Tammie Rogers
Inspired by Dogs & Nature
Hydroponics – Day Four
Project One – Countertop Sprouts
Getting hungry for tuna salad sandwich with lots of sprouts! I read that it’s time to process (totally dry and refrigerate) alfalfa sprouts when they are about three inches long. I think mine are racing towards that goal, quickly.
Project Two – Lettuce Greens
There’s been a big jump in the little rockwool germination cubes over night. The leaf lettuce has shot up above the tops of the cubes. The arugula is slower going. Also, I can now tell that the Arugula seeds in two of the six cubes have not germinated. In the future I will put more than one seed per cube to accommodate for the lower germination rate. Seeds can get stale with time. I have no idea how old the seeds were that I purchased. I, personally, planted them within a day of their arrival.
Today, my LED grow light arrived. I plan to put the lettuce seedlings under that light. I remember from botany class in college that light actually inhibits growth. You may have put a plant in a sunny window and it appeared to turn towards light. That phenomenon can suggest that light promotes growth. However, the cells facing the direct light grow proportionally slower than the cells on the “dark side.” While it might appear that light causes growth, that is just a misinterpretation of what is actually happening. If the whole plant gets sufficient light, it will grow slower and put energy into becoming stronger, rather than quickly becoming tall but spindly.
