I just committed to the 1 gallon bucket method that you've made me aware of! Great simplistic system for growing leafy greens. I order 20 buckets and 30 lids. I contemplated a more complex system of NFT/DWC, but decided that this simple 1 gallon Kratky is probably a much simpler and adequate solution (for now). But the engineer side of me really wanted to introduce pumps, pipes and things that move! But I resisted for now. Just from watching all your videos, this really seems like a great way to go. Simple, no heavy tanks to lift, easy maintenance and cleaning, scalable, efficient and allows me to schedule my lettuce requirements weekly (start 2-3 seeds every week for a continuous supply). Plus it takes up a minimal amount of space. If I get more room later, I might build something like an NFT/DWC hybrid, but for now this seems right. Thanks for making all these videos and answering all my questions!
Excellent! Thank you for your kind words. For me, it mostly boils down to preference and what fits the needs. I'd like to make an NFT system someday, but it just isn't practical at the moment. Regardless if I go NFT, I'll most likely keep my buckets. BTW, wise move on buying extra lids... it's so handy to have a variety of hole patterns and a few blanks in reserve. I'm glad you were able to extract some ideas for your own grow. I greatly appreciate the feedback. :-)
Thank you for the kind words, I greatly appreciate it. I was pondering this series for about a year, I'm very glad it's proving useful. I like seeing details even if it may seem "obvious" to others. Thank you again!
Can you please explain the difference in your opinion of a pair of 4' Sunblaster NanoTech T5 fluorescent lights versus 1 of the Procyon 33" LED. Whats the pros and cons in your opinion between the two? I already bought 4 of the NanoTechs and installed 2 per rack level but before I buy the third level grow rack lights I would appreciate your analysis of why i should switch to Procyn 33". Thanks Link below to save you time... www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AKKUEV0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I only have experience with using a 2' HO 4 bulb unit. I really don't know much about HO. But this is my opinion off the top of my head: The power usage is exceedingly higher for T5, I think HappyLeaf claims 2-3 times better PAR rating per watt... but you'd probably want to check with them on that claim (Happy Leaf folks are really responsive, they're located in Illinois). I despise the recurring costs of replacing bulbs and the one that I have (that I keep at my office at work) had a failed ballast that cannot be reasonably replaced, except by the manufacturer... so I had to ship it to them to repair. I personally can't conceive of ever buying a T5 HO unit again. My setup is designed to reduce electric cost, which is my biggest consumable expense of my grow. I hope this is helpful.
Thank you for taking the time to respond. I’ll by a Procyon Monday for my third rack level (Wish you had a code to get credit for it) and change out the others two racks levels at some point.
I hope you like it, I'm obviously a big fan. The current model of Happy Leaf Procyon is "burplish" in color (as you probably notice in the video), not a white light... but I grow in my basement so it doesn't bother me. I think they will be changing over to a non-burple light in the future, but I don't know the details of that. That aspect doesn't matter much to me for my setup. Just another thing to consider. Feel free to shoot questions to me, I'm happy to answer if I'm able. Starting this hobby can be a challenge, I've been there... and I'm actually still there, there is still plenty I don't know.
I just started Batch 4. Finally got the CZ 1" net pots. So I've got all the proper equipment now. After rewatching this video, I've come to the conclusion that I'm putting the seeds TOO deep into the rockwool on seeding day. I was putting them down about an inch. But it seems like you only put them down about 1/4 to 1/2". I'll try that for Batch 5. Because I noticed for batch 3, one was not coming up even though I put about 3 seeds in it. I actually pushed a few more in after about a week and it finally got 2 that came up.
Yeah, with some seeds, putting them too deep can be an issue... especially if they're small/round seeds, they'll settle right to the bottom. I try to give a wide opening at the top and typically I don't have problems... typically ;-)
@@HydroHavenGrow Ya the more I think about it, I probably got the seeds too low and they were actually below the water line. No wonder they didn't pop! So for this batch since I've already seeded them, I just lifted the net pot up about 1/2" to get them out of the water. That should fix it. If not, I'll just put more seeds in higher up. I'll make the adjustment for the next batch!
I use 1-gallon buckets. Here are the URLs (sadly, it looks like the buckets are out of stock... which I've never seen before): Black One Gallon Buckets: www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=37019 Black Lids: www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=37020 Thanks for watching!
Silly question. Do those lids SNAP ON to your buckets? Or just sit there? The only buckets I can find in Canada are these ones ( www.uline.ca/Product/ProductDetailRootItem?modelnumber=S-17942 ). They have the "tear away" lids so after first use they will basically just sit on top without snapping on. I'm thinking that's actually better really. What do you think?
I set my lids on my buckets, but they're designed to snap down. When I first started using these, I would snap them on... which was a hassle and provided no benefit. I used white lids before and they did give me a fair bit of algae growth, especially under the lid. I hope you find something good, the ones I use took a long time to find.
@@HydroHavenGrow Thanks for the response! Appreciate it. I think the ones I found above will work. Like you said, no use to snap them all the way on. Just a hassle then.
