The Growing Edge Blog

Last week, we were struggling with pH problems. This week, I replaced our water with fresh water and nutrients. I am happy to announce that there has been no drastic pH changes since I did this. Unfortunately, you may notice light brown specks of necrosis on Dexter’s leaves. The sprayer was slightly clogged to the point that water was splashing out of our NFT system and landing on Dexter’s leaves. This was enough to cause slight burning on the foliage. To prevent this I am going to put more expanded clay pellets in the NFT basket so that water cant make it out the system as easily. Also this week, I pinched Dexter’s terminal growth. This sends signals through out the plant to activate lateral growth and become bushier. You can see a dark spot where I removed the third set of true leaves.

Its been just over 3 weeks since I transplanted Dexter in to our NFT system, and look at ‘em go! I was surprised that the second set of true leaves doubled in size over the weekend. The third set of true leaves became visible just a few weeks ago.

I have been experiencing strange pH shifts. When I came in to work on Monday the pH was at 5.7. I adjusted it back to 6.7. I think I will have to flush my system and put clean water in to it. When a pH gets too acidic, it can lock out certain nutrients from being absorbed by the roots. If Dexter was damaged by the low pH, I would expect to deficiencies in the newest growth first since it acts as a sink for nutrients and cells are dividing more rapidly.

1/11/08

1st true leave width: 1 1/4″
Height from potting medium: 1 1/2″

Just wanted to let people know we just sent Vol. 19 issue 4 to the printer a couple days ago. Of course Jeff, Rob, and Lynnette will be back with us. We are introducing a new feature this issue. Due to an outcry of interest for more information on soil biology, We welcome back Dr. Elaine Ingham, of Soil Foodweb Inc., with a article on practical uses of microbes in hydroponics. This feature will now appear directly next to Jeff Lowenfels column every issue of Growing Edge. Laurie Lamberth graces the pages of Growing Edge with a product review of Nature’s Nectar nutrients and the Easy2Grow self watering system. Also this issue we debut an article from Gretchen Sherrill. Gretchen takes an in-depth look at the innovations of aquaponics developed at the University of the Virgin Islands. We are also treated to an overview of the Crop King conference last November. Look for this issue at your local indoor growing store and hydroponic shops in mid-February.

I can’t believe that it is already the beginning of week three. Although vertical growth and leaf development rate has increased greatly, there still seems to be more development with the leaves than vertical growth. Dexter’s width of its first true leaves measure 2/3″ as of today. Dexter now is over an inch tall. You may notice that Dexter has a new set of leaves popping out. They first appeared earlier this week and have been increasing in size faster than any other part of the little plant.

Also earlier this week, the pH in our reservoir got down to 6.3. I adjusted the pH back to 6.7 at that time. That means I went over 2 weeks with out having to make an adjustment. I will have to monitor longer before I can determine if the pH buffered Supernatural fertilizer lives to its claims.

I would like to introduce a new feature this week. Root shots! Now you can watch Dexter’s development from top and bottom. It is still a little hard to see, but there are lots of little roots just barley poking out.

1/4/08

Now is the time you all have been waiting for…our weekly update on Dexter! Dexter has been working a lot on root growth and development of the first set of true leaves, but not so much development in vertical growth. The development has been amazing, especially considering that the first set of true leaves had just begun to open a week ago. The leaf unfolding looks beautiful. There doesn’t appear to be any mutations or malformations to its leaves, which is great, because the cotyledons were slightly malformed. I can tell that this little plant will live up to its reputation as having large lush foliage, a characteristic of Sweet Basil. He enjoys our 250 Watt HPS light. Our nutrient solution has a pH of 6.7. I have not adjusted the pH of nutrient in any way since beginning this crop. If the pH drops much lower, I may have to adjust pH back to its optimal range.

12/28/07

Fun fact of the week: Dexter’s leaves now measure over 1/4 of an inch
Height above the potting medium: 1/2 of an inch

We have just transplanted some new basil in to our NFT system. Last time I documented basil at the office, we looked at basil growth, as a whole, now I will document a single plant. I will submit new a photo every Friday so people can see the progress. I have named the plant Dexter after the new version of WordPress that we use for this blog, version 2.3, which was named after the tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon.

Dexter sprouted a little over two weeks ago and is just putting out its first set of true leaves. I transplanted them two days ago, and it seems to have taken the transplantation well. I decided to use the Supernatural Gro Aqua. Having never tried hydroponics with a granular fertilizer, I thought it would be a good time to try. This product also claims to have a pH buffer, so I thought it would be interesting to see if their claim is true. Over the past few days, pH has held at 6.7.

Ladies and gentlemen, make Dexter feel welcome.

12/21/07

Height above growing medium: less than 1/2 inch
Interests: Gravity, Nitrogen (Nitrate), Entomology
Occupation: 6CO2 + 6H2O (+ light energy) –> C6H12O6 + 6O2
Turn on: Light between the spectrum 380-520nm
Turn off: Fungus gnats, Pythium
Tune of the week: Matt Flinner- Latitude

Its hard to believe that it is not even 2008 yet and we have a good portion of our March/April issue completed. Its kind of depressing really. The first thing I think of when I think of April is tax time. Does any one else think that this is sickening? Hopefully a few days off for the holidays will help take my mind off tax time.

From everyone here at Growing Edge, we wish you all a happy holidaze.

Howdy again folks,

As I write this, our next issue of Growing Edge is being printed. They way it looks, it is going to be the best issue since our last issue. We have all of our old friends back, Dr. Lynette Morgan, Rob Smith, and Jeff Lowenfels. We welcome back Steven Frowine with the second part of his article on miniature orchids. We are also very happy to have Dr. Howard Resh back in the pages of Growing Edge. Our new best friend, Dr. Christopher Kline premiers in this issue with a look at aquaponics basics. Look for this issue at your local indoor gardening shop in mid-December. Have a safe new years!

We would like to thank Tom Weller for his four years of making Growing Edge magazine great. Tom has decided to leave Growing Edge to pursue other endeavors. His talents will be missed. Replacing Tom, as editor, is John “Ol’ Chumbucket” Baur. John’s skill as the fastest typer in the office is quickly spreading through out the work place. John’s first magazine will be our Jan./Feb issue of Growing Edge. Although pirates were never known for their grammar, John has no problem differentiating the word “are” and “arrrr”. Look for correctly spelled words in our next issue of Growing Edge due out in mid-December.