By td_scott
Vine Tomatoes in DIY 4 Port System - Part 2
Submitted on Fri, 2010/01/22 - 1:21am
Last updated on Thu, 2010/02/11 - 2:20pm
Posted in
After only 15 days from start in the DIY aeroponic system the tomatoes have been transplanted to the DIY 4 port system shown below.
Pix is darker the I would have liked. iPhone has no flash and no light lux app and Hydrofarm Xtrasun Metal Halide System with a MU400/U bulb system creates cool rainbowie pixs when on.
1/29/2010 PCV joints arrived for my grow corner. It will be 4' x 4' x about 6'. Three sided and 10' tall. Will pickup 1" pipe later this weekend.
1-31-2010 Finished setup in the initial pcv frame. Went with simple. Frame is 3' x 2' at the base and only 5' tall at the point in time. Used the corners in the earlier picture. The fit of the pipes were firm so did not glue them together.
Setup pully system for the light.
02/10/10 Two additions to setup extended height to 10' and built mylar panels for back and sides. [Click pixes to enlarge]
Where to start? Mylar panels are hinged so here is an open view.
The heart of the structure is the same 2' x 3' x 5' pcv box. First removed the top and the connectors on the top replaced with 4-way fittings to allow building up.
Also installed a tomato grow line for each plant. Note the clamp just below the first set of double branches. The clamp is then connected to the grow line.
More coming soon...
Sun, 2010/01/24 - 11:34pm
#2
Was not planning to transplant for two more weeks. Ordered pvc parts for frame of future grow cab today. Just got around to drawing up a couple of ideas today. I'll buy the pvc at one of the local places and post pixs as it comes along.
Had mylar on the way. Current plan is to build a corner cab as it were 4' x 4' x 6ish '. Height still to be determined. Can go 10' in that corner in the kitchen behind that table. If I go for the basement I'll be limited to 8'. With the container and light that's less then 6' of vines.
What I've read in Hydroponic Tomatoes makes 6' sound like to little vertical space. Any feedback?
<!--break-->All that light has been refreshing this weekend. 
There's snow returning in the forecast this week. 
Mon, 2010/01/25 - 12:23am
#3
We're getting rain atm in CT - very nice little warm spell. Yeah, it won't last...
Allowing head-room so the tops of the vines don't fry in the lights... yeah, less than 6' is limiting. But, vines can get slouched down, or their tops cropped off. It's viable. And some tomatoes don't get that tall, but yours probably will if they're happy.
Tue, 2010/01/26 - 7:34pm
#4
Ooh, looks cool! Can't wait to see how this grow goes!
Beth
Thu, 2010/01/28 - 1:52pm
#5
Nice setup td-scott, I'm looking forward to seeing this grow progress - you have a decent power light there to get some good grows going.
I was wondering, will you be switching out the bulb for a sodium (HPS) one once flowering starts, or, will you grow this entirely with the MH? You should be able to get conversion HPS bulbs if you decide to do this, I don't think your unit will support a direct HPS bulb as it seems to be MH only - you can't swap bulbs between units unless they specifically support this.
Sat, 2010/01/30 - 12:35am
#6
Did a quick search for conversion HPS bulbs.
Something like this? Thanks for the information.
Sat, 2010/01/30 - 4:31am
#7
Yes, that will do you if you want to work with HPS later on.
Sun, 2010/01/31 - 5:05pm
#8
Nice frame, td - I like how you did that.
Thu, 2010/02/11 - 8:26pm
#9
Where did you buy the pipe fittings, td?
This is really coming along! Nice looking plants, too.
P.S. FWIW, one of the quirks of this Drupal board, is that you only reach the top of the list for "recent posts" by adding comment or new page, not by updating an existing page. I should dig into the code and find a way to change that sometime... Anyway, my most common way to check for new stuff is to click on "Recent posts" - and sometimes miss pages that were merely updated.
Sat, 2010/02/13 - 11:09pm
#10
Love the PVC frame! Gotta get me some real grow lights one day!
Beth
Are you growing with a 400W MH light in your living space? Or is that a spare room? Looks like a dining room. I thought 400W MH would be too painfully bright for that?