For this setup, I did start 5 lettuce every week. When the rack is full, it will have 25 buckets total (13 on the bottom shelf, then 6 on the middle and top shelf). If I had to pick a minimum number of buckets, I'd go with 32 (so you'd have buckets ready to use without having to clean old buckets first). I also like to have extra lids just in case I want to do different hole configurations in the future. My opinion, it is better to have a few extra than be one short.
Ok silly question number #2. My seeds went into the Rockwool 2 days ago. I have the grow lights on 24x7 right now. From your experience, when should I reduce the lights to say 16 hours/day? I see one just barely starting to poke out. It seems that some people leave the lights on 24x7 for seedlings and then reduce it to 14-16 hours/day once they go into the Kratky pots. Can you comment on your method? Thanks again!
I keep my lights on 14 hours a day, 8am to 10pm. I've never heard of leaving lights on for seedlings 24/7, but just the opposite. If I were to change the light cycle for seedlings, I would leave them in the dark for 24/48 hours (I think some microgreen growers do this). They will need light energy once they sprout so they don't turn leggy. I prefer to keep everything the same across the board, it cuts down on the things I need to remember/manage. Disclaimer: I'm just some dude on UA-cam demonstrating how I grow lettuce in my basement... I want to keep my advice in perspective ;-)
@@HydroHavenGrow Actually. I found a chart for the nutrients I'm using. It suggests 18 hours/day for the first 3 weeks then down to 12. I don't think it really matters too much with lettuce! However, one person told me that once the seedlings start poking through, they need to see light within 6 hours or it will go dormant. But again, I think it depends on the seed. Anyhow, just passing this on. www.thegrowshow.org/general-hydroponics-flora-series
Hello! The buckets are HDPE and advertised that it "Meets FDA standards". When it comes to plastics, some folks refuse to call any plastic "food safe", but I consider these food safe though the product description does not use that terminology. I hope that answer is useful. Here is a link to the product: www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=37019 Here is the matching lid: www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=37020 They're a bit expensive, but I found this was a worthwhile purchase. If you do buy these, I strongly recommend buying extra lids (they're handy to have in case you want to change the hole configuration). Also, I have a show notes page for each episode here (it provides links to all the products I use): mihydrohaven.blogspot.com/ Thanks for watching and for the question!
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
I just committed to the 1 gallon bucket method that you've made me aware of! Great simplistic system for growing leafy greens. I order 20 buckets and 30 lids. I contemplated a more complex system of NFT/DWC, but decided that this simple 1 gallon Kratky is probably a much simpler and adequate solution (for now). But the engineer side of me really wanted to introduce pumps, pipes and things that move! But I resisted for now. Just from watching all your videos, this really seems like a great way to go. Simple, no heavy tanks to lift, easy maintenance and cleaning, scalable, efficient and allows me to schedule my lettuce requirements weekly (start 2-3 seeds every week for a continuous supply). Plus it takes up a minimal amount of space. If I get more room later, I might build something like an NFT/DWC hybrid, but for now this seems right.
Thanks for making all these videos and answering all my questions!
Excellent! Thank you for your kind words. For me, it mostly boils down to preference and what fits the needs. I'd like to make an NFT system someday, but it just isn't practical at the moment. Regardless if I go NFT, I'll most likely keep my buckets. BTW, wise move on buying extra lids... it's so handy to have a variety of hole patterns and a few blanks in reserve. I'm glad you were able to extract some ideas for your own grow. I greatly appreciate the feedback. :-)
I am so tired of lifting my 5 gallon buckets back and forth for water and nutrients, etc. I am definitely switching
Best how to video on internet! Great job and thanks for doing it!
Thank you for the kind words, I greatly appreciate it. I was pondering this series for about a year, I'm very glad it's proving useful. I like seeing details even if it may seem "obvious" to others. Thank you again!
Can you please explain the difference in your opinion of a pair of 4' Sunblaster NanoTech T5 fluorescent lights versus 1 of the Procyon 33" LED. Whats the pros and cons in your opinion between the two? I already bought 4 of the NanoTechs and installed 2 per rack level but before I buy the third level grow rack lights I would appreciate your analysis of why i should switch to Procyn 33". Thanks
Link below to save you time...
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AKKUEV0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I only have experience with using a 2' HO 4 bulb unit. I really don't know much about HO. But this is my opinion off the top of my head: The power usage is exceedingly higher for T5, I think HappyLeaf claims 2-3 times better PAR rating per watt... but you'd probably want to check with them on that claim (Happy Leaf folks are really responsive, they're located in Illinois). I despise the recurring costs of replacing bulbs and the one that I have (that I keep at my office at work) had a failed ballast that cannot be reasonably replaced, except by the manufacturer... so I had to ship it to them to repair. I personally can't conceive of ever buying a T5 HO unit again. My setup is designed to reduce electric cost, which is my biggest consumable expense of my grow. I hope this is helpful.
Thank you for taking the time to respond. I’ll by a Procyon Monday for my third rack level (Wish you had a code to get credit for it) and change out the others two racks levels at some point.
