TERMINATED: Tatsoi in the Classic 7-pod, "take two"

[pfunnyjoy]

Seeds: Seed Needs Tatsoi Mustard Seeds
Planted: 6:45 PM
Location: South 40, rear table
Water: tap, filtered, Big Berkey
Grow Medium: AG 2009 seed starter kit sponges, cut down, and positioned in the baskets with the trimmings.
Nutrients: GH MaxiGro (1/2 teaspoon per gallon to start)
Nutrient mix PH level: 6.0

CONCLUSION: Great grow, but although it was possible to grow 3 plants because of the old 7-pod spacing, it was not wise. The plants grew well, don't get me wrong, but it was harder to harvest them and it was also hard to keep up with the sheer amount of Tatsoi they were producing. So the garden needed more watering, more nutrients/water changes, closer monitoring, I've learnt a lesson.

The Tatsoi started to bolt right before the 6 month point, and got real messy. My advice is to pull a Tatsoi garden and start fresh around the 4-5 month point. I don't plan to do more in the 7-pod unit, because I'm worried over being able to re-use the baskets. I don't know where to get more of those short baskets.

THE END!

Here we go again, but now I know I must monitor PH!

Quite sadly, my new GH PH test kit arrived today ... and will be going straight back to Amazon, because the PH test bottle had opened up en route. I suppose it's a good thing the PH Down acid bottle didn't open! The kit was in a large-ish box, no other items, with no notable damage.



This time I have planted 3 pods, two widely spaced at the rear, one front center. I think there will be enough room, as long as I am harvesting regularly. The 7-pod grow deck configuration seems ideal to try this!


Here you can see what the spacing on the Classic 7 grow deck is like. Roughly 3-3/4 inches, center to center.


This is what the Park Seed bio-dome sponge that I usually use looks like, compared to a 2009 vintage AG seed starting kit sponge. The AG sponge is shorter AND skinnier. But workable for the AG Classic 7 short grow basket!


I used the trimmings to make it stable.

[pfunnyjoy]

Day 4

Sprouts were up above the labels on Day 3. I removed the grow domes.

One wrinkle, the back right pod sponge looked both light-colored and was DRY, even though there were sprouts!

Checked to see if water is running there and it is. I'm not sure why it isn't getting the sponge wet. It could be that hacking the seed starter tray sponges to fit is not such a good idea, however, the other two are fine, nice and moist!

My solution for the moment was to take some of the left-over nutrient mix and pour it directly on the sponge. I'll keep watching and if it remains an issue, maybe I can transfer the best sprout to a cut-down Park Seed sponge. Or plant a new seed, since they germinate so fast.

[pfunnyjoy]

As for the GH PH test kit, it turned out to be a non-returnable item!

However, in case something similar ever happens to someone else, I got on Amazon customer support chat, sent them a link to the image, and they issued a refund and told me to keep anything still useable from the kit. So, looks like I got free bottles of PH Down and PH up. 

So I ordered just the test drops to complete my kit.

[lynnee]

Yes, Amazon is pretty good about making adjustments for leaking items. I once called about a big jug of liquid laundry detergent that lost about 1/3 of its contents. Told them I only wanted a credit for the lost contents--even though the packaging was a mess to clean up. They gave me a partial refund, and added a $5 gift card!

[pfunnyjoy]

I haven't kept up well with this garden log, but it has been interesting so far growing this batch of Tatsoi.

I don't know if it's the gardens themselves (one water pump, one airstone), or the fact that one is running on GH Flora series and the other on GH MaxiGro. Or whether it's a difference between the 3 CFL bulbs and the 17 watt LED conversion bulbs. Both are getting CALiMAGic, but less for the garden with MaxiGro.

The leaves downstairs are larger and less crinkled. The plants seem a bit more upright growing, which may well be the lesser lighting. I tasted one older leaf tonight, and I'm not sure the taste is quite as good as that of the upstairs garden, but I plan to further investigate that matter!

