What are your thoughts on installing a aquarium air pump and air stone in the water or maybe a soaker hose to provide air bubbles to the nutrient solution? The rising bubbles would keep the water moving around. When the water/nutrient solution is stagnant, the mineral salts (nutrients) settle near the bottom. As a result the nutrient balance becomes uneven (very strong near the bottom, and very weak near the top). The rising air bubbles from the air pump create movement in the water that keeps the nutrient solution mixing all the time, and thus nutrients evenly distributed throughout the water as well.
Hi there I've put mine in a large heated propagator on clay pebbles so it fits better I have also rigged up a lamp off of amazon so the plants get natural light even in winter Still to start sowing hence looking at videos like this, which i have really found useful, if i get the hang of posting on this YouTube i will put videos etc to keep you up to date
I've had mine for about a month and have been using it for salad basically. Huge success so far – I literally cropped enough lettuce yesterday for a family salad, and that was just to thin things out so I could work at it. I also have a couple of cherry tomatoes in the mix but I don't expect much from them – Maskotka FWIW.
You can buy hydrogen peroxide from chemists for peanuts, but I just installed a fish tank air pump yesterday and I'm hoping that'll help with any potential algae issues – although to be fair I haven't had much of a problem it's just better for the roots. Technically adding an airstone makes it a bubbler system , as the whole point of Kratky is to add all the nutrients and water on day one and then just leave it to it – with the low volume of the Ikea unit that's not practical. I got a little 4w Hidom dual airstone system and it's pretty quiet and also adjustable.
I will be copying your tinfoil idea! I got a huge bag of clay pebbles from Amazon for about a tenner and I was going to be topping the vermiculite with it next time as the clay is less likely to go green but dammit that tinfoil looks like the perfect solution. The mould and algae that grows usually isn't a problem if the seedlings have established but obviously that wasn't the case for you. One of those USB desk fans clipped to the lighting frame might help as it's lack of circulation that encourages the growth of stuff you don't want either on the top of the growing medium or in the water.
Gotta say the stuff Ikea sells as a growing medium (vermiculite) is the absolute devil. My wooden work tops are scratched to hell. What I learned was to definitely wet the medium before working with it or it scatters everywhere.
I thought about using a fish tank heater but I think the risk is too high – there's just not enough depth to the trays. If 3 or 4 of those plants take off and you get a bunch of chillies setting you'll be adding water daily, at least, I'd guess. I'm looking at lizard tank heating pads, which could go under the plastic tray. They're pricey and wouldn't be as efficient, but a lot safer.
That 8 week old plant looks pretty good to my eyes, considering the time of year.
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What are your thoughts on installing a aquarium air pump and air stone in the water or maybe a soaker hose to provide air bubbles to the nutrient solution?
The rising bubbles would keep the water moving around. When the water/nutrient solution is stagnant, the mineral salts (nutrients) settle near the bottom. As a result the nutrient balance becomes uneven (very strong near the bottom, and very weak near the top). The rising air bubbles from the air pump create movement in the water that keeps the nutrient solution mixing all the time, and thus nutrients evenly distributed throughout the water as well.
Hi there
I've put mine in a large heated propagator on clay pebbles so it fits better
I have also rigged up a lamp off of amazon so the plants get natural light even in winter
Still to start sowing hence looking at videos like this, which i have really found useful, if i get the hang of posting on this YouTube i will put videos etc to keep you up to date
I've had mine for about a month and have been using it for salad basically. Huge success so far – I literally cropped enough lettuce yesterday for a family salad, and that was just to thin things out so I could work at it. I also have a couple of cherry tomatoes in the mix but I don't expect much from them – Maskotka FWIW.
You can buy hydrogen peroxide from chemists for peanuts, but I just installed a fish tank air pump yesterday and I'm hoping that'll help with any potential algae issues – although to be fair I haven't had much of a problem it's just better for the roots. Technically adding an airstone makes it a bubbler system , as the whole point of Kratky is to add all the nutrients and water on day one and then just leave it to it – with the low volume of the Ikea unit that's not practical. I got a little 4w Hidom dual airstone system and it's pretty quiet and also adjustable.
I will be copying your tinfoil idea! I got a huge bag of clay pebbles from Amazon for about a tenner and I was going to be topping the vermiculite with it next time as the clay is less likely to go green but dammit that tinfoil looks like the perfect solution. The mould and algae that grows usually isn't a problem if the seedlings have established but obviously that wasn't the case for you. One of those USB desk fans clipped to the lighting frame might help as it's lack of circulation that encourages the growth of stuff you don't want either on the top of the growing medium or in the water.
Gotta say the stuff Ikea sells as a growing medium (vermiculite) is the absolute devil. My wooden work tops are scratched to hell. What I learned was to definitely wet the medium before working with it or it scatters everywhere.
I thought about using a fish tank heater but I think the risk is too high – there's just not enough depth to the trays. If 3 or 4 of those plants take off and you get a bunch of chillies setting you'll be adding water daily, at least, I'd guess. I'm looking at lizard tank heating pads, which could go under the plastic tray. They're pricey and wouldn't be as efficient, but a lot safer.
That 8 week old plant looks pretty good to my eyes, considering the time of year.