RootLoops Closet Garden

RootLoops · March 14, 2014

here is a little indoor hobby project i started not too long ago. a buddy gave me a 400w iPower digital grow light so i figured why not use it.

i made a small DWC tub and put some herbs and a bell pepper plant in it. there is marjoram, cilantro, catnip(for the cats and to make mosquito repellent), common thyme, california wonder pepper(don't know how that one will work out), and basil.

Nutrients are Advanced Nutrients pH Perfect Sensi Grow A+B

Reservoir is 4 gallons

Pump and airstones from wally world and net pots/clay balls from Amazon, total around $30

here is a shot of the whole space, its only 40x20 but its a good seven feet tall, i plan to add more to it later, a lot of the space is being taken up by seed starting for the main garden and some green onions my mother in law threw in the worm box i fished out and re-planted.

all q's and comments/advice are welcome and thanks for viewing!

RootLoops · March 15, 2014

wow 43 views and no replies! looks like i'll be solo'ing this one.

the pepper has put on a lot more growth since i posted the thread, as have the DWC cilantro and catnip. friday was one week with this batch of soup, i figure i will have to change it out once a week when the plants get hungrier.

the salvaged green onions have grown a good 3-6" since i potted those up out of the compost bin.

i planted 18 white scallop squash, 3 dixie hybrid yellow crookneck squash, some sugar snap peas and a couple other things to go out in the garden later. the roots of the scallop squash looked outstanding today. lots of root hairs and thick strong roots already shooting out from around the jiffy pellet.

that's about it so far, i'll update with pics soon, if nothing else this will serve as a good journal of the closet experiment.

greenthumbomaha · March 15, 2014

Root, you're way ahead of me, and many others here. I just switched from shop lights to T5's last year. I have an ipower like yours but haven't gone there yet. The variety you are growing is quite interesting. Noted as something I would like learn more about and possibly try in the off season. After we get our summer gardens up and running, we'll be thinking about next year. I hope you will continue to post your progress. It will help me and others grow as gardeners.

- Lisa

RootLoops · March 15, 2014

thanks for the kind reply Lisa! i would be the last to say i'm way ahead of anyone here

this place is pretty well stocked as far as knowledge goes, i'm just hoping i can learn one tenth of what some of these folks know about outdoor gardening. and besides that hydroponics is very easy with the ph perfect nutrients.

i know more about indoors because it's what i had to work with at the various places we have lived as renters, it's only in the last few seasons we've had a place to plant a real garden, until my buddy gave me this light i had put all my old stuff away. i plan to change this to t5vho at some point but the upfront cost is currently prohibitive.

i have to say though i am glad he gave me a reason to get it back up i really need something to stave off the cabin fever in the winter. it also helps to have plants i can tend while it's too hot to go outside between 8 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. june-september

RootLoops · March 19, 2014

here are some pics from yesterday. they all still look real good with the current batch of nutrients so i'll let it go until friday if nothing changes, possibly longer as they aren't using much of it yet. the cilantro in the DWC tastes a lot stronger than the ones in the soil, and they are much thicker and sturdier.

here is a pic of the inside of the tub, you can see it's just standard aquarium equipment from wal mart. i used a 1/4" drill bit to make the holes for the air tubes and i have check valves to keep water from going into the pump. for now i change the nutrients by syphoning, it does the job pretty well. before long i'll have some extra cash to buy an enzyme additive to clean up the old stuff, debris and what not.

the catnip is growing by leaps and bounds over the ones that are still in the seed starter, of course those have had no food yet.

the pepper plant is doing well so far. if you look closely you can see one of the dozens of ladybugs that inhabit this closet.

all the seedlings i planted of squash and peas are doing very well, my wife took two of the squash seedlings to show her class how roots and seeds develop.

i added a sweet mint and a chocolate mint cutting and they have taken root already. i plan to take many more cuttings and get the mints started around my fence line in the wettest part of the yard.

the salvaged green onions seem to be doing well and a little cucumber seedling is growing a flower. thats about it for this update 3/19

epsilon · March 20, 2014

I tried this once a few years back and after losing some very expensive stock I kinda gave up on the DWC and figured I should stick to dirt.

I do really like that you're using the storage box itself as the reservoir it looks so much more efficient than growing in 5 gallon buckets also the reduction of hydroton would mean that you'd have to replenish your solution less often due to it's super efficient capillary properties. Though have you considered moving to larger grade diatomite? I grew orchids in a mix of this and coco husk for a few years and it was amazing! I basically stopped losing plants to moisture related illnesses.

