by BrianBeckley
October 17 2011 06:01
This is the part I’ve been waiting for - I’ve spent two weeks eagerly watching my seedlings grow. I’m like a kid asking my parents, “Are we there yet?” over and over. I knew it was time to prepare for the transplant into the Aero Machine when my plants developed true leaves.
I prepared my reservoir with ten gallons of water. At Worm’s Way they said I could use water from the tap, and that I should allow the water to sit so any chorine dissipates, and to expect the pH to need adjusting. I know in the future to start looking into a reverse osmosis system to get better quality water, because I’m told that it is best to keep pH adjustments to a minimum.
When the reservoir was filled, I added General Hydroponics FloraDuo A and B according to the bottle and checked my pH with the General Hydroponics pH control kit, and it read 6. According to the bottle, that was within acceptable parameters.
I filled the net cups with Hydroton and plugged in the pump. I was told at Worm’s Way that it is best to have the Hydroton saturated before adding my plants.
So the next day, I very gently lifted the grow plugs from the Float and Grow. The roots were everywhere, so I was extremely careful, then placed them in the net cups, and supported and covered the plugs with Hydroton. It’s important to completely cover the plugs to avoid fungus gnats (I certainly don’t need a house full of them).
I have the light timer set at 16 hours on and I’m consistently running the pump. Now I can sit back and watch the magic until time to clean out and set up again.