Another interesting thing with this garden, is how light source affects growth. I'll try and get a photo tomorrow. But you can clearly see that on the right side of the garden, the Tatsoi is smaller. In the middle, a little bigger. Next to the 40W Bounty, large!

As much as I like the old Classic 7 grow deck, it's clear the LED lights on the Bounty AGs are vastly superior!

I did a rinse and refill tonight. The nutrients were:

2.0ml CALiMAGic
1 TSP MaxiGro
1 TSP 3% hydrogen peroxide

PH: 5.0 (I used 1ml of PH Up to bring it to 6.0)
EC: 2.2

[scarfguy]

Did you just say you are augmenting the AG pump with an airstone? 

I've been doing that but don't know how much I should run the airstone. Are you running it constantly?

Right now, I'm running it on a timer at 15 minutes every hour.

[pfunnyjoy]

Dec 11, 2023 6:38:53 GMT -5 scarfguy said:

Did you just say you are augmenting the AG pump with an airstone? 

I've been doing that but don't know how much I should run the airstone. Are you running it constantly?

Right now, I'm running it on a timer at 15 minutes every hour.

No, I'm sorry, I didn't phrase that well at all. I meant that one garden is a water pump variety (Classic 7), the other is an airstone (6 Elite+). Not both in one garden.

I'm not adventurous enough to try adding airstones to water pump gardens, as it would mean another thing to plug in. I just run 'em as they are from the factory.

But it reminds me, I do want to photograph the garden growth today!

[mike]

I grew Savoy Tatsoi in 2015 on one of my totes. I remember it tasted a bit like spinach. But it went to seed on me quickly. I probably wasn't paying much attention to it. My company sent me to work at a different facility that year. I'm still at that facility now.

[pfunnyjoy]

It definitely needs regular harvesting! The upstairs Tatsoi is still going at almost 3 months. This downstairs one is only getting started, but I did the first harvest tonight and got 77g from the three plants. Which, chopped coarsely, was just over a cup.

Here's the promised pictures of how you can literally see which plants are getting the most light, from least light on the right, to most light on the left, next to the 40W Bounty.

Side view:


Top view:


Both Bounty and Classic 7 together:


And the 77g harvest!

[pfunnyjoy]

2024-01-01

At not quite two months old, this garden is taking off like a jet! I can't ignore it long, because with THREE plants, it does THIS:


And then I get THIS for a harvest:


I made a green juice. It was late, I didn't want to cook, I'd just done a little exercise and I was thirsty.

The recipe:

• 1 entire stalk of organic celery (not a single rib, the whole bunch of ribs that comprises a stalk)
• 1 medium zucchini
• 1 ridiculous pasta bowl full of AG grown Tatsoi
• 4-5 small AG grown Italian Dandelion leaves
• 1 small Fuji apple
• 1/2 a lime with peel
• 1/2 thumbs worth of ginger

It was good. Really good. Tatsoi seems to add a certain richness to green juice. Hubby proclaimed it one of the best green juices I've made yet.

[pfunnyjoy]

Did a variant on the previous recipe that I call the "The Tatsoi Tank." It's less sweet, more savory, but also good!

Ingredients

• A meritorious amount of freshly harvested Tatsoi greens
• 1 stalk of celery (including young leaves)
• 1 romaine heart
• 1 large zucchini
• A small handful of Italian dandelion leaves
• 1 small Granny Smith apple
• 1 lime w/peel
• 2 small turmeric roots
• a bit of ginger root, to taste

Plus a crack of black pepper on top to bio-activate the turmeric.

The harvest, from both upstairs and downstairs Tatsoi gardens:


P.S. The tub is the one someone recommended for helping with the rinse and refill on my basement Bountys. It turned out handy for harvesting too, so I don't have to balance a foot high pile of greens in a single pasta bowl while going upstairs like I did before!

[mike]

That sounds good. It reminds me I need Granny Smith Apples for my smoothies. I made a green one tonight with spinach and pac choi. 

