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#1
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Slow Growing Plants
Hey all,
I've got a bit of a problem. I'm running an aeroponics system (it's a tote-bin with drip on the perlite and misting below and reservoir at the bottom) as well as a few potted plants as a control. Now I've got a green-pepper plant growing in the aeroponics system and a few other things in the potting soil but they're all growing incredibly slowly. Basically the get a pair of adult leaves then sit there doing nothing. They all look happy; good green leaves, nice and glossy with no spots or discolorations but they just don't seem to be getting bigger. Here are a few measurements: Air Temp: 10-22C Water Temp: 18C Humidity: 20 -30% Light: 18h on 6h off. 6x 70W high pressure sodium + 1x 85W/5100lm "Daylight" fluorescent tube. pH: 6.3 EC: 0.68 mS Any ideas? |
#2
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Quote:
It sounds like the plants are getting enough water or they would be wilting. So I don't think that is a problem, unless they are constantly soaked and don't get enough oxygen. There might be a problem with the nutrients you are using, I am using General Hydroponics Flora series 3 part system because they are pretty reliable and standard in the industry. I don't know that what you are using is not reliable, but it might be worth investigating. I also dont know how often you change the nutreants or the size of the resevar. I am interested in the setup you have for the aeroponic system, I am very interested in that technology. I am particularly interested in the pump you are using and if it was expensive. Also what kind of pressure it provides and how many emitters that it is capable of supporting without pressure loss. |
#3
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Definitely not using potting soil in the system. That's in pots next to it. The idea was to see how much faster the plants grow in the hydroponics than in the soil. The nutrient solution is a three part, home-made one I picked up from a hydroponics shop in Cape Town. The owner showed me the kind of things he was growing and the concentrations he was using so I'm assuming it's good.
The pump is a cheap thing from china I picked up at the garden shop. It pumps about 800 L/h which is not quite enough to give my five misters the pressure they need but it seems okay. They don't so much mist as they do spit. Here are a few pictures |
#4
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Oh, and the reservoir is 30 L. How often should I be changing the water? That's the one thing I've never been too sure on. At the moment it's just the three plants in there and they're pretty small.
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#5
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30 liters would be roughly 7 gallons, I can't Imagen that being a problem for plants that size even though peppers are heavy feeders. If the plants that are in potting soil are getting the same lighting and are growing faster I would think that the lighting is sufficient. I would half to say the problem must be in the nutrients. I don't know what you are using because you said it is a special blend so I cant even look it up. I would consider talking to the guy at the Hydro store to see if he has any thoughts. Also from the pictures and your statement that there are 5 emitters I am wondering if they are being fully saturated. From the pictures, it doesn't look like is the baskets are getting the spray but I am sure that is because you have the lid up, although you say the pressure is lacking. I know that with areoponics it is important to fully saturate the root system and most people overlook this because with each emitter they loose pressure. With one row of emitters down the center the outside of the baskets wont be getting the solution. If I understand correctly you are also using a drip system that should offset that problem.
I guess, through the possess of elimination I would want to look at the nutrients. You may want to look up the pepper plant pH level, I kept my Bell peppers at 6.0 but yours might want something different if they are different type. At this point, because of your problem I would want to change the nutrients each week until I was able to learn more (just in case). That amount of nutrient solution for those small plants you could cut back to about 4 gallons of solution if cost is a problem, and if you have that ability? Also more frequent nutrient solution changes cuts down on algae and bacteria problems having the time to grow. I had a similar problem years ago with a single strawberry plant, I had growing in grow rocks. I never checked the pH because I didn't have a tester, but I don't think that it grew at all in a month that I gave it a shot. I was using dry mixable nutrients (I don't remember what kind). If the system is not light proof then algae and bacteria will be a problem. I am looking for pumps that will support something like 24 to 48 emitters minimum. |
#6
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I came across some misters that I'm using in my outdoor soil/container garden which use 10 gph (38 lph?) each, and they have nice varieties of patterns available. At 50 psi regulated hose pressure with a 10 gph restrictor their green full-circle spinners will spray about a 7 foot circle, so way lower pressure and/or flow shouldn't be an issue I'm guessing. They have some other non-spinning fan nozzles that also do well on low pressure/low flow.
Made by MisterLandscaper and they are sold in the US at Lowes stores. I don't know if that helps anyone, but I am going to try them when I build a small aeroponic system. My outdoor soil green & red sweet peppers are slow growing as well & I have just transplanted them into an outdoor ebb & flow to see if they speed up any. My other soil plants (tomato, cucumber, yellow squash and a banana pepper) have already started producing. Last edited by JD4x4; 07-03-2009 at 11:02 AM. |
#7
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I had read somewhere a while ago about the misters/emitters used in aeroponics and that the water droplets that came out needed to be within a certain size range to be effective. I don't know how correct that is but any emitters designed for areponics should be fine. Although while trying to find out more about that particular issue with areponics I have found some good information on aeroponics and I just thought I would post the link to it for anyone that was interested.
Aeroponics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
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aerponics, slow growing |
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