I have a small grow tent with a chili plant a a tomato plant (tiny tim) in it. The system consist of three 10L buckets, connected to one another and one water circulation pump. The pump runs about 5min every few hours just to mix things up. There is maybe ~10cm air gap and I have maybe 15-18L of liquid in the system. Humidity inside has been ~50-55 % and temps ~24-26C over the past week or so with ~150W of led lights (spiderfarmer sf2000).
I use Masterblend tomato nutrients (with calnit and magnesium sulphate at recommended mixing ratios) and with EC in the 1.2-1.8 range (started lower, have been increasing it a bit now) and pH of ~6.5 with ~1ml/L of H2O2 added once a week. Nutrients are replenished weekly and I've done one full nutrient change (week ago), planning to do one every 2-3 weeks depending on how the grow looks like. The nutrients are premixed into three separate solutions and calnit is added last. I think I had precipitation of nutes a week ago prior to doing my full nutrient swap and scrubbing. A clear shimmering film that broke into "islands" when I poked at the water with my finger. I think I mixed all my three nutrients into too small of a volume prior to adding them to the system. I have not had that issue now.
Roots looks ok I think, with lots of air roots, but not entirely white. There is no smell, nor so the roots feel off or slimy. A bit more air roots than what I an used to, though I have not done much Kratky / DWC grows. There is some algae but seems to be minor.
And yet, my tomato looks horrible with some visible issues with the chili plant. I had massive issues with edema about a week ago with the tomato but nothing with the chili (just prior to full nute change). I trimmed lots of leaves, after which I changed my small exhaust fan to be on all the time because the night time humidity (fan was off) would shoot up to 80-90%. And I assumed that was the issue. I also turned a second fan inside the tent to be just on all the time.
Well the edema seems to be gone, however, the tomato plant just looks stressed as hell with curly and crunchy leaves and some swelling maybe? Some small issues with chili plant, few leaves and wilting and some discoloration is visible.
Not entirely sure what could be the cause. Any ideas?
by Affectionate-Pickle0
2 Comments
That looks like mold. Air roots look like threads not cotton.
Adding an air stone to the nutrients won’t hurt anything and will help with submerged roots. Also helps curb that film on top of the water and with bacterial buildup.
Humidity spikes aren’t a big issue, but prolonged time leads to mold.
Everything else looks fine.
I assume those little speks in the roots are NOT bugs?
What nutrients are you using?