Modular Kratky Staging Base
Description
This is a modular tray system that allows plants to establish root systems via a Kratky growing method. This allows users to bring struggling plants inside or into a more gentle environment under high intensity grow lights should they struggle with growth in a tower. I created this because I've killed too many strawberry plants, which only really survived after they were allowed to establish new root systems in a controlled indoor growing environment, under a grow light. Those plants that were able to establish themselves in the growing medium via a traditional kratky grow method grew much larger, much faster than those put in the tower directly. Once the plant is able to stand on their own, they did even better inside the hydroponic grow tower. These also allowed a much easier/safer way to bring individual cold sensitive plants indoors during the early grow season. Setup is pretty simple. You can print any number of the hexagon base pieces; each piece can home 4 plants in the form of Boundary Conditions' Modular Hydroponic Tower Garden grow pod. Each hexagon base can be joined together with other hexagon platters using the attached joiner pieces. You'll need two or three joiners to solidly join grow platforms together. The hexagons are arranged in an optimal pattern to decrease the overall physical footprint. This is designed with smaller plants in mind, where crowding isn't an issue. The pods are not locked into place like they would be in the towers; this allows users who are growing new plants to occasionally rotate the plants to discourage root entanglement with other plants (always rotate the same way!). Included is a 10 cm standoff leg pattern that can be inserted into the underside of the hexagon platform. This allows new roots to establish themselves primarily out of the bottom of the grow pods and decreases the overall impact or shock of transplant. The 10 cm standoff legs allow for approximately 1 cm clearance for roots to grow downward. Overall setup includes one or more hexagon bases, joined together and elevated with standoffs. The standoffs should sit in the water solution in a tray. Ample light should be provided above the plants to encourage root growth. Warning: This staging base does not work with pods with large established root bases that grow out of the side of the grow pods; in these cases, the roots can be clipped during insertion or extraction from the grow base.
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