By Peat
Peat's Miscellaneous Ramblings...
Submitted on Wed, 2011/02/16 - 1:10pm
Pretty much as it says, a collection of ramblings that don't fit anywhere!
Plans for future grows, ideas and general 'stuff' 
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Wed, 2011/02/16 - 5:21pm
#2
Very cool, Peat, I'm looking forward to seeing this! 
Though you want to start in warmer weather, will you allow space in the tent for a heater as well? Or just plan all your grows around the garage being warm enough? That could be kinda limiting. But then, adding the heater to the cost of running the lights may be prohibitive, anyway. I sure wouldn't want to heat my garage electrically - CT has the highest energy prices in the US. 
Maybe if you ordered the plants by height, with the tallest things in corners, it'd be OK. Possibly with a fence. 
And a place to step into the middle, of course, for pruning and picking purposes. Always a challenge, finding all those sneaky ripe cucumbers before they mature and shut down the vine.
Wed, 2011/02/16 - 5:46pm
#3
I'm anticipating that the tent will be warm enough, during early November it was only dropping to 9°C, I expect much higher than this in the warmer months.
The cuke and tomato, if grown, would be put in the corners to allow access to the peppers, the pots can be placed anywhere you like which makes things must easier. I would need an area for my fence, deckchair and a small table to put the beer on though, perhaps a sprinkling of sand also?
Wed, 2011/02/16 - 6:35pm
#4
Having grown up on a beach myself, I must discourage this sand part. 
Then you need a foot-dunking pail on the way out.
Wed, 2011/02/16 - 8:50pm
#5
Hi Peat
How cool! I can't wait to see the new system!
Beth
Thu, 2011/02/17 - 3:32pm
#6
Hi P, i'm liking the tent coming back to life, and also like the sound of the ebb and flood
, i have a drip irrigation sysytem i have slightly tested and i'm dying to use, but i thought first time round i would hand water to help me understand the plants better,(total noob n all that) I wait with open ears for reports on the system and it's progress. hope all turns out good using the new setup photo's speak a thousand words
May as well kick things off, I've got the grow tent and all it's accoutrement's but I'm missing a decent hydroponic grow rig...
I've made my own of course but they are quite small and a bit limiting, I want something that 'fills' the tent with produce that will make the cost worthwhile. So, being lazy now I've decided to buy and not build this time; my favorite way of growing is flood and drain (or ebb and flow if you like), always had a soft spot for this method.
What I'll be buying in the future is something made by IWS (Intelligent Watering System) - the web site is here. I've decided on the 6 pot flood and drain system, this will fit nicely in my grow tent and the 400 watt HID will illuminate it adequately.
I said in the future; I'm not doing it now as it's a bit of a pain heating the tent to keep the temperatures stable, once the weather turns and things start warming up I'll slot the system in and do a grow log.
I'm thinking of a variety of hydroponic bell peppers at the moment, not sure about a cuke and tomato in the same system yet - they will outgrow the peppers and won't be contained under the light. Nutrients shouldn't be too much of an issue as the EC is generally the same for these plants.
Looking forward to this as it's the biggest hydroponic project I've ever undertaken. Eeek!