We're on vacation this week, so I'm afraid that I have no new hydroponics information to report...

Our frield Danielle is attending to the plants this week, so they have company while we're away.

For any of you who happen to be visiting the Maximum Yield Indoor Gardening Expo, we'll be there on Saturday the 10th.  If you'd like to meet up, send me an email through the site.

Hydroponics Tuesday will resume normally next week. See you then.

-Ben

Today was the trip to Discovery Cove... In theory, it's the central point of the whole trip.  The morning started pretty early, around 7:00 AM.  Before leaving the hotel, we (Jessawick mostly) stopped off at the concierge desk to see about tickets to the Blue Man Group.  We've got tickets for Wednesday.  Since the Blue Man Group is located in Universal Studios anyway; we're going to make Wednesday the Universal day.

We arrived at Discovery Cove around 8:00 AM.  I really like the way that Discovery Cove is managed, and the all-inclusive nature of the visits.  For example, Discovery Cove is the only attraction thus far that has offered free parking.  We signed in, and got our assignments for the dolphin session.  We were scheduled for 9:55 AM.

After check-in, we wanted to check out something that we'd read in the literature...  Supposedly, Discovery Cove offered free use of prescription diving masks.  The rumor is true.  I've got to say, the prescription diving mask really made the day much more enjoyable for both of us.  It was really nice to be able to see.

But I digress...  08:58 AM.  Disaster call from work.  Remarkably, I hadn't ditched my cell phone yet, so I was able to take the call.  Although I have not yet verified it myself, it sounds as if we had total failure on one of our main routers.  That's never a good thing, as from the sound of it, it put most of the office out of commission.  More on the work disaster later.

Since we had some time before the dolphin swim, we sought out breakfast.  Remember, Discovery Cove is all-inclusive.  The food was very good.  Admittedly, breakfast was fairly simple, but the food is plentiful and of excellent quality.  Following breakfast, we checked out the coral reef.  The reef is really quite impressive.  I also learned something about swimming goggles... Things are closer than they appear.  I learned something else too.  Don't kick really hard when you're swimming, if you can whack your foot on something painful.

Ok, back to the reef.  It has depths of varying degree, with 14 ft. being about the deepest.  It's salt water, with hundreds of species contained in it.  They've got Stingrays that have got an 10-12 ft. "wingspan".  They're ginormous.  In the words of one of the staff:  "They're like Mini Coopers that swim".

At just before 10:00 AM, we had our "appointment" with the dolphin.  The facility has three different dolphin pools, and they run three separate groups at one time.  Our dolphin was quite friendly and sociable.  We got one of the younger dolphins at the park, "Coral".  From what they told us, she was the first of the babies that was born at Discovery Cove.  You could see that she'd spent lots of time around people, and she was great at her "job".

The dolphins and the trainers had worked it all out, and it ran very smoothly.  Although I should have probably known better, the sheer size of the dolphins surprised me.  They're about 8 ft. long, and they weigh about 650 lbs.  They're a big honking sea creature.

The dolphin swim session ended with getting a ride around the cove.  Coral towed us around, while we held on to her fin.

I'll admit that after the dolphin swim was over, I called back to the office to hear about their dilemma.  It makes perfect sense, if I leave; we have a critical failure.  From what I heard from the office, it sounds as if they were able to secure a replacement part, and get operations running again, even if in a limited fashion.  I think they're ok at this point; or at least ok enough to continue for a few days.  I felt better immediately.  I realize that I take work too seriously; but I do; and that isn't likely to change.

I decided that it was time to get dry and warm.  I like being dry and warm.  Once again, I've got to mention how nice the whole Discovery Cove experience was...  Their facilities were great.  Private showers and changing areas, quality shampoo right at hand.  Very pleasant experience.  They really run a good operation.  I spent an hour or so shooting photos of the dolphins from the shore.

Lunch was of excellent quality.  They offered at least 8 different selections, and the results were great.  As mentioned before, it was all included in the price of admission.

Around 1:30 PM, we took the horticulture tour of the facility.  They really have a lot of interesting plants.  They've managed to create a tropical jungle in a very short time.  Good tour.

We spend the rest of the day between the Stingray Pool, the Lazy River, the Reef, the Aviary, and more dolphin photos.

