All COB Users - Lettuce Grow Challenge!!

OneHitDone

OneHitDone

Well-Known Member
PicklesRus said:
Hey so I contacted Digikey and they confirmed the strips were shipped incorrectly (bent instead of flat) so I'm getting a whole new set for free :cool:

I will get my multimeter to see how much voltage is left on my string now - I since have found a cheaper option for supplies in Canada here: Canadian LED component Suppliers and updated www.ledbuilder.org's quick links to show the Canadian shipping info.

Hey - I never asked, am I allowed to grow lettuce with strips, or is this a COB only kinda party? (Are the LEDs on strips technically miniature COBs?)
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This is an anything goes let's all work together to find the lowest electrical usage solution for growing lettuce party :hump:
 
muleface

muleface

Well-Known Member
good god, my NFT setup is a cluster fuck. i can't seem to get my lettuce plants to root much more, maybe i didn't leave them in the germination area long enough.

Currently i am letting them root a bit, then moving them to the NFT channels. I have 4 inch channels. They have 1 3/8 inch holes in them. My 1.5 inch rockwool cubes wedge in the holes nicely. But they don't dip into the water at all. Only the roots do. What am i doing wrong here?

I have a 110 gallon tub, my PH is 6.0 my ec is 2.4 (my home water is about .5 ec) so i add about 1.9 ec of nuterents. it is a combo of hydro-garden dry nutrients and cal/mag. I am following the instructions for the correct combo.

I am using the same tub to run water my tomatoes too, they seem to be doing just fine. I have 2 pumps in the 110 gallon tub. one that runs all the time for the NFT and one that runs twice a day for the tomatoes.

as a side note, the PH is super stable when you have a that much water. i used to spend every day chasing my PH around, now, i rarely ever have to do anything with it. The tub (actually a stock tank) was only 60 bucks. I love it.
 
PicklesRus

PicklesRus

Well-Known Member
muleface said:
good god, my NFT setup is a cluster fuck. i can't seem to get my lettuce plants to root much more, maybe i didn't leave them in the germination area long enough.

Currently i am letting them root a bit, then moving them to the NFT channels. I have 4 inch channels. They have 1 3/8 inch holes in them. My 1.5 inch rockwool cubes wedge in the holes nicely. But they don't dip into the water at all. Only the roots do. What am i doing wrong here?

I have a 110 gallon tub, my PH is 6.0 my ec is 2.4 (my home water is about .5 ec) so i add about 1.9 ec of nuterents. it is a combo of hydro-garden dry nutrients and cal/mag. I am following the instructions for the correct combo.

I am using the same tub to run water my tomatoes too, they seem to be doing just fine. I have 2 pumps in the 110 gallon tub. one that runs all the time for the NFT and one that runs twice a day for the tomatoes.

as a side note, the PH is super stable when you have a that much water. i used to spend every day chasing my PH around, now, i rarely ever have to do anything with it. The tub (actually a stock tank) was only 60 bucks. I love it.
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What about letting them root more in the germination area. I'm approaching the same phase right now - my microgreens are rooting well but my seedlings aren't.
 
muleface

muleface

Well-Known Member
that's my current attempt. I have 50 - 1.5 cubes sitting on top of about 2 inches of wet vermiculite. They went in about 5 days ago and actually look really good. I think i will keep them in there as long as I can. Maybe up to a month. I would like to see them really put a lot of roots out. Then I will wash off the vermiculite and put them in the nft rails
 

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OneHitDone

OneHitDone

Well-Known Member
muleface said:
that's my current attempt. I have 50 - 1.5 cubes sitting on top of about 2 inches of wet vermiculite. They went in about 5 days ago and actually look really good. I think i will keep them in there as long as I can. Maybe up to a month. I would like to see them really put a lot of roots out. Then I will wash off the vermiculite and put them in the nft rails
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Push your rockwool right down on the bottom of the channel
Your EC is way too high for seedlings, back that shit down to like 1.4-1.5 total
 
eyderbuddy

eyderbuddy

Well-Known Member
OneHitDone said:
Push your rockwool right down on the bottom of the channel
Your EC is way too high for seedlings, back that shit down to like 1.4-1.5 total
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Seen recommended EC numbers for lettuce ranging between 0.7 to 2.0. Is lettuce the god crop? or is it just internet data?

