Let's see how disciplined I will be in writing my first grow diary. My very first grow was a fully self build aeroponics system which failed mainly due to cheap fittings, and it was way to complicated but I studied Physics and had plenty amount of time... so I went through different self-build systems until I arrived at a reliable, easy to maintain and not too expensive setup.
Light: 2x 130W QuantumBoard V2 LED Light (LM301B Diodes) with a dimmer.
Light sensor: iPhone + Photone app
Watering: AutoPots are the best invention I know so far. Nothing beats a physics based valve that does not rely on electricity and sensors but purely on the needs of your plant. Really great! I am using a small submersible pump that keeps the nutrient solution in motion.
Soil: I had best experience with BioBizz, and I mix it usually with 50% clay pebbles.
Nutrients: Masterblend+Calcium Nitrate+Magnesium Sulphate from Hydroponics Europe
Let's go :)!
I used my standard method of germinating seeds (until now 90-100% success rate):
1. put the seed into tap water for 24h (if it's good it will float)
2. once it sinks--transfer it into some kind of first habitat. this time I used soil plugs from Royal Queen Seeds (otherwise I use rock wool cubes).
3. put the soil plug under a plastic dome and keep it warm and moist.
Usually the plant starts sprouting after 1-2 days, which it did. I put the baby from the very beginning under 23h illumination. I want to push the plant a little bit and see where we are going... I start with 16 DLI (which is 200PPFD).