[pfunnyjoy]

Jan 12, 2024 20:14:01 GMT -5 mike said:

That sounds good. It reminds me I need Granny Smith Apples for my smoothies. I made a green one tonight with spinach and pac choi. 

I like green smoothies too, but haven't been in the mood lately. It could be that the 8F temp outside is influencing me against cold drinks, LOL!

[mike]

I had to use the spinach. I had the feed day off on my spinach garden. I was 2-3 days off and they started turning yellow. The yellow ones went into the smoothie. Oh well, the smoothie was good. The blizzard started here in Michigan today, too. Although it was later today. It didn't start until afternoon. I'm all set, though. I went to the grocery store yesterday and don't plan on leaving until Monday morning.

[pfunnyjoy]

Stay warm! We are expecting cold temps for maybe a week, but probably won't get a ton of snow. At least I hope not!

[pfunnyjoy]

2024-01-18: Day whatever
Rinse and refill, several days late! The Tatsoi weren’t growing much.

Nutrients (per gallon):
2.0ml CALiMAGic
1.0 TSP GH MaxiGro
5.0ml 3% Hydrogen Peroxide
1.0ml pH Up

PH of nutrient mix: 5.5–6.0
EC of nutrient mix: 2.2

[pfunnyjoy]

2024-02-02: Day whatever
Rinse and refill! The add nutrient light was going off tonight, I'm not sure I even checked the plants yesterday, so time to get moving! I'm giving them a little more MaxiGro.

Nutrients (per gallon):
2.0ml CALiMAGic
6.4g GH MaxiGro
5.0ml 3% Hydrogen Peroxide

PH of nutrient mix: 6.0
EC of nutrient mix: 2.0

[pfunnyjoy]

2024-02-14
Rinse and refill time! The plants need feeding, and though I harvested quite a bit this morning, they need another harvest soon, probably tomorrow.

Nutrient Mix:
3.0ml CALiMAGic
10.0g GH MaxiGro
5.0ml 3% Hydrogen Peroxide

Nutrient mix pH: 6.0
Nutrient mix EC: 2.4

[pfunnyjoy]

2024-02-29
Rinse and refill time! I’m going to give them a bump in nutrition, just to see what happens. These plants sure go through the nutrients, but give frequent harvests, so I can’t complain. Made a lovely green juice, a variation on what I call the Tatsoi Tank tonight. Half an English cucumber, 5 leaves kale, a yellow bell pepper, a large Tatsoi harvest, a nice handful of Italian Dandelion from a different garden, jicama, white carrot, apple, half a lime, and generous 5 sprigs of cilantro from that garden.

Nutrients (per gallon):
4.0ml CALiMAGic
13.2g GH MaxiGro
5.0ml 3% Hydrogen Peroxide

Nutrient mix pH: 6.0
Nutrient mix EC: 4.6

[pfunnyjoy]

2024-03-18
Rinse and refill time! Late. The EC is low at 0.8, so they went through their nutrients! And I’ve harvested frequently. Last night I grabbed a pasta bowl full to make a Saint Patrick’s Day ginger shot (2 apples, half a lime, a large knob of ginger, and the Tatsoi.) And I could easily harvest more and probably will tomorrow.

I realized that I never checked to see how the roots were doing regarding the pump. I had to cut through the root mass under the two support struts to lift the deck out. I’m glad I checked as the pump was being impeded. There was a little bit of root in the water level sensor that I also cleared. Hopefully the plants won’t sulk over the root cutting. If they do, well, this garden is due to be terminated within the month. It's over the 5 month mark. No bolting, but one of the plants is doing that weird twisting thing, so I think it's about time. I think I'll replant with lettuce.

Nutrients (per gallon):
4.0ml CALiMAGic
13.2g GH MaxiGro
5.0ml 3% Hydrogen Peroxide

Nutrient mix pH: 6.0
Nutrient mix EC: 4.2