We departed Discovery Cove around 5:30.  I'd heard that there was a Taverna Opa in the area; so we went to investigate.  Greek food is great, and Taverna Opa is a blast.  I've visited the one in Miami before.  This was a first for the Orlando branch.  Just like Miami, the food was exceptional and the meal was a lot of fun.  I highly recommend you visit a Taverna Opa, should you encounter one.  Greek yogurt rocks, as does the entertainment.

Although we got a bit of a late start, due to my last photo class at DCAD, we're officially on vacation now.  We've been on the road since 1 PM, and we've seen lots of I-95.

It's a little after midnight, but we've made it to our first destination.  Wild and exciting Ridgeland, SC.  Truthfully, Ridgeland isn't much of a destination, but it was a good stopping point; and it puts us within easy reach of Orlando for tomorrow.

Just as last week, the eggplant is the biggest feature in the garden.  It's sprouted tons of little flowers, probably 30-40 at this point.  If every one of them turns into an eggplant, I'll be my own farmers' market...

Although I make no claims of being a subject expert on the topic of eggplants, here's what I've been doing.  Much like the strawberries from previous batches, I do the pollenation manually.  I keep a paint brush near the plants.  When I see flowers, I brush the inside of them with the paint brush.  Truthfully, I don't know if an eggplant needs this treatment; but I'm doing it anyway.  It's always given good results with the strawberries, and I'm not enough of a botanist to question it.

Although the plants seem pretty happy, I do notice some unexpected downward curling in the leaves of the strawberries, tomatoes, and basil.  I'm not sure the cause, but I'm suspecting that I haven't been adding enough of the Mag Pro supplement.  I have recently changed the water, and I'm thinking that the plants were running low. 

Here's this week's overview photo:

Please Note:  I will *not* be writing a Hydroponics Tuesday next week.  I'm going to be on vacation, and I won't be here to tend the plants.  Our pet sitter Danielle will be taking care of the garden for me.  I'll resume the normal schedule when I return from our trip to Orlando.

For any of you who happen to be visiting the Maximum Yield Indoor Gardening Expo, we'll be there on Saturday the 10th.  If you'd like to meet up, send me an email through the site. 

The time has come for the big Halloween post of the year... As some of you may know, we spend way too much time and money preparing for Halloween.  It's a big deal, and it's a lot of fun for us.

This year, we've got a new array of decorations and props, including a number of animated ones.  Additionally, for the first time ever, we'll be introducing remote-control into the equation.

First things first, here's the front yard at the moment:

We've added a number of new features to the yard this year.  For starters, we've got a new fence for our cemetery.  We found a closeout on steel fencing earlier this year, and we thought it would look great in our graveyard.  We had to visit seven different Home Depots to round up enough parts; but it really looks great.

Just for reference, larger photos are available in the photo gallery. 

we spend a while in the woodshop manufacturing new tombstones for the front yard.  The new tombstones are made of solid wood (much stronger than their foam predecessors), and are anchored into the ground with tent stakes (the don't blow in the wind anymore).  I did the woodwork, Jessawick did the artwork.  We're really pleased with the results.  Also, since the new tombstones were finished properly, they are much more water resistant than their predecessors.  Everyone in the family gets a tombstone... Myself, Jessawick, Pica (dog), Ion (dog), Faraday (dog), and even Sandy Earth (skink).  We know that Sandy passed away a few years ago, but she gets her own tombstone anyway.

Our tombstones, with the creepy red floodlight effect.  All the markings are routed, then painted.  We cut the "damage" on the scroll saw, and finished it with the Dremel, for realistic weathering.  Jessawick did a great job on the painting and finishing.  She used black washes to create the "old" streaking effects; and even added green lichen on the face of each tombstone. 

This is a wide-shot of Sandy, Ion, and Pica's tombstones.  They're a bit smaller than ours, but are made in a very similar way.  The designs are routed into the face of the wood.  Jessawick did a great job with Sandy's especially, a lizard is a complex shape to rout in the woodshop. 

Faraday's tombstone has a striking resemblance.  Faraday is our baby dachshund.  She's not very tall, but she's very lengthy... just like her tombstone.

A better angle for Ion and Pica's tombstones.  The weathered finish looks great (it's actually layering of various stone paint textures).  The designs are routed, and the marking at the top is a bit of moulding, for a full 3D look. 

