Crop update Week 2

I had my first experience with needing to adjust my pH, which turned into something of a wild ride. The the pH drifted from where it was at 7.7 up to 8.4 and over the next couple of days whenever I’d add vinegar to the solution in order to lower the pH back to a more acceptable level for my mustard, the solution would naturally work its way back to around 8.4. My first thought was to question if this was the mycorrhizae at work, tailoring the environment to serve its needs.

I did some reading and saw that mycorrhizae can adjust the pH of the soil they reside in, and similarly influence the local water, so if this was being done by the mycorrhizae, there may be a net benefit to the mustard in just letting things happen naturally, so after fighting with this for a couple of days, I decided I was going to let it go and see what happens. (One way or another I’m going to something here, even if it’s “what not to do and why”. )
Happily, pH stabilized around 8.5 (8.3 is the upper limit of what is ideal for mustard, so it shouldn’t die outright).

The day after making the official decision let things happen I found something floating in the sample cup I use for testing solution values. It looks like a small brown flake that has developed a root, and the mass formed around the “root”. I suspect this is algae.

On a hunch I did a little research on whether algae can change the pH of growing solution and the answer was a “yes” which came across more like an “Oh hells yeah!”. Apparently algae can radically change the pH value of a solution by up to 2 points over the course of a day. It should also be noted that some algae are red, yellow or brown; they aren’t all green.

I took some pictures of my floater, and will be comparing them with online resources to confirm. The sample has been isolated and is continuing to grow in the sample cup under a grow light as a curiosity.

I also made another discovery this week when I went to add water to my reservoir. The jug I’m using doesn’t have any volume lines on it, so I don’t know how much fluid I’m actually running in my system at any given time… I’ll need to fix that after harvest, when I set up for my next crop.

As for the crops themselves:

A - :L Mustard: Despite dealing with the variations in pH, the plants have started developing true leaves.
White spotting present on leaves

B: Kratky Cooler - plants surviving, no true leaves as yet - light is not as good here as it is over A. Will hang light over cooler once electrical has been updated.
No white spotting

C: Kratky Mason - I filled 3 2L Mason Jars with 56oz of 50% strength fertilizer to grow purple Kohl Rabi

D: Kratky Mason - I filled 3 2L Mason Jars with 56oz of 50% strength fertilizer to grow Arugula