As for lighting I took what I knew from orchids, and that they were more responsive to wavelength (supposedly) and invested in a LED 200w set up specifically geared to vegetation, but honestly I can't vouch one way or another. Though I should have stuck to my quad t5 setup because I could get most of the full sun plants to bloom under those circumstances. Because at the cost I could have bought a years supply for my old T5 system and switch out to new bulbs every two months for less.

I hope you keep posting updates and more pics, because you've piqued an interest with me on this one, though it'll probably be another few years till I start a new indoor project like this. I want to hear how you go through the flowering phase with your current rig.

Gaston

Bonus Question: Depending on how long you have the lights on. Have you considered growing vanilla? IT takes 16+ hrs and several (3-5)years but if your humidity(±65%) is right you can pretty much just let it scramble around the sides. And to be completely honest I'm surprised no one has started an endeavor for this down south. It would be ridiculously lucrative with the start up being the cost of the plants. Imagine all the niche markets you could hit with local grown vanilla beans?

RootLoops · March 20, 2014

thanks for the reply! DWC is easy with the ph perfect nutrients, i don't even own a ph meter, tds meter, or ph Up and Down. all you do is mix 1-4ml per litre of water depending on how old the plants are. for these i may not even have to go past 2ml per litre. ph perfect is a bit of a misnomer, it doesn't correct your ph it just makes the nutrients available at any ph low or high.

flowering should be interesting, i don't know if any of the plants in here are photoperiod dependent. the light is on usually all day, sometimes i turn it off before bed but since it's been so chilly out i let it run overnight. when i have the money i will probably change this closet from hid to t5 vho.

i would consider planting some vanilla outside but the closet is tiny. it would be so cool to have vanilla beans!

i am considering growing a dwc tomato outside in the greenhouse just for fun, and once we have our own home i want to get an Urban Farm 20 http://theurbanfarm.com/urbanfarm20.html

i'll have some more pics here soon, the pepper plant is even bigger today, they grow so fast in DWC

epsilon · March 21, 2014

OK that's really neat.

That Urban farm setup is awesome, but pricey. I'm stuck in the same situation as you, so where as I'll build raised beds that I can move around I won't commit to any large systems like this.

Another thing I noticed is that I can find most of these parts for very cheap I know the pails they're using cost 3-5$ a pop and the 50 gal goes for around 75$ the hosing is another 25$. I'm breaking down the costs in my head but I guess part of the attractiveness of the system is that its turn key

But really this is a cool concept, I can see 360 production coming out of having one of these, especially if I can have an indoor grow room/work area. then I can just work and enjoy as needed and return to the real world when it does roll call, lol.

No kidding about the pepper plants growing fast in DWC you get two weeks growth in about3/5 days, it's amazing.

RootLoops · March 21, 2014

yeah i'm big on the pre made turn key aspect of it. i love tinkering with things and building stuff but things on a bigger scale halfway through building it i'd be cursing the thing. i think a lot of the cost is in the pump and controller. every time i say i can just build one for cheap by the time i add up all the little this and thats i end up not saving just a whole lot plus then i have to drill every hole and add more little cuts to my hands

since it would be for our personal use i wouldn't be looking at it from a business perspective, and it could supply all the vegetables we could eat. the way i look at it i can set aside a little money every two weeks and have enough to pay for it in a few months.

here are some pics i took yesterday, the pepper is even bigger today. i got some shots of the rest of the stuff i think i missed last time. they all still look good in the dwc so i'm gonna forego the nutrient change today.

the salvaged onions are getting taller i'll need to eat some of them soon, the squash and peas all look good. the basil is starting to move along faster as he has a few roots in the solution now.

the thyme is beginning to make headway and the marjoram is slowly but surely making it. the cilantro looks really nice compared to the ones in soil and has more flavor. the basil has a very strong smell but i haven't tasted it yet

RootLoops · March 24, 2014

not much time to type just a pic update:

i potted up the two better boy seedlings i had neglected, i fed them some texas tomato food along with the spacemaster cucumber and they look better already

these seedlings got a 1/2 strength dose of TTF today

epsilon · March 24, 2014

Holy wow! Root!

Thats awesome. I see what looks like a cuke is already putting out flowers and you pepper and cilantro look amazing.

Good job man.

Gaston

RootLoops · March 24, 2014

thanks man! i'm just wondering how long it will be before i run into problems with the variety all on one reservoir, i will probably transplant that pepper outdoors in a week or two, if these cold nights would stop i'd put it out now. soon i will shut this garden down and move it to a bigger space i'm gonna build in the kitchen with some shop lights instead of this hid, right now i still need it's warmth on the cold nights to keep the closet in the sixties at the coolest.

me and a friend are planning a farm, and now we are thinking we will build several of these tubs to grow all our starts in, i just started this thread a week ago and the difference is amazing. we figure putting out starts this strong as soon as possible will get us ahead of everyone else next year and in the fall crop

the one with the flower is a spacemaster bush cucumber. two days ago it was still in the seed starter with two small flowers. today it looks much better, the leaves have doubled in size two days after transplanting and feeding it.

rwsacto · March 25, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by RootLoops

i added a sweet mint and a chocolate mint cutting and they have taken root already. i plan to take many more cuttings and get the mints started around my fence line in the wettest part of the yard.