Next, we move on the rest of the yard.  This is our family scarecrow.  This fellow's got some history.  I don't know when he was first introduced, but he predates me by a few years.  My mother originally made him, back on the family farm.  His head is a recent addition, as it became misplaced somewhere along the way.  He's survived a long time.  Scarecrow: we salute you.

The skeleton and the coffin return for another year.  This year, we've added some mood lighting into the mix.  Actually, the lighting situation is pretty interesting this year. We've integrated spotlights and floodlights into some of the animated props.  We've refitted several of the low-voltage landscape lights with high effeciency LED's to save power.  More on that later.

Additionally, don't forget the venerable family farm bell.  It dates back to my great-great grandfather, Holland Shaffer.  Through the years, the bell has passed into my possession.  It proudly stands in the front yard, even during the fall, when it's flanked with cornstalks and straw bales.

Here's a closer look at our hanging skeletal friend.  We built the coffin to fit him, when we picked him up a few years back.  He doesn't seem to mind the weather, as he has yet to complain. 

We've got one last new addition to the front yard... We've boarded up the windows on our "abadoned" house.  I'm actually really proud of this little prop.  Although it doesn't look like it; it's actually made almost entirely of pink insulation foam.  The whole thing is foam on a light pine frame.  The "boards" are just carefully cut and painted, they aren't boards at all.

The whole thing was done using a scroll saw and a hot glue gun.  It's supported by a very small pine frame, and all the "board" are just carefully cut foam.  The entire fellow weighs only about two pounds.  It's very light, and you're about to see why... 

Since I really didn't want to put holes into the house, it's hung in a very interesting way... The whole thing is hung like a large picture. It's supported entirely by suction cups on the window glass.  We thought that if we made is light enough, we could get away with only suction cups for support.  Thus far, it's worked out spectacularly.  It really adds a nice dimension to the yard.  I like it a lot.

Part 2:  The Props

Now that we've seen the front yard, let's discuss all the parts of the Halloween setup that aren't visible just yet...

We've spent quite a lot of time this year on props for Halloween night.  We always go overboard to make Halloween fun for the neighborhood children, and this year is no exception.  We've got 600 glowsticks ready, 40 pounds of candy, and an army of custom made props.

Jessawick made an amazing spirit ball for her witches' table this year.  It's actually made from several different items, and the effect is great.  She started with a base made of insulation foam, cut on the scroll saw.  It was shaped into a "cone" form.  Next, we got it wired up as a 110V light fixture.  The whole thing is basically a candle-bulb under a frosted light globe.  After the electrical part was finished, she finished it by covering it with bones and moss.  We scored a bunch of reject bones from the medical school skeleton factory (yes, there is a medical school skeleton factory, and most of their rejects go to the Halloween industry!).  She carefully covered it over, and the results look amazing:

Also, this year the Reaper is making a return appearance.  We originally got him last year (and rigged him with an air cannon).  This year, he'll be returning, and he'll be tooled-up with a new and improved air cannon.  The new cannon triggers differently, and is much more potent than the previous incarnation.

After last Halloween, I started working on a remote control system for our props.  Originally, I was just planning to have some remote controlled air cannons (to scare the kids with a blast compressed air).  Last November, I completed the first of our remote control units.  Here's a photo from last year, when I finished the first one:

The big black box contains a custom relay circuit board.  Here's how it works:  The remote control works by RF (radio) control.  I decided to use RF rather than IR (infrared), as RF doesn't need line-of-sight, and we can trigger is covertly.  Each of the control boxes needs a 12V power supply to operate.  Since I want the props to be covert (and not look "wired"), I power them off packs of 8 AA batteries.

Since I need 12V power to make the remote relay boards work; I got an idea... Why not use 12V control systems, and power it all off the same battery?  Here's how things work:  The fellows at the bottom of the photo are solenoid valves (electrically triggered valves). These valves basically turn an air compressor (like you'd use for air tools) into an air cannon.  When the valve is triggered, air suddenly passes through, and a forceful "blast" of air hits an unsuspecting guest.

Each control box has two independent channels, so you can trigger two props off each remote.  I've tied the outputs to positive 12V, which results in a convenient little package.  Each control box output is basically just a remote-switched 12V power supply.  This allows you to turn innocent solenoid valves into much more interesing air cannons.

