I just don't touch it and vacuum around it very often.....seems to be alright, but I can't wait to get it back outside! Anyway, the thing is a beast now and still it's growing so fast!! Check it out:
IMAG0188.jpg
 
P

PurpleBuz

Well-Known Member
mc130p said:
im not sure if any of you guys remember the banana plant that infested my garden with spider mites last year....well i threw it outside to die because it pissed me off so bad, but it lived and grew, so I started taking care of it again. Anyway, it still has mites, which is scary, because I had to bring it inside to shield it from the cold. I just don't touch it and vacuum around it very often.....seems to be alright, but I can't wait to get it back outside! Anyway, the thing is a beast now and still it's growing so fast!! Check it out:
View attachment 3601913
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grow some macadamia nuts and you can make banana nut bread :)
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
mc130p said:
im not sure if any of you guys remember the banana plant that infested my garden with spider mites last year....well i threw it outside to die because it pissed me off so bad, but it lived and grew, so I started taking care of it again. Anyway, it still has mites, which is scary, because I had to bring it inside to shield it from the cold. I just don't touch it and vacuum around it very often.....seems to be alright, but I can't wait to get it back outside! Anyway, the thing is a beast now and still it's growing so fast!! Check it out:
View attachment 3601913
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Insecticidal soap.
 
hillbill

hillbill

Well-Known Member
Dr bronner's works. 4tbs/gal. I also use with pyrethrum when I'm really angry. DE is always here and neem is at the ready! This old guy would sacrifice the plant and burn it and it's soil in a Bon fire. Mites never get a free ride inside!
 
mc130p

mc130p

Well-Known Member
hillbill said:
Dr bronner's works. 4tbs/gal. I also use with pyrethrum when I'm really angry. DE is always here and neem is at the ready! This old guy would sacrifice the plant and burn it and it's soil in a Bon fire. Mites never get a free ride inside!
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yeah, im not really feeling like mixing up some concoction of different things and eventually getting it right...i just want to spray something on the plant and have it kill the mites without spending a lot of money. I know there's gotta be something that actually works, but I haven't found it yet. The mites seem to stay on the plant. They don't get carried around by the cat or anything. The thing has been in the house since the end of Nov, and the gardens are still g2g ;) Kind of risky, I know, but it's not a big deal if something does happen- I'll be alright since it's not paying any bills and it's only 3 months from seed to bowl:)
 
C

churchhaze

Well-Known Member
Any hand soap made with a liquid fat and potassium hydroxide should work as an insecticidal soap. (real hand soap, not a detergent). It should cause their soft bodies to melt.

Remember to wash the soap off.
 
hillbill

hillbill

Well-Known Member
Safers insecticidal soap with pyrethrin. Neem oil spay. Concentrates are available also just add water. Propane torch to light bonfire.
 
hillbill

hillbill

Well-Known Member
That don't come inside either. At least be aware of what that is all about. Not to be used in areas used by humans.
 
mc130p

mc130p

Well-Known Member
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