HydroGrowLog / HydroPhotoLog: May 2012

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Day 072: Cherry Tomato, Bell Pepper

Pepper flowers have started to drop shortly after blooming. Changed nutrients and cut nitrate back by ~45%.
Lower branches on the cherry tomato (double-planters) have started to prune themselves; likely due to the lack of light they received due to shading. Hasn't impacted fruit development. All the tomato plants have been topped over the last couple days and the nutrients changed (Modified Steiner).

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Day 069: Cherry Tomato, Bell Pepper

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Day 068: Cherry Tomato, Bell Pepper

Cantaloupe was ripped out yesterday. After a month of failing to successfully hand pollinate a couple dozen female flowers, it seemed to be a lost cause. Best left to the bees.

I snipped the shoot tip off one of the rear tomato plants. Even with the light cooling and fire suppression systems, I don't want it any nearer the lamp. Final height was roughly 110cm.

Topped off tomato buckets with 2x Modified Steiner solution to bring nutrient levels back to roughly ~1x concentrations. pH is holding at around ~6.0-6.2.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Day 065: Cherry Tomato, Cantaloupe, Bell Pepper

Slightly different view of lab than normal.

Camera is using a tungsten filter in these shots to eliminate the intense yellow glow from the HPS lamp.

Tomato's are developing nicely and are just over a meter tall. Dual plants are using about a gallon of nutrient solution per day. In future, when using the General Hydroponic PowerGrower units, stick to 1 plant per planter -- it's easier to maintain pH and nutrient levels. Dual plants also have some slight shading, but it does not appear to be significantly impacting growth.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Day 059: Cherry Tomato

Tomatoes are developing nicely on all plants. Pollinating each truss at least once a day with a vibrator. Current state indicates roughly 300 tomatoes if 100% pollination takes place. Pollination rate is roughly 95%. Roots are healthy (below photo).

No luck manually pollinating cantaloupe yet. I've tried using a fine paint brush to transfer pollen from male to female flowers as well as transferring the stamen to the female flowers. It's looking to be a lost cause.

Pepper plant has no mature flowers to speak of.