Here's a closeup of the circuit board that I use to make things work:

I've got great news for anyone who would like to try this at home... My whole control system is made from standard and inexpensive parts.  The circuit board in the photo is an HD2RX (two channel RF relay board), that can be purchased from Carl's Electronics for just under $30 (includes remote too).  I just mounted it into a housing and added some modular connectors to make it more friendly.  I use an N-type power connector (Radio Shack) for the 12V supply, and simple RCA jacks for the switched outputs.  Why RCAs?  They're cheap and plentiful.  Why go exotic when you can go standard?  The housing is just a cheap Radio Shack project enclosure.  Shockingly, the only soldering required was on the connectors in the project housing.

If you've ever worked with relays, you know that they aren't particularly energy efficient... How can I run this thing off batteries?  Well, you'd be surprised what you can get away with.  Think about Halloween props... They are triggered for an instant, and stay dormant for most of the night.  I've done the math on the battery pack's rating vs. the relays (and the draw from the solenoid valve too, as it's just another relay).  Here's the short answer:  You'll get about 25 minutes of "burn time" on a set of 8 AA's.  However, remember, you aren't going to have a cannon on "full blast" for 25 solid minutes all night long.

At this point, you're also probably wondering why I used AA's...  I've got an answer for that too.  They're cheap.  Other types of battery may be better suited for the application, but AA's offer two things that are helpful in the case.  Firstly, they're very inexpensive.  I can buy 30 of them for under $10.  Secondly, they're easy to get.  I don't need exotic chargers, and I can easily swap them in a hurry.

I'll admit though, I use a converted power supply from a dead external hard-drive in the workshop.  I don't want wires in the field, but a plug-in power supply is convenient in the workshop.  Note to Al:  Thanks for letting me take that power brick about 6 months ago.  It's powered my props in the workshop ever since.

Since we've got remote controls now, we decided to branch out into other air-powered props.  We've made two remote controlled tombstones (which aren't out in the yard yet).  They contain a bit of electrical giblets, so we don't want them exposed to the weather.  Here are some photos of them on the back table.  They're the same size as the others, and they shouldn't raise any suspicions when they "appear" on Halloween night. 

Both of these "head popper" tombstones are built using solenoid valves (to trigger air flow from the compressor) and pneumatic cylinders (a air-powered moving rod).  I scored the parts from Doug at FrightProps.  Doug is a great guy, and can be quite helpful in your haunting projects.

Although they are both air-powered, the two tombstones are quite different in construction... The first one (Orange / Skull) is directly driven off the cylinder.  The skull has a threaded receiver for the cylinder, and it rides directly on the rod.  Additionally, the skull has been fitted with glowing red eyes, that I wired into the voltage that drives the solenoid valve.  It's a nice touch.

Below is the second tombstone, which is actually a bit more complicated in construction:

The second tombstone is made with an actual mannequin head.  Since it's fully life-sized, it can wear regular masks, and they can be interchanged at any time.  The mannequin head is much larger than the skull, and requires a different mounting system.  This tombstone actually works a lot like a "vertical drawer".  The head is mounted on a platform, which slides up and down on drawer slides (mounted to the inside walls of the tombstone).  The cylinder pushes the drawer "up" when air is applied, and gravity brings is back down when the solenoid valve is released (I got away with just using 3-way valves, as I didn't need a "powered" return).  The return is forced by gravity, and regulated by a flow restrictor on the exhaust.

Important safety note:  All my props have flow restrictors built into them.  A flow restrictor limits air flow, to control the speed of a prop.  This also adds a level of safety, should other components in the system fail.  Do not ever try to "get away" just using the regulator on your air compressor.  Buy restrictors.  Additionally, they're convenient for setting your "down" speed, when they're used on your exhaust ports.

Also, the mannequin head is fitted with glowing red "eyes".  I picked up some indicator bulbs at Radio Shack, and wired them into the switched voltage that drives the solenoid valve.  It's a really creepy effect.

Although I don't have a picture of it, I've got another interesting gadget for this season... I've made up a remote-adapter for the fog machine.  I found that you can simply replace the corded switch of the fog machine with one of your own design.  The 400W fog machine that we own is triggered by an IEC C14 (the female version of a standard computer power cord).  The wired trigger just closes the contacts on two of the connectors.  With just a relay and a cord to butcher, I made an interface to let our remote control boxes take control of the fogger.  Sweet.