You may want to read this about that:

http://sacramentogardening.blogspot.com/

Rick

RootLoops · March 25, 2014

that was hilarious! thanks for your reply and the heads up!

it's actually for this very reason i'm planting mint down there, i want it to take over a large area and also mice hate it so eventually i want to have it running around the edges of the yard. i've already got three patches of it in another spot that have grown a lot since "spring" started. i'm bordered on three sides by a brush field so no worries about invading a neighbors yard.

here are some pics from a few mins ago:

the tomato seedlings look much better already from the TTF, the yellow spots were there before feeding and are fading. i can tell a big difference in the cucumber too it's leaves are much bigger today and the flowers look perkier.

in the background you can see some sugar snap(i think) peas reaching for the sky

epsilon · March 25, 2014

what are you feeding that cilantro? :O

March 14, 2014	#1
RootLoops Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: rienzi, ms Posts: 470	RootLoops Closet Garden here is a little indoor hobby project i started not too long ago. a buddy gave me a 400w iPower digital grow light so i figured why not use it. i made a small DWC tub and put some herbs and a bell pepper plant in it. there is marjoram, cilantro, catnip(for the cats and to make mosquito repellent), common thyme, california wonder pepper(don't know how that one will work out), and basil. Nutrients are Advanced Nutrients pH Perfect Sensi Grow A+B Reservoir is 4 gallons Pump and airstones from wally world and net pots/clay balls from Amazon, total around $30 here is a shot of the whole space, its only 40x20 but its a good seven feet tall, i plan to add more to it later, a lot of the space is being taken up by seed starting for the main garden and some green onions my mother in law threw in the worm box i fished out and re-planted. all q's and comments/advice are welcome and thanks for viewing!

March 19, 2014	#5
RootLoops Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: rienzi, ms Posts: 470	3/19 update here are some pics from yesterday. they all still look real good with the current batch of nutrients so i'll let it go until friday if nothing changes, possibly longer as they aren't using much of it yet. the cilantro in the DWC tastes a lot stronger than the ones in the soil, and they are much thicker and sturdier. here is a pic of the inside of the tub, you can see it's just standard aquarium equipment from wal mart. i used a 1/4" drill bit to make the holes for the air tubes and i have check valves to keep water from going into the pump. for now i change the nutrients by syphoning, it does the job pretty well. before long i'll have some extra cash to buy an enzyme additive to clean up the old stuff, debris and what not. the catnip is growing by leaps and bounds over the ones that are still in the seed starter, of course those have had no food yet. the pepper plant is doing well so far. if you look closely you can see one of the dozens of ladybugs that inhabit this closet. all the seedlings i planted of squash and peas are doing very well, my wife took two of the squash seedlings to show her class how roots and seeds develop. i added a sweet mint and a chocolate mint cutting and they have taken root already. i plan to take many more cuttings and get the mints started around my fence line in the wettest part of the yard. the salvaged green onions seem to be doing well and a little cucumber seedling is growing a flower. thats about it for this update 3/19

March 20, 2014	#6
epsilon Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Desert CA Posts: 400	I tried this once a few years back and after losing some very expensive stock I kinda gave up on the DWC and figured I should stick to dirt. I do really like that you're using the storage box itself as the reservoir it looks so much more efficient than growing in 5 gallon buckets also the reduction of hydroton would mean that you'd have to replenish your solution less often due to it's super efficient capillary properties. Though have you considered moving to larger grade diatomite? I grew orchids in a mix of this and coco husk for a few years and it was amazing! I basically stopped losing plants to moisture related illnesses. As for lighting I took what I knew from orchids, and that they were more responsive to wavelength (supposedly) and invested in a LED 200w set up specifically geared to vegetation, but honestly I can't vouch one way or another. Though I should have stuck to my quad t5 setup because I could get most of the full sun plants to bloom under those circumstances. Because at the cost I could have bought a years supply for my old T5 system and switch out to new bulbs every two months for less. I hope you keep posting updates and more pics, because you've piqued an interest with me on this one, though it'll probably be another few years till I start a new indoor project like this. I want to hear how you go through the flowering phase with your current rig. Gaston Bonus Question: Depending on how long you have the lights on. Have you considered growing vanilla? IT takes 16+ hrs and several (3-5)years but if your humidity(±65%) is right you can pretty much just let it scramble around the sides. And to be completely honest I'm surprised no one has started an endeavor for this down south. It would be ridiculously lucrative with the start up being the cost of the plants. Imagine all the niche markets you could hit with local grown vanilla beans? Last edited by epsilon; March 20, 2014 at 02:07 AM.

