vital equipment for growing in soil - $200ish worth

[pug1010]

was thinking the other day, that there are things i'd replace immediately if they shit themselves (or were used up) and others i wouldn't bother about. was wondering what gadgets, equipment, supplements or anything else, other soil growers found to be important to their grow. for me ...

 

1. sensorplus thermometer/hygrometer ($92) to help setup a comfortable grow environment

https://www.amazon.com.au/SensorPush-Wireless-Thermometer-Hygrometer-Android/dp/B01AEQ9X9I

 

2. hypoaspis to control fungus gnats ($34) - have started to use these guys every time i start a new grow. makes growing indoors far nicer.

https://bioworksonline.com.au/product/hypoaspis/

 

3. blumat digital moisture meter ($80) - just makes growing in soil so much nicer and more relaxed

https://www.eurolux-australia.com.au/blumat-digital-moisture-meter

 

would be great to hear what other growers suggest

Edited June 28, 2021 by pug1010

[itchybromusic]

hey pug

 

1 , agree with this , nice to know what your grow environment is doing , i use the netatmo with the phone app 

i'm sure it's similar to the sensorplus , you get to look at your history of readings from the last day or week , month , year 

now i haven't used it for a while but from memory the netatmo is 2 units so you can track 2 zones or 2 rooms , the unit also tracks c02

like any of these items it's all about the accuracy of the sensors , whether that needs to be full on perfect or close enough is good enough

is up to the purchaser to decide , i don't know the accuracy of the sensorplus & i can't remember how accurate the netatmo is

just do your own research before purchase 

 

2 ,  yes i've purchased predator bugs , much better choice than using a broad spectrum pesticide especially growing in a "living" soil 

there are things to consider though when using living organisms as your pest control , the environment your releasing bugs into is a important one

life span of the predators your releasing & food source other than the target pest = what else can they live on if the target pest has been brought under

control so they stay active in your environment for as long as poss without having to re release more 

 

3 , yes blumat sensor is a def plus to keep your moisture levels at optimum , using with a blumat drip system is a game changer for the watering habits of most

soil growers i reckon  

 

i would add a infrared thermometer for leaf temp readings , helps with VPD settings 

 

i would also add a light meter , i've had a lux meter for some time but prob need to invest in a par meter , helps with DLI settings 

ever noticed your leaves droop at some point under lets say18 hours of light = poss DLI adjustment 

Jeremy at buildasoil youtube channel has a great vid on explaining DLI  

 

great post pug 

[pug1010]

hey itchy

 

will have a look at netatmo ... it's good know how much co2 is around, especially when growing in living/sleeping spaces.

 

the infrared thermos and light meters are also great. i like to check out the average difference between the leaf readings and the placement of the sensorplus. been using a rope ratchet for this, but am probably going to attach a sensorplus to a strong stem and let it sit there during the whole grow ... hehehe ... hoping it will be a consistent average difference (if that makes sense) from leaf temp to sensorplus reading and then can use the vpd  (and dew point) settings on the device - hopefully, lazy might work out in this case. reckon the lux meter is great value and a good indicator for my cmh grows. so handy for initial placement of pots and also provides invaluable guidance when training plants in a small space under a small light.

 

sadly though, my dpap shit itself a while back and left me in that interesting space of whether to reinvest in another cmh fitting or try some of the newer leds. couldn't help myself, as i love have a dimming function on a light, so been testing out an inexpensive led bar system in a smallish tent. would love to get my hands on a par meter ... just to see what this light is throwing out, but reckon it would cost more than the light. maybe in the future we can have a toy library for growers ... ... would also love to get my hands on a polimaster radiation detector to measure soil components from the northern hemisphere ... and some fancy terp/cannabinoid measuring device .... one day, eh?

ahhh ... a canna toy library - would enjoy volunteering in that kind of library.

 

the hypoaspis (hopefully in conjunction with some better watering practices) have sorted fungus gnat issues out (knock on wood) - which just makes things so much more pleasant. the 0.5 litre is a bit much for my setup, but i put the excess in my worm bin, which will hopefully keep a colony viable and transferrable when adding castings to the pots. will see how this one pans out - would be good not to have to rebuy every grow.

 

will check out the DLI stuff on buildasoil - thanks mate.