I hope you like it, I'm obviously a big fan. The current model of Happy Leaf Procyon is "burplish" in color (as you probably notice in the video), not a white light... but I grow in my basement so it doesn't bother me. I think they will be changing over to a non-burple light in the future, but I don't know the details of that. That aspect doesn't matter much to me for my setup. Just another thing to consider. Feel free to shoot questions to me, I'm happy to answer if I'm able. Starting this hobby can be a challenge, I've been there... and I'm actually still there, there is still plenty I don't know.
I just started Batch 4. Finally got the CZ 1" net pots. So I've got all the proper equipment now. After rewatching this video, I've come to the conclusion that I'm putting the seeds TOO deep into the rockwool on seeding day. I was putting them down about an inch. But it seems like you only put them down about 1/4 to 1/2". I'll try that for Batch 5. Because I noticed for batch 3, one was not coming up even though I put about 3 seeds in it. I actually pushed a few more in after about a week and it finally got 2 that came up.
Yeah, with some seeds, putting them too deep can be an issue... especially if they're small/round seeds, they'll settle right to the bottom. I try to give a wide opening at the top and typically I don't have problems... typically ;-)
@@HydroHavenGrow Ya the more I think about it, I probably got the seeds too low and they were actually below the water line. No wonder they didn't pop! So for this batch since I've already seeded them, I just lifted the net pot up about 1/2" to get them out of the water. That should fix it. If not, I'll just put more seeds in higher up. I'll make the adjustment for the next batch!
Where do you get those black buckets. Are the two gallon
I use 1-gallon buckets. Here are the URLs (sadly, it looks like the buckets are out of stock... which I've never seen before):
Black One Gallon Buckets: www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=37019
Black Lids: www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=37020
Thanks for watching!
I like it! I'm gonna try this soon. I replied to your comment on my vid about the lettuce towers BTW :)
Cool! Yeah, that tower is sweet. Looking forward to see how that works out, good idea about dealing with the nutrient flow.
Silly question. Do those lids SNAP ON to your buckets? Or just sit there? The only buckets I can find in Canada are these ones ( www.uline.ca/Product/ProductDetailRootItem?modelnumber=S-17942 ). They have the "tear away" lids so after first use they will basically just sit on top without snapping on. I'm thinking that's actually better really. What do you think?
I set my lids on my buckets, but they're designed to snap down. When I first started using these, I would snap them on... which was a hassle and provided no benefit. I used white lids before and they did give me a fair bit of algae growth, especially under the lid. I hope you find something good, the ones I use took a long time to find.
@@HydroHavenGrow Thanks for the response! Appreciate it. I think the ones I found above will work. Like you said, no use to snap them all the way on. Just a hassle then.
So, do you start five new lettuce plants each week and if so, how many buckets do you need total?
For this setup, I did start 5 lettuce every week. When the rack is full, it will have 25 buckets total (13 on the bottom shelf, then 6 on the middle and top shelf). If I had to pick a minimum number of buckets, I'd go with 32 (so you'd have buckets ready to use without having to clean old buckets first). I also like to have extra lids just in case I want to do different hole configurations in the future. My opinion, it is better to have a few extra than be one short.
Ok silly question number #2. My seeds went into the Rockwool 2 days ago. I have the grow lights on 24x7 right now. From your experience, when should I reduce the lights to say 16 hours/day? I see one just barely starting to poke out. It seems that some people leave the lights on 24x7 for seedlings and then reduce it to 14-16 hours/day once they go into the Kratky pots. Can you comment on your method? Thanks again!
I keep my lights on 14 hours a day, 8am to 10pm. I've never heard of leaving lights on for seedlings 24/7, but just the opposite. If I were to change the light cycle for seedlings, I would leave them in the dark for 24/48 hours (I think some microgreen growers do this). They will need light energy once they sprout so they don't turn leggy. I prefer to keep everything the same across the board, it cuts down on the things I need to remember/manage. Disclaimer: I'm just some dude on UA-cam demonstrating how I grow lettuce in my basement... I want to keep my advice in perspective ;-)
@@HydroHavenGrow Thanks again! Done. I setup a timer for 16 hours/day. Out of the 7, 6 are poking up now.
@@HydroHavenGrow Actually. I found a chart for the nutrients I'm using. It suggests 18 hours/day for the first 3 weeks then down to 12. I don't think it really matters too much with lettuce! However, one person told me that once the seedlings start poking through, they need to see light within 6 hours or it will go dormant. But again, I think it depends on the seed. Anyhow, just passing this on. www.thegrowshow.org/general-hydroponics-flora-series
Cool cool, I appreciate it.
Are these buckets food safe? If yes, where did u buy them?
Hello! The buckets are HDPE and advertised that it "Meets FDA standards". When it comes to plastics, some folks refuse to call any plastic "food safe", but I consider these food safe though the product description does not use that terminology. I hope that answer is useful.
Here is a link to the product: www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=37019
Here is the matching lid:
www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=37020
They're a bit expensive, but I found this was a worthwhile purchase. If you do buy these, I strongly recommend buying extra lids (they're handy to have in case you want to change the hole configuration). Also, I have a show notes page for each episode here (it provides links to all the products I use): mihydrohaven.blogspot.com/
Thanks for watching and for the question!