March 21, 2014	#8
epsilon Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Desert CA Posts: 400	OK that's really neat. That Urban farm setup is awesome, but pricey. I'm stuck in the same situation as you, so where as I'll build raised beds that I can move around I won't commit to any large systems like this. Another thing I noticed is that I can find most of these parts for very cheap I know the pails they're using cost 3-5$ a pop and the 50 gal goes for around 75$ the hosing is another 25$. I'm breaking down the costs in my head but I guess part of the attractiveness of the system is that its turn key But really this is a cool concept, I can see 360 production coming out of having one of these, especially if I can have an indoor grow room/work area. then I can just work and enjoy as needed and return to the real world when it does roll call, lol. No kidding about the pepper plants growing fast in DWC you get two weeks growth in about3/5 days, it's amazing. Last edited by epsilon; March 21, 2014 at 01:28 AM.

March 21, 2014	#9
RootLoops Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: rienzi, ms Posts: 470	yeah i'm big on the pre made turn key aspect of it. i love tinkering with things and building stuff but things on a bigger scale halfway through building it i'd be cursing the thing. i think a lot of the cost is in the pump and controller. every time i say i can just build one for cheap by the time i add up all the little this and thats i end up not saving just a whole lot plus then i have to drill every hole and add more little cuts to my hands since it would be for our personal use i wouldn't be looking at it from a business perspective, and it could supply all the vegetables we could eat. the way i look at it i can set aside a little money every two weeks and have enough to pay for it in a few months. here are some pics i took yesterday, the pepper is even bigger today. i got some shots of the rest of the stuff i think i missed last time. they all still look good in the dwc so i'm gonna forego the nutrient change today. the salvaged onions are getting taller i'll need to eat some of them soon, the squash and peas all look good. the basil is starting to move along faster as he has a few roots in the solution now. the thyme is beginning to make headway and the marjoram is slowly but surely making it. the cilantro looks really nice compared to the ones in soil and has more flavor. the basil has a very strong smell but i haven't tasted it yet Last edited by RootLoops; March 21, 2014 at 11:19 AM.

March 15, 2014	#2
RootLoops Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: rienzi, ms Posts: 470	wow 43 views and no replies! looks like i'll be solo'ing this one. the pepper has put on a lot more growth since i posted the thread, as have the DWC cilantro and catnip. friday was one week with this batch of soup, i figure i will have to change it out once a week when the plants get hungrier. the salvaged green onions have grown a good 3-6" since i potted those up out of the compost bin. i planted 18 white scallop squash, 3 dixie hybrid yellow crookneck squash, some sugar snap peas and a couple other things to go out in the garden later. the roots of the scallop squash looked outstanding today. lots of root hairs and thick strong roots already shooting out from around the jiffy pellet. that's about it so far, i'll update with pics soon, if nothing else this will serve as a good journal of the closet experiment.

March 15, 2014	#3
greenthumbomaha Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Omaha Zone 5 Posts: 2,514	Root, you're way ahead of me, and many others here. I just switched from shop lights to T5's last year. I have an ipower like yours but haven't gone there yet. The variety you are growing is quite interesting. Noted as something I would like learn more about and possibly try in the off season. After we get our summer gardens up and running, we'll be thinking about next year. I hope you will continue to post your progress. It will help me and others grow as gardeners. - Lisa

March 24, 2014	#10
RootLoops Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: rienzi, ms Posts: 470	3/24 update not much time to type just a pic update: i potted up the two better boy seedlings i had neglected, i fed them some texas tomato food along with the spacemaster cucumber and they look better already these seedlings got a 1/2 strength dose of TTF today

March 25, 2014	#14
RootLoops Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: rienzi, ms Posts: 470	that was hilarious! thanks for your reply and the heads up! it's actually for this very reason i'm planting mint down there, i want it to take over a large area and also mice hate it so eventually i want to have it running around the edges of the yard. i've already got three patches of it in another spot that have grown a lot since "spring" started. i'm bordered on three sides by a brush field so no worries about invading a neighbors yard. here are some pics from a few mins ago: the tomato seedlings look much better already from the TTF, the yellow spots were there before feeding and are fading. i can tell a big difference in the cucumber too it's leaves are much bigger today and the flowers look perkier. in the background you can see some sugar snap(i think) peas reaching for the sky Last edited by RootLoops; March 25, 2014 at 06:48 PM.

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