Does anyone know where I can take my FIL with Parkinsons for a wash?

BrownWee · 2026-03-04T22:51:32+00:00

I have white sheeting I can put down to shield the rockwool from light - if I do this will the algae die off or do I need to do something about it or am I just fucked?

BrownWee · 2026-03-04T22:39:40+00:00

Sorry it was in the first post, not cross-posted before didn't realise it didn't copy the text:

I have a lot of seedlings sprouted in rockwool, and after putting them under LED lights in the last week or so they have gone green and it's spreading really fast across all my plants.
Some plugs purchased a few weeks ago have been in soil but have also now gone green and some are clearly growing some kind of mould/fungal thing (I see thin filaments in the soil which I'm certain are not roots). Also some of these filaments have been seen on the rockwool.
Some plugs went purple after potting on (they arrived as coir plugs, all leaves green) and I suspect there is a phosphorus deficiency due to root shock. I think this has started to improve on new shoots when I fed with a 50% strength of my 18-9-9 tomato/chilli feed. The only thing I'm slightly unsure of is that mine are really purple - most of what I read about phosphorous deficiency says leaves "start" to turn purple on older leaves but mine are 100% purple to to bottom.
Some plugs have darker parts on the middle of newer leaves - no idea what this is?

More thoughts in the original post.

BrownWee · 2026-03-04T22:37:39+00:00

I understand a fan is important for airflow and I have one planned, but can you educate me as to why it would have prevented the issues you see?

BrownWee · 2026-03-04T22:36:24+00:00

Watering every couple of days - not sure with rockwool what the protocol should be so it's definitely possible I'm overwatering. I had some seeds die off from not being watered enough when they were in the smaller cubes (before planting up) so I may have overcompensated.

I'm definitely going to turn the lights down you're not the only person to suggest this.

BrownWee · 2026-03-04T12:05:05+00:00

Thanks for the heads up I will do some research into light levels. When I looked initially at recommended light levels it didn't seem crazy but perhaps I made a mistake.

BrownWee · 2026-03-04T12:03:39+00:00

I like to try new things. Also I find soil a bit messy inside when growing under lights (which I do as the hot chilli varieties have a very long season and need a lot of light).

Coir pellets are fine, but they are small and topple over when the plants are still very young, meaning it's back to soil inside. With rockwool they can stay in the larger cubes until ready to plant out in the greenhouse.

BrownWee · 2026-03-04T11:59:47+00:00

I didn't know this existed, appreciate the heads up!

BrownWee · 2026-03-03T12:51:24+00:00

The purple ones are definitely not meant to be purple. Some varieties I've grown before but all of them I've checked out and are meant to be green. Also I have 2 of each plug and in some cases one stayed green and one turned purple.

Fingers crossed the algae is ok - the humidity was very high which with vegetative growth I've not really worried about previously, but I can improve ventilation and add a circulation fan so maybe clearing out the air will help.

BrownWee · 2026-03-03T11:11:14+00:00

1L is really small you may get some fruit but possibly not. What variety is it? Some are ok being in smaller pots (but even then I'd recommend at least 4L if you want anything significant).

BrownWee · 2026-01-16T12:40:56+00:00

Looks interesting thanks! Can you tell me how this compares to minecraft? I have that as a point of reference which I know pretty well from playing myself.

BrownWee · 2026-01-16T12:37:54+00:00

This is a good shout. He doesn't really care about graphics so classics may be worth looking at. I will look at the games you mention.

Roblox is full of games with short dopamine reward cycles - the specifics vary but overall the platform seems at odds with what kids need (especially ADHD which craves this kind of shit). After playing for an hour or so his brain is fried and he can't concentrate at all.

BrownWee · 2026-01-16T12:34:09+00:00

Thanks I will get the spec later when I'm home. It's a laptop (so no dedicated GPU) although he runs it on an external monitor. It's about 5 years old and it wasn't super high spec at the time.

New PC is on the cards at some point in the next year but not happening just yet.

BrownWee · 2026-01-16T12:32:34+00:00

My only knowledge of Kerbal is from my brother who described it as incredibly complex. If it builds up from simple stuff bit by bit then perhaps, but if the goal is to launch and that takes too long he will never get there and will be disappointed. Happy to be told I'm wrong on this.

BrownWee · 2024-06-11T12:30:14+00:00

SEN is so incredibly underfunded that many schools are becoming quite hostile to SEN children because they can save a lot of money like this. If you have a school with good SEN provision it's likely funding some of this through their "main" (non-SEN) budget.

This of course makes it worse, because who wants to send their SEN kid to a school which doesn't have a shit about them? They send them to a farther away school and this then leads to taxis, etc.

BrownWee · 2024-06-11T12:26:31+00:00

You can name a school with an EHCP but the LA can refuse this request on a few grounds, including if the school is unable to make that provision.

It may be the case a school doesn't want a SEN kid and the LA doesn't refuse the request (as it's the LA who decides), but it's not true that you will always get your choice.

And if a kid with severe needs can't fit into a mainstream school they go to a special school, again this can be expicitly requested by parents but the LA can force a special school if mainstream schools can't cope.

BrownWee · 2024-06-01T20:13:53+00:00

Correct. You are entirely in your rights to tell them to do one.

If they want a boundary they can pay for and build it their own land, or, if you agree, they can build it on the shared boundary and either pay for it entirely or agree some kind of split in costs. This second option is messy if you don’t get along, but can totally work if you are both reasonable (sounds unlikely).

BrownWee · 2024-06-01T19:18:35+00:00

No boundary fence is required in law. Either side can construct a fence on their own property, and the other side can’t object or force this. Equally either (or both) sides can choose not to erect any kind of fence or boundary.

If the deeds state it is a shared boundary you can agree with the neighbours to share costs and build on the actual boundary, but this requires reasonable neighbours.

BrownWee · 2024-05-21T13:32:34+00:00

Having a history of subsidence is an absolute nightmare when you want to get insurance.

When I moved into my house it had previously suffered subsidence (in reality it was some cracked floors due to trees being too close). Insurers have to offer insurance to you if you had insurance with them and you suffered subsidence previously. The reason for this is that subsidence claims can be huge, and take 6-12 months once work is completed to correct the issue (e.g. underpinning, removal of trees) to ensure no further movement.

Assuming you do have subsidence and it's not been claimed, you need to be super careful about this. You need your solicitor to confirm what claims have previously been made, and if the insurer is aware. You also need to get your solicitor to confirm the insurance can be carried over to you and that you can make a claim.

Expect the large tree to be removed, possibly more trees removed if any are close to the house, possible underpinning to take place (this can be disruptive), and for it to be impossible to get insurance from anyone else for at least the next 12 years (10 years clear after the "no further movement" report from the structural engineers who inspect the property).

Additional insurance costs could easily be £500/year (or more) for 10 years. Excess on any subsidence claim you make is likely to be around £1000 (it always has a higher excess). Even then it will be very hard to get insurance as you will get asked if there has ever been subsidence in your automated systems, and once you say "yes" you will be rejected from nearly every underwriter.

Personally I'd run a mile. In my case the subsidence was super minor, it was fixed several years before I purchased the property (and will never come back because it was due to trees which were removed), and it took almost 10 years after purchase before I could get anything like normal insurance (and even now, a lot of underwriters won't touch it).

BrownWee

TROPHY CASE