Did have to start over.

Well, I did have to start another batch of seeds. Only 2 plants survived the trauma in the end, but I think it was for the better. I was beginning to worry about how I was going to change the nutrient solution. I was growing a bunch of plants that would need support, and it would have been very difficult to move the planters due to that fact when it was time to change the nutes. I realized that it would be much easier to grow support-requiring plants in a bed whose nute reservoir is NOT directly attached.

So I think my cats did me a favor, in the end. The strawberry seedling and the jaltomate seedling are all that are left of the first round, since they hadn't left the dome yet. I replanted the huckleberry, but other than that, I went a totally different route than peppers. I decided to plant some greens and herbs, which won't need support, so a nute change will be easier. I also have had to move the system to a closed off room, so those kitties can't get to the plants.

So, I've got the 3 berry seeds, 1 broccoli, 1 dell celery, 1 red stalk celery, 1 1basil, 1 thyme, 1 parsley, 1 peppermint, 1 spearmint, 1 spinach, and 3 random greens seeds that came from a salad greens mix. A lot of the seeds popped root in the 1st 24 hours of planting.

Today's pictures

Here's the tomato plant today. One of the leaves looks to be a little damaged, but all in all, I think it's healthy.
















And here is the first sign of future berries! The berries are what I'm really exicted to grow. This guy is the huckleberry.

And here is a pepper who's leaves are just aching to get out!

No more cucumber, no more pea

So on advice from the Gardenweb Hydroponics forum, I got that moldy pea the heck out of my system. The verdict is that the rooters are too wet for sugar snap peas to germinate, and there was probably some mold on the pea itself. I inspected the pea to see if it was sprouting when I took it out. It was not. It stunk like rot. Glad I got it out when I did.

I also removed the cucumber seed I hurt. I'm at almost 100% germination right now, and am going to have too many plants. Knowing it was going to be distressed, I just removed it. So now its just peppers, and a tomato plant.

I'm going to take some pictures of the life tonight. Will post at some point soon.

Grow it. Cook it. Eat it. Love it.
The Green Guisador

The cucumber I killed. I think.

It's still showing signs of life, but I can't imagine it will survive the damage I did to his early roots.


Grow it. Cook it. Eat it. Love it.
The Green Guisador

Those peppers are a rootin!

Here's some photos of the various pepper seeds doing their thing.


Grow it. Cook it. Eat it. Love it.
The Green Guisador

Sugar Snap Pea, is there a problem?

So I've been hawking the sugar snap pea, and the past day or two, it has changed a little. I didn't know if it is sprouting, or just kind of taking on water and decomposing. Now there is a little bit of white stuff that seems to have popped up on the surface of the rooter. Do I have a problem here, should this be removed from the system? I don't know if this is common, or harmless, but it looks like some kind of fungus or mold growth. My first instinct is to get it the hell out of there, so it doesn't spread.

Having never done this, I'm worried about over and under reacting.
Am I okay to give it a few more days to see what happens, or should I get it the hell out. Maybe these rooters are just too wet for the sugar snap pea? We'll see how it goes, I know sugar snaps seem to have a lower germination rate than other peas. Hopefully, if it is troubled, it won't hurt my other plants!

Grow it. Cook it. Eat it. Love it.
The Green Guisador.

Eh, lessons learned

So I think I murdered the cucumber. I had stupidly sowed it so that it was lodged in the rooter strangely, and when I went to adjust it, I saw it had roots down. So I most likely damaged that guy beyond repair, but that's alright. Many of the other seeds have germinated, and I took down the weaker of the 2 tomato seedlings.

So, I learned to get your seeds how you want em from the start, and once they're in there, DON'T #*$% with them!

Grow it. Cook it. Eat it. Love it.
The Green Guisador

Another taproot.

Okay, we've got our second sign of life here in the dome! One of the pepper seeds from the sweet rainbow mix has popped.

That little tomato is rolling.

Well, I was afraid that our water supply here in southern Nevada was too vicious for plants, but if this guy is any indication, it may not be as bad as I thought. Here's hoping this becomes a healthy plant!

And 36 hours later, we have our first sign of life!

Well, we've got a taproot in the system. The Black Sea Man Tomato seed looks like he's ready to get growing. Here's a couple of pictures as best as I could get them!



As you can see, we've got some root activity here, so it won't be but a couple of days til we can expect to see a sprout. Here's hoping the rest of our seeds follow suit.

I'm really glad this one germinated. I've never seen or heard of anything like a black tomato, and I am excited to see what these guys are all about!





Grow it. Cook it. Eat it. Love it.
The Green Guisador

The setup.

Here's the hydroponic setup I've got. I have the 7.5 gallon Hydrofarm Megagarden system. It has 15 planters, and it set up for ebb and flow operation.

The light is a Hydrofarm 400W HPS/MH Switchable system. I mounted it on a metal garment rack. The distance from the top of the planters to the bottom of the reflector is 4' even.

The planters will be filled with Hydrotron Expanded Clay Pellets. But that's not until we have some plants to put in them. For now, it's all about the seeds!

This is what I have to germinate my seeds, or take care of the seedlings from seeds germinated elsewhere. It is the General Hyroponics Rapid Rooter 50-planter. It has the dome to keep the humidity up, which is oh-so crucial in our dry desert climate.

I've only dropped 15 seeds in so far. I've got 15 planters, along with some materials for a small 1 or 2 plant setup. I can't assume a 100% germination rate, but whatever does sprout will go into the system. One of each of the following were put into the system: sugar nap pea, jaltomate berry, huckleberry, everbearing strawberry, black sea man tomato, banana pepper, garden salsa pepper, sweet red karma pepper, and cool breeze cucumber. There are also 6 random pepper seeds from a rainbow pack.

So that's what's in. I also put some pepper seeds in a wet paper towel in some foil to germinate, in case it doesn't work in the dome. I will transplant those guys in here once they pop a little root. I have read everything I can find about germinating seeds. So much contradictory information is out there, even on the same plants. I've decided to go with the MH lamp, on from 6am until midnight daily. I figure if I give the plants the lights they're going to get as adults, that makes sense. Also, because of the different temperature needs of the seeds, when the light is on the dome is about 80°F, which is good for the peppers. The rest of them like the lower 70°s, which they get at night. I figure the light and temperature difference will give them some idea of day and night. Maybe I'm wrong, I'm sure many seasoned gardeners could set me straight, but only one way to learn. So here we go, let's hope for some sprouts!

Grow it, cook it, eat it, love it.
The Green Guisador