mine came out of the rockwool today =] i'll be feeding it @ 1.2 EC and see the results. Thing is that with so many different fertilizers you never know until you dial in
 
eyderbuddy

eyderbuddy

Well-Known Member


Here are my lettuce :D! I'm so happy they came out even if it's very chilly!
I've got 2 Citizen 1212 @ ~52w over them (36v*1450A). Got them far enough to keep the DLI at 18-19 for a 18 hour day.

Something i've noticed is that Rockwool germination rates are definitely faster than coco, i planted those on the rw 2 days after i did on the COCO. I added 5.5 ph water + 200PPM nutes
 
OneHitDone

OneHitDone

Well-Known Member
eyderbuddy said:


Here are my lettuce :D! I'm so happy they came out even if it's very chilly!
I've got 2 Citizen 1212 @ ~52w over them (36v*1450A). Got them far enough to keep the DLI at 18-19 for a 18 hour day.

Something i've noticed is that Rockwool germination rates are definitely faster than coco, i planted those on the rw 2 days after i did on the COCO. I added 5.5 ph water + 200PPM nutes
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Even when I use Oasis or Rockwool I sprinkle a little coco in the hole to cover the seed.
Wait till you see the root development on the coco plants :hump:
 
muleface

muleface

Well-Known Member
Are you talking about that really overpriced light? I emailed them about it awhile back. They are basicly cfls. I tried to make one, but the fixtures are really pricey. The bulbs are not bad cost wise
 
OneHitDone

OneHitDone

Well-Known Member
muleface said:
Are you talking about that really overpriced light? I emailed them about it awhile back. They are basicly cfls. I tried to make one, but the fixtures are really pricey. The bulbs are not bad cost wise
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They look to be linear more like a T5?
 
muleface

muleface

Well-Known Member
OneHitDone said:
They look to be linear more like a T5?
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no, they are these U shaped bulbs called BIAX bulbs. Like if you folded a t5 in half sorta....

https://www.amazon.com/GE-Lighting-16954-40-Watt-Facilities/dp/B000HMBLVI

There are 8 - 40w bulbs. The bulbs are not really pricey. They actually are pretty reasonable. However, finding something to run them in is the challenge. I suppose you could rig something up, but finding an actual BIAX fixture is hard to do. As far as i know, the only commerically availible one that holds 8 bulbs is the one they are offering for 1500 bucks.
I looked into them awhile back, but couldn't find anyone that had used them or knew anything about them. They are kind of like the Keyser Söze of lights. If you can find something to run them in, i would be interested in testing them.
 
OneHitDone

OneHitDone

Well-Known Member
muleface said:
no, they are these U shaped bulbs called BIAX bulbs. Like if you folded a t5 in half sorta....

https://www.amazon.com/GE-Lighting-16954-40-Watt-Facilities/dp/B000HMBLVI

There are 8 - 40w bulbs. The bulbs are not really pricey. They actually are pretty reasonable. However, finding something to run them in is the challenge. I suppose you could rig something up, but finding an actual BIAX fixture is hard to do. As far as i know, the only commerically availible one that holds 8 bulbs is the one they are offering for 1500 bucks.
I looked into them awhile back, but couldn't find anyone that had used them or knew anything about them. They are kind of like the Keyser Söze of lights. If you can find something to run them in, i would be interested in testing them.
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They run those style T5's in these fixtures
http://www.htgsupply.com/products/growbright-2-foot-tek-light-2-lamp
 
muleface

muleface

Well-Known Member
lol, or i could look at that site and find them at a reasonable price. looks like they have a 4 bulb for like $135, shipping is around $20, not free, but not bad.
 
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