RE: Ask the Experts

RWReynolds — Fri, 28 Aug 2015 20:58:19 GMT

Thanks for the links, very interesting.

And thanks for any input from the designated experts. As the cultivation piece is certainly my week point in the challenge I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions for them.

So let's start with this... My design utilizes stacked containers, stacked 6 containers high, and will utilize a 3 part commercial hydroponics nutrient solution. The plan is to pump the solution to the top container and then the rest of the containers will receive solution through draining from the first. The grow medium will likely be a layer of perlite, to keep the drainage system clear, covered by expanded clay pellets. There has been some concern expressed on the possibilities of:

The lower containers not receiving enough nutrient as a result of it being leached out during the drainage process. I think I can cover this issue simply by running my pump long enough to completely saturate the entire stack. I can verify this by monitoring the solution draining back into the reservoir. And then run the pump for some additional amount of time to be sure the system is completely flooded. Does this sound like a viable solution?
Salt buildup in the lower containers. On this issue I am completely at a loss. I don't know enough about the chemistry involved to know how much of a concern this really is, how to monitor it or how to ultimately solve the problem. Thus the reason I am using an off the shelf hydroponic nutrient solution.

Any help on these concerns would be greatly appreciated.

Off topic...

Like Shane, I have a bit of concern. Simply because I have not yet received the EZR32WG starter kit. I am currently developing software on the EFM32ZG and I think the code I'm writing will port over with little or no effort. But the radio link is a large part of my design and I would like to start working on that as soon as possible. I have already asked Element14Dave about this and he assured me the correct band radio starter kits would be shipped as soon as he received them from SiLabs. But any additional information on the ETA of these units would be greatly appreciated. [View:/resized-image/__size/16x16/__key/commentfiles/f7d226abd59f475c9d224a79e3f0ec07-e452fdf9-8dc2-4f51-bdfd-cbc442c787c2/contentimage_5F00_1.png:16:16]

RE: Ask the Experts

shanesissons — Fri, 28 Aug 2015 19:58:57 GMT

great post and helpful links

just a couple of questions

you say about a month left to finish the electronics that could pose an issue for me as one of my tools has just broken and it cant be replaced until the end of september and parts have also not arrived yet there expected delivery date is sometime during september

i believe my seeds are on there way back to america or at the depo and are not being redelivered anymore

other than them issues everything else seems to be ontrack