Ok, on to the main event... We've built ourselves monster.  The monster is our biggest, baddest, and most intimidating prop this year. Just tell me this dude isn't intimidating:

Here's the idea... The monster is actually a specially made prop frame (steel frame that moves under air-power).  When the remote control triggers the monster, he leaps up and forward, striking fear into anyone nearby.  It's actually quite intimidating.  He stands at over 7 feet tall, and he moves quickly.  He's outfitted with the same glowing red eyes, and he's really quite scary.

The whole motion is controlled by a single pneumatic cylinder.  We used an 8 inch long cylinder, with a 1.5 inch bore.  He's controlled by a single 3-way valve, triggered by our standard control boxes.  The steel frame pivots up and down, depending on the position of the air cylinder, and it "jumps" to full height in a single controlled motion.  The frame is counter-weighted with springs, so the cylinder actually isn't moving all that much weight.  The monster doesn't require as much air as you'd expect.  We're easily able to run him off a pathetically small "1 gallon" compressor with a tiny motor.

We've bolted the frame to a big piece of plywood (painted black).  This allows of a bigger "footprint", and also lets us stack plate weights on the back, for counterbalance (he tends to jump forward with each firing otherwise).  Also, his body isn't as solid as it seems.  He's mostly just a large black cape (Jessawick made it for him) that's suspended on a steel frame.  This lets him fold down very small when he's "hiding".

Here are a few photos of him in the daytime, as he stands up.  He's much scarier in the dark.

I've shot some video of the props in motion.  I'll be the first to admit that I am woefully inequipped for video work, but here are the results anyway (shot with a craptastic point-and-shoot in video mode!):

Well, that sure was the longest blog posting ever... 

From the title of this post, you can probably realize that the eggplant in the aeroponic system is getting absolutely huge.  To be honest, I'm thinking that I may have to cut back some leaves (or move the neighboring plants to different sites).  It's really starting to shade the adjacent strawberries.  The eggplant has lots of flowers, and seems quite happy.

In related, but unexplainable news... The pH seems to have stabilized more than usual.  Normally, we have rapid fluctuations.  For the first time in a long time, I haven't raised the pH is almost four days.  That's a big deal, as I usually have to raise it daily (in the aeroponic system).

The larger tomato (#10) is getting quite large.  In fact, since you can't see the whole thing in this week's "overview" photo, I decided to give it a photo of its own.  At it's tallest point, it's still about 30 inches from the light source.  No burning is visible, but to be safe, I probably won't let it get much closer.

Strangely, the smaller tomato (#18) is really struggling.  I'm not sure why.  It appears weak, spindly, and has few leaves.  Additionally, it's leaves show curling (but no burning).  I'm not sure if it's going to live.  This is particularly odd, as everything else in the same aeroponic system is looking great.

Here's this week's overview photo:

Additionally, here's a vertical shot of the larger tomato (#10):

This week's report really isn't as dramatic as some previous reports.  Things are growing at a good pace, but the situation is fairly stable.

However, I would like to mention something, in case you haven't heard it before...  An aeroponic system (like my TurboGarden) helps plants grow very quickly.  Since so many changes are taking place under an aeroponic setting, you have to be very mindful of the condition of your reservoir.  Normally, the water chemistry is fairly stable... However, in an aeroponic system, like the TurboGarden, this really isn't the case. Admittedly, the TurboGarden has a fairly large reservoir tank (about 25 gallons when full).  However, there's so much growth activity going on, that the chemistry changes rapidly.  The TurboGarden consumes a lot more nutrients than my other system, and the pH changes much more dramatically.

This may sound strange to someone new to aeroponics, but I add almost 1 pint of pH increaser to my TurboGarden each week.  That's a lot of pH increaser.  Although I don't understand all the plant biology involved, I can tell you from experience that the plants just suck the pH right out of the water.  I check the pH every morning, and most of the time I find it around 6.0.  I realize that 6.0 is still in a good range for the plants; but I also know that it will continue to drop unless I supplement it.

I really need to buy more twine.  I need to tie some of the plants, like the eggplant.  It's not being a good neighbor at the moment.  Additionally, the eggplant is flowering.  We have several flowers, but no baby fruits yet.

