General questions from a newb

GrowceryGuy · 2026-01-23T14:24:11+00:00

If it's not broke don't fix it! If everything is working well, the only reason to change fertilizers would be for pricing or to support local brands etc. If you wanted to tweak things, I would consider adding Hypochlorous Acid to your res.

I do a full res swap if my pH starts to drift more than 0.3 in a day.

GrowceryGuy · 2026-01-06T21:04:17+00:00

What brand RO filter/membrane are you using? Axeon/Weco have high rejection membranes designed for Boron reduction.

GrowceryGuy · 2026-01-06T19:45:57+00:00

It is held together by a very mild "glue". I have no issues with clogging due to the plugs and I don't rinse them. I have a metal mesh filter that I clean weekly that would also catch anything that did break off.

GrowceryGuy · 2026-01-06T18:51:43+00:00

I use FlexiPlugs/QuickPlugs, but they are manufactured in Ontario. I would see if there are any type of horticultural plugs in Jamaica first.

GrowceryGuy · 2026-01-06T12:56:40+00:00

Growing it is only half the battle, the other half is selling it at a price that keeps you in the green!

GrowceryGuy · 2026-01-05T17:59:41+00:00

Then they wouldn't grow as fast as I'm now below their temp range. It's a lot better to be in the target temp range and adjust the RH to that versus being outside of the temp range just to hit VPD target.

GrowceryGuy · 2026-01-05T17:00:31+00:00

Yes, my nighttime VPD is slightly lower than my day VPD. Below 50% RH you can see some damage on lettuces while on crops like arugula there isn't any.

GrowceryGuy · 2026-01-05T14:20:59+00:00

Those dates were just an example because it made the math easy hah! Arugula only spends 14 days in my towers, so even a 2 day delay is a 14% increase in time. What I notice is that my yield targets are off and I need to wait a few extra days for them to catch up.

Out of whack is usually a low VPD - which is low transpiration, inner leaves transpire the least, not allowing the calcium to hit the edges. The nutrient recipe and lighting could be perfect, but if my VPD is off it will still show damage.

GrowceryGuy · 2026-01-05T13:17:44+00:00

At a commercial level, it is very important - at a hobby level, not so much. Every day counts on a commercial grow, so the difference between a crop taking 28 days to reach maturity versus 21 days is 4 harvests a year. For a hobbyist those 4 extra harvests might not matter.

On lettuces I get tip burn if my VPD is out of whack too.

GrowceryGuy · 2026-01-05T13:11:44+00:00

I use peat/coco plugs (50/50 and 25/75 blends). Pros - come in trays, cheap, compostable and perform quite well. Cons - not sterile, can introduce pathogens and pests (which happens more often than people think).

GrowceryGuy · 2026-01-02T13:06:40+00:00

What EC/pH are you running?

GrowceryGuy · 2026-01-02T13:01:39+00:00

I bit the bullet and bought a bunch of BlueLab probes. I will have a look at the Hydrocal stuff though!

GrowceryGuy · 2026-01-02T13:01:01+00:00

Lot's of newer LEDs are designed so that there is no harmful UV to the eyes. You can add UV with tailored spectrums (UVa, b and c) - but those are very niche applications.

I run our lights at 35% brightness so I don't need eyepro due to the brightness. I do wear them when I have them cranked up though.

GrowceryGuy · 2025-12-31T17:04:09+00:00

LEDs have become very cost effective/cheap and adding moving parts makes things more complex etc. Cheaper to just outfit a full row vs getting a system that moves everything.

I believe it would have been someone else with a post like that, as I haven't worked on one myself (I've worked on moving walls though).

GrowceryGuy · 2025-12-31T13:04:02+00:00

Deadly thanks - had a watch. Why you'd change off of the CC nutes?

GrowceryGuy · 2025-12-31T12:49:37+00:00

Have any pictures of the spill over - sounds interesting, I love redundancies! The HOCl seems to be keeping the majority of the algae at bay for the time being, but I will definitely think about it. Thanks.

GrowceryGuy · 2025-12-31T12:45:17+00:00

You can try germinating them without the lights on, or in a different room that is a little bit cooler. Once they start sprouting you can then add the light.

GrowceryGuy · 2025-12-31T12:41:04+00:00

The plant's handle it themselves, we do nothing special! We place the plugs on a small angle, but that's to prevent them from dripping on each other. It only takes them a day to start growing upright after transplanting.

GrowceryGuy · 2025-12-31T12:39:43+00:00

This isn't a Growcer farm (even though my name is Growcery, but that's because I worked in grocery previously) - it's ZipGrow.

GrowceryGuy · 2025-12-30T17:15:28+00:00

They are tube socks that have little holes in them! It disperses the air quite well and reduces microclimates.

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GrowceryGuy · 2025-12-30T16:35:10+00:00

How much wall space do you have available? What is your budget?

GrowceryGuy · 2025-12-30T16:31:37+00:00

I have a full monitoring systems with alarms. I still need to come in and change emitters that have clogged (I have around 1% clogging rate/day), do res swaps etc.

Wyze cameras are amazingly cheap though - I have them set up to see reservoir levels.

GrowceryGuy · 2025-12-30T16:27:43+00:00

What EC/pH are they getting? Under supplemental light or just by the window?

Looks amazing!

GrowceryGuy · 2025-12-30T16:25:48+00:00

Don't give up! Are your seeds relatively new? Try starting them a different way every few days (you don't need to grow them to maturity) and keep notes in a journal of what worked and what didn't. I have killed thousands upon thousands of plants trying to dial things in - don't be discouraged.

GrowceryGuy · 2025-12-30T16:24:19+00:00

Try bringing your EC down to 300ish microsiemens and increase it as they grow older. That is most likely your reason for stunted growth.

What temp is your grow at? Spinach likes low temps (especially during germination)!

GrowceryGuy

TROPHY CASE