Growing (September 2026)

Shown here is a grow inside a grow box measuring 2’ deep, 3’ tall and 4’ wide. There are a couple of 80mm fans, one pushing and one pulling. There are 8x 4’ 6500k fluorescent bulbs in a custom built fixture. Soil moisture is monitored via the weight of the grow over time.

In the plots, you will see “Tare A,B,C”.

Tare A is the water-back set point. This is the weight to which the grow is watered back to with each irrigation event. It helps me as the gardener maintain a desired moisture level. Notice that the target soil moisture is fine tuned through the time period shown. As the gardener, I can adjust the set point as I perceive the plants’ needs.

Tare B is the absolute weight of the grow.

I use Tare C for various things, such as measuring harvest.

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The four containers on the top shelf are labeled so that they can be referenced in other pictures. The bottom shelf shows Thai basil being cloned from a friend.

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24/0 light cycle for 16 days by mistake. 14/10 thereafter. Evapotranspiration is faster with lights on. The upward steps are irrigation events.

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Associated points in time in the captured data.

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Associated points in time in the captured data.

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Associated points in time in the captured data.

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Associated points in time in the captured data.

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The evapotranspiration slows with the lights off. It would be interesting to plot the derivative to see when the evapotranspiration is greatest and least.

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Cloned Thai basil looking good.

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Oh no! Attack of the aphids!! I sprayed them vigorously with jets of water. I then pruned them back. The aphids left them alone after that for several days.

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Time to harvest and prune!

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Top: Before harvest | Bottom: After harvest | 119g of basil harvested

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Top: Before harvest | Bottom: After harvest | 109g of basil harvested

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Before/after harvest of a clone from my friend

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212g of basil harvested

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I noticed a few aphids remained. These peppers were pruned again and then moved outside.

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Beginning to see roots on some clones.

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Top: “growbox-flowers” Bottom: “growbox-thai_basil” A look at the grow today.

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Top: “growbox-peppers” although they are outside for a bit Bottom: “growbox-italian_basil” A look at the grow today.

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Roots on 3/4 of the clones. Going into dirt next!