I'm not quite sure what's going on with our younger tomato plant.  It doesn't look as good as I would expect.  The chemistry is good.  I'm suspecting a heat issue (as it's tall, and closer to the light source).  As an experiment, I've laid it down, in the strawberries. 

Here's this week's photo:

Things have really started to take off in the TurboGarden.  This week's title comes from the big and leafy results that I'm starting to see.  The eggplant is of particular interest this week.  It looks like I've got a good balance going.

The leaf burning is gone.  Since I acted decidedly unscientifically during the trouble, I cannot cleanly attribute the success.  However, I've got it narrowed down to two solutions.  Firstly, I moved the 400W light further away.  This significantly lowered the heat on the leaves.  Leaves love light, but aren't so much in love with overheating.  Secondarily, I've started supplementing the plants with MagPro supplement on the advice of Beau, my local hydro-guy.  He's always given good advice.  This appears to be no exception.

The eggplant has gotten so large that I'm thinking about cutting back a few leaves... It's shadowing it's neighboring strawberry.  Things are going very well.

Take a look for yourself.  That's one big eggplant. 

Also, my lime basil has sprouted a little flower.  I didn't know that basil produced flowers.  Live and learn.

Keeping with my promise of solid record keeping, here's this week's chart:

I've spent some more time working with the plants this week, and I have a tenative solution for the burned leaves issue...

I think the root cause was the proximity of the 400W HPS (High Pressure Sodium) light bulb.  I had it previously positioned approximately 3 ft. from the top of the plants (only about 12 inches from the tallest plants, the tomatoes).  This lamp generates a lot of heat.  It's amazing, I never really noticed it until I removed the lamp for a while.  Here's a great example:  All the plants are sitting in hydroton (clay pellets).  Normally, the hydroton would be constantly damp, from the continual circulation of the water in the aeroponic system.  I only learned this after removing the 400W system for a few days.  The 400W system generates enough heat that the top layer of hydroton was always dry.

I removed the 400W system for a few days, and ran only on the underpowered 125W compact fluorescent.   I wanted to see if it would stop the leaf burning. I admit that this experiment is far from scientific, as I also added the Mag Pro supplement at the same time.  Regardless, the burning has stopped.

As a more permanent remedy, I've added the extensions back into the lighting frame.  Take a look at the picture below; you'll notice that the frame is much taller than last week.  This makes the light less harsh on the plants, and the heat less intense. 

I don't think that any of the plants suffered irreparable damage.  Regardless, I'm going to limit the cycle of the 400W light for a few weeks.  I'm going to start it around 9 hours a day, and see how we do with it.

Lettuce is tasty. I must report a casualty this week.  #16 is no more. 

Here's this week's overview photo.  The strawberries are finally getting moving.  Finally.

Keeping with my promise of solid record keeping, here's this week's chart:

This week has presented a challenge in the garden.  Some of the leaves have been burned, but I'm not sure of the cause just yet.  For those of you who were reading during the first aeroponic experiment, this should be soemthing of a flashback.

Last time, I was pretty sure that it was poor pH regulation that caused the burning of the leaves.  This time, I've pretty much ruled it out.  Before I pontificate on my theories, here's a photo of the problem:

Several of the plants are showing similar symptoms.  I've got slight leaf burning on #6 & #7 (strawberries), #17 (basil), and #10 & #18 (tomato). I talked with Beau, the owner of my preferred hydro shop.  His theory is a calcium / magnesium deficiency.  I'm trying a supplement that he recommended.  Personally, I think it's burning from overexposure to light.  That 400W bulb I've got is no joke.  It puts out a lot of light and a lot of heat.

I've temporarily shut down the 400W light, and replaced it with my smaller 125W fluorescent.  It seems like the damage has stopped.  I'm thinking about raising the roof on the lightstand and giving the 400W another try.

Despite the minor bad news, things are doing pretty well.  We've got flowers on the eggplant (#12), and they look quite healthy.  I've included a photo below of the baby flowers.  For reference, the photo below is much larger than life.  They're about 3/8" wide in reality. 

Here's this week's overview photo.  As you can see, the eggplant and the tomato plants have gotten quite large.

Keeping with my promise of solid record keeping, here's this week's chart: