Click and Grow Experiment: Day 10
Day 10! I'm actually surprised at what I found with the Roma Tomato, but first, here's the set-up again:
You can see that there are no seedlings in the peat moss cups. This is because they died. Their roots were not long enough to reach the wetter parts of the soil. I tried putting in drops of water to help with this and one almost came back alive. The good news, the peat will not create any mold due to the top couple cms being completely dry. The bad news, any seeds or seedlings will need constant water until they are about 1-2 inches. I know this because I grew cat grass from seed in this same material. I'm trying to grow the Bok Choy from seed in them now. We'll see how that goes. Now for some close-ups of the other pods.
Roma Tomato is doing really well. I haven't even refilled the water and it already has roots long enough! The plant did get leggy but I assume it's because the pod is placed further down. You'll notice in the second photo that there are some light patches on the top. I have confirmed that it is not mold or algae. When you buy the refill pack you can tell the pods were clearly made in bulk and then torn apart from the top. The light patches are the tougher torn parts, which I don't think will ever hydrate. So far so good!
The Bak Choy is doing well too! A few days ago, I noticed small specks of white (maybe 3-5) which were easily removed. I dabbed the soil and found just a little bit of algae growing. It's such a small amount that managing it is very easy to do.
Both experiments seem to be doing alright. If the fully covered print continues to only produce small amounts of mold/algae then I wouldn't mind sticking with that. Depending on how the rest of the experiment goes, I may print more of both and use the AeroPods for larger plants only.
From here on, I will probably do 10-day updates since I don't think much will change. If it does, I'll do an update in-between.
P.S. in case anyone wants to know which peat moss I used, you can find it here on Amazon. If this brand does not sell in your area just look for peat moss that's specifically advertised as "sterile". Also, try looking for brands that come from Canada since they have strict rules when harvesting that doesn't damage the environment. I'd also recommend mixing this with another material like perlite or another hydroponic material. NOTE: when I tried peat moss + coconut coir it still produced mold (but maybe it'll work in your area).
If you missed previous posts about this experiment you can find them here:
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