PART
II – SEEDS! (and lights)
On Monday or Tuesday this week, my
seeds arrived!
It’s now Friday the 13th,
and with help from the kids, I was able to get the seeds in their starter trays
and under the lights. But before I continue, I’d like to give a big thanks to the
kids, Z & M, for helping me out today!
I ordered the following seeds:
Lemon & Genovese basil; Butter Crunch & Arianna lettuce; garlic chive;
and oregano. Since I will only have room for five of these in the window garden
I’m making, I’m holding off on the Arianna lettuce for now. I’m also starting three of each
vegetable in case some of the seeds do not take, and I’ve also read that one
seed might produce better seedlings than another. I was amazed at just how tiny
some of these seeds are!
I soaked enough rockwool cubes to hold
the seeds and placed them in the tray. I’m actually trying to start them in a
solution different than what the cube packaging suggests. The instructions for
the rockwool cubes suggest that they be soaked in a solution of water and lemon
juice, with a PH of 5.5. Much of what I read about hydroponic growing has all
sorts of references to maintaining proper PH levels. But earlier today, I spoke
with someone who recommended a diluted solution made with RO water and plant
food containing nitrogen, calcium, magnesium and iron. Evidently doing it this
way, I won’t have to be worrying about PH levels all of the time. This test is
all about experimentation, so I decided to try it this way.
LIGHTS
Lighting
is a very important part of hydroponic & indoor growing. There are all
sorts of growing lights available on the market. These run from just a few
dollars to several hundred on up! My test is about having fun and spending as
little as possible.
The
more I researched lighting, the more I read that your regular household CFL
bulb should work just fine for leafy plants. For fruiting plants, that’s a
completely different story. But
for this, I’m sticking with two 26-watt CFL bulbs, putting off 1625 lumens
each. Now, I could sit here and try to explain all about lumens and other
aspects of CFL lighting, but I am in no way an expert on this subject, and the
more I tried wrapping my head around this, just made it hurt. However, I really
do plan to learn more about lighting and familiarize myself with it. When I’m
confident with my knowledge about it, and can confidently put it into words in
a way that anyone can understand, I’ll share that with you. But from what I’ve
been able to deduce from information readily available online, more lumens will
typically mean better results. I chose CFL bulbs mainly because I usually have
them on hand in the house.
The
lights have been placed approximately 8-12 inches over the plants. That seems
to be the standard recommended distance. I’ll be leaving them on for about 18
hours per day. I have no idea how long it will take for these to sprout, if
they even do.
If you thinking to yourself that it
looks like there are more cubes in the tray than there should be, you are
correct. In addition to the seeds I ordered, I’m also going to try growing
tomato and cucumber seeds that my wife came across, mainly to see if they are
still viable (they had a “use by” date of 2009 printed on the package). I’ve
spoken with a couple of folks more adept at gardening than I am, who informed
me that you can get fruiting plants to thrive throughout the summer in AZ. You
just have to take the correct precautions, mainly sunscreens. I’ve been told
that they allow enough light in for the plant to live but block out enough of
the harsh light during the summer. So if these take, I’ll be moving them
outside and protecting them. But that will be for another blog.
Oh, here's a couple of pictures of my hacked together growing area.
Up next, Part III – They’re ALIVE!! (or not)
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