I have exciting news. Yesterday I harvested some plants ! It took much less time for the plants to grow (about six weeks). Here are the steps I used to harvest my plants:
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Unhook the front tube from the top of the box.
This image depicts the tube you need to remove. It is the tube that is also attached to the drainage guide that is inserted into the lower reservoir.
This is what the tip of your box should look like after you remove the tube. -
Next, I took the lower reservoir and top tray (which holds the plants) out of the unit to make it easier for me to harvest. You don’t need to coordinate harvest timing with the water output setting since the pump will not draw any water because you removed the other tube and lower reservoir.
This is what the unit looked like once I removed everything. Notice that the other tube is still attached and just hanging down. -
Now that the plants are removed, I cut out the leaves from the plants and weighed them. I weighed per pot and all the pots together.
This image shows me cutting some Red Romaine Lettuce out of the pot.
This image shows me weighing one pot of the harvested Bok Choy.
This image shows me weighing all the Basil I harvested after I weighed what I harvested per pot. -
Lastly, I cleaned the unit. I disposed of the wicking mat and wiped down all trays and reservoirs utilized, as well as the walls and bottom of the unit. While it is not as crucial, you may also wipe down the tubes. By cleaning the unit, you can ensure no obstacles, such as algae, hinder your next trial. After cleaning, I returned everything to the unit.
This image is of the cleaning agent I used. Any cleaning mixture is ok for these units. Clorox wipes are good as well.
This is what the unit looks like fully-clean.
Once you are done with all these steps, congratulations! You have successfully harvested your plants and are ready for your next trial.
Here are some of my specific measurements from harvesting (all weights are in grams):
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Unit MV1-0038 - Bok Choy:
Pot 1 (Front Left): 131.3 g
Pot 2: 62.3 g
Pot 3: 80.6 g
Pot 4: 50.9 g
Pot 5: 62.2 g
Pot 6 (Back Right): 49.1 g
Total: 425.2 g
This is the Bok Choy before being harvested.
This is all the Bok Choy that was harvested being weighed.
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Unit MV1-0039 - Red Romaine Lettuce:
Pot 1 (Front Left): 3.9 g
Pot 2: 0 g (no growth)
Pot 3: 18.5 g
Pot 4: 0 g (no growth)
Pot 5: 28.7 g
Pot 6 (Back Right): 14.5 g
Total: 82.6 g -
Unit MV1-0040 - Red Romaine Lettuce:
Pot 1 (Front Left): 11.4 g
Pot 2: 6 g
Pot 3: 23.2 g
Pot 4: 26.3 g
Pot 5: 40.1 g
Pot 6 (Back Right): 16.5 g
Total: 123 g
Total Harvested Lettuce Weight: 205.6 g
This is the Red Romaine Lettuce before being harvested.
This is all the Red Romaine Lettuce that was harvested being weighed.
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Unit MV1-0042 - Cherry Bell Radish:
Pot 1 (Front Left): 20 g
Pot 2: 70.2 g
Pot 3: 53 g
Pot 4: 41 g
Pot 5: 64.3 g
Pot 6 (Back Right): 84.8 g
Total: 313 g
Total Radish Leafy Greens Weight: 215.5 g
Radish leafy greens are very bitter ( I learned that the hard way), but astronauts eat it up in space, which is pretty cool.
I forgot to take a picture of the Radishes before they were harvested. I am sorry. This picture was taken about two weeks ago. They were very similar to this picture but bigger.
This is all the Radishes that was harvested being weighed.
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Unit MV1-0043 - Compact/Cinnamon/Persian Basil:
Pot 1 (Front Left): 23.1 g
Pot 2: 2 g
Pot 3: 47.6 g
Pot 4: 7 g
Pot 5: 9.7 g
Pot 6 (Back Right): 67.1 g
Total: 156.5 g
This is the Basil before being harvested.
This is all the Basil that was harvested being weighed.
This is an image of our full harvest.
Feel free to share pictures of or tips for harvesting your plants in this thread.
This is a summary of all the data I found through harvesting:
Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 | Pot 5 | Pot 6 | Total | |
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Bok Choy | 113.3 | 62.3 | 80.6 | 50.9 | 62.2 | 49.1 | 425.2 |
Red Romaine Lettuce | 15.3 | 6 | 41.7 | 26.3 | 68.8 | 31 | 205.6 |
Cherry Bell Radish | 20 | 70.2 | 53 | 41 | 64.3 | 84.8 | 313 |
Compact/Cinnamon/Persian Basil | 23.1 | 2 | 47.6 | 7 | 9.7 | 67.1 | 156.5 |
Total | 171.7 | 140.5 | 222.9 | 125.2 | 205 | 232 | 1100.3 |
Note that I did not collect the height of the plants, but that is typically done when harvesting.
Here are some takeaways I have gotten through doing some trials from start to finish:
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The units are very adaptable. Even after we started a trial, it was easy to transport, change the plants inside the unit, or upload new recipes.
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Algae grows on some of the wicking mats. This is seen in plants that take more time to germinate. Once plants grew, algae growth decreased or completely stopped.
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Placing the pots to the right (pots 3 & 6 in my trials), yields more plant growth.
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As plants get bigger, you need to refill your reservoir more frequently.
It’s crazy how rapidly these plants have flourished. It seems like I planted them just a few days back (although it has been six weeks). I suppose the saying “time flies” holds true. I’ll make sure to update everyone as I continue planting new specimens and embark on fresh experiments within the units.