Hi vertical farmers,
In the previous post we showed our Automatic Nutrient Dispenser functioning properly and how we controlled it.
In this post we will talk about the germination of our seeds.
Germination
We followed the germination process described here:
We filled a plastic bag with distilled water and placed the seeds of Adriana lettuce on it during one hour.
We placed one seed in each one of our rock wool substrate cubes. The rock wool cubes were disposed over a tray moistened with a low pH (4.5) nutrient solution.
To get water with the desired pH and electrical conductivity, we measured this variables on different kinds of water: tap water, distilled water and spring water (branded Luso water) and mixed them to get the desired properties.
We used a reference ph and electrical conductivity meter (the equipment in the front on the next picture) and low-cost alternatives (the remaining probes). We took this opportunity to perform the calibration of this equipments.
We placed the tray with substrate and seeds inside our growing chamber improvised from a cool box.
On the top of the growing chamber, we installed fluorescent lights supplemented by blue LEDs. Blue LEDs were chosen in order to grow the lettuces with optimal properties whereas red LEDs could cause the stretching of lettuce, weakening it. The illumination of the growing chamber was kept always on.
We supervised and controlled some environmental variables namely temperature, humidity, light, pH and electrical conductivity. The supervision of temperature, humidity and light was helped by Silicon Labs Sensor Puck. The temperature was kept close to 20 °C, ph close to 5.8 and electrical conductivity close to 1.2 mS.
We sprayed the tray with humidity.
Finally, the next GIF shows a time-lapse of our seeds growing during their first three days.
As always if you have any questions or comments please feel free to comment this post.
Thanks for following and keep connected!
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