The Cheap Vegetable Gardener - Page 31 of 49 - Growing vegetables using grow boxes, LEDs, computers, and great soil

arduino | cheap | LEDs | vegetables

How to make a grow box controller (Original)
ByThe Cheap Vegetable Gardener

While my existing system was working I decided to make an upgrade to the electronics on my old system for several reasons: I needed to add more automated external controls (heater, fans, water pump) with my existing design this was entirely possible though was starting to get a little clunky. The existing controller (PS2 Controller, parallel port with various wires to control relays) worked but was not exactly compact….

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giveaway | seeds

The Winner of the Hometown Seeds IS…
ByThe Cheap Vegetable Gardener

Melody D was the winner of the Hometown Seeds survival pack, though for the rest of you Hometown Seeds has provided me a code to allow 10% of any order with them by using the code “thanks”

Read More The Winner of the Hometown Seeds IS…
free | giveaway | seed storing | seeds

Hometown seed giveaway #2 (Survival Seeds)
ByThe Cheap Vegetable Gardener

Hometown Seeds has again graciously offered up a selection of their non-GMO non hybrid survival seeds. These are advertised to keep in storage for 5-10 years but also are open pollinated so you can grow them this year, collect the seeds and create your own stockpile in preparation of any future catastrophic food shortage. They include a selection of the following varieties: Lincoln Peas Detroit Dark Red Beets Kentucky…

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cheap | indoor growbox | indoor seed starting | LEDs | seeds

LED grow box gets an upgrade
ByThe Cheap Vegetable Gardener

In our family we are not just cheap in the garden we also keep our house pretty cool to save on heating costs. Unfortunately since the LEDs in my grow box do not put out very much heat the inside is only about 68 F degrees even placing it on top of my refrigerator. For most seeds 77 F degrees is a great ball bark number to shoot for…

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cheap | seed exchange | seed saving | seeds

Seeds from WinterSown
ByThe Cheap Vegetable Gardener

I know many of your probably already know about WinterSown but for those of you that have not you must check them out. This is the first year I have requested seeds from them and I they completely blew away my expectations. By simply sending them an self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) and an optional donation they will send back some seeds of your choosing. I have gotten tired of…

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arduino | electronics | thermometer | Uncategorized | waterproof

Homemade waterproof digital thermometer
ByThe Cheap Vegetable Gardener

Now I am playing with hydroponics in my grow box I want to monitor the temperature of my nutrient tank. This is important too hot it can bread disease too cold it can shock your plants. I also want to use the data to identify how ebb/flow cycles affect ambient and solution temperature (for my own nerd curiosity) I have been thoroughly impressed with the Dallas DS18S20 temperature sensor…

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Uncategorized

And the winner of the CVG seed stash is…
ByThe Cheap Vegetable Gardener

After a week of waiting over a week I haven’t heard back from Aly so I have picked an alternate winner, I reran the CVG Contest Winner Pickorama and the new winner is Angela, please send me an email using the contact link at the top of the page with your name/address and I will get the seeds sent out as soon as possible.

Read More And the winner of the CVG seed stash is…
cheap | hydroponics | nutrients

Cost of Hydroponic Nutrients
ByThe Cheap Vegetable Gardener

The first time you walk into a hydroponic store there can be a little sticker shock. At first it doesn’t look too bad, $14 for this bottle…oh wait I have to buy these three as well and you leave the store paying $80 to grow some basil and lettuce. Being cheap I like to know how much I will be spending on a hobby before I start out so…

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hydroponics | pH | water

pH needs of plants in soil or hydroponics
ByThe Cheap Vegetable Gardener

With the exception of some of my acid loving plants and flowers I normally do not have to worry much about the pH of my soil. This is because I have amended my gardens with nutrient rich soils in raised beds over my alkaline clay I get naturally in my area. This and the fact that due to natural and manmade causes the rainfall is slightly acidic and given…

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cheap | ebb and flow | hydroponics

Cheap Hydroponic Bean sprouter
ByThe Cheap Vegetable Gardener

Maybe not the most hygienic solution but definitely cheap, innovative, and low maintenance. I’ll stick to my ebb and flow design, but thought I would share for those feeling adventurous.

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Uncategorized

Small facelift to site
ByThe Cheap Vegetable Gardener

As you may be able to tell I have been doing a little work on the site. I finally got around to moving from Blogger to WordPress, I never had any real problems with Blogger, I just have a few things I want to do with the site that requires me to self-host and WordPress was the way to go. I am still doing some clean up so please…

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cheap | ebb and flow | hydroponics

Simple and cheap homemade ebb and flow hydroponics system
ByThe Cheap Vegetable Gardener

Though not my first hydroponic system this is is definitely a little more complicated than my last attempt of an fogger system created last year. This time I decided to go with an Ebb and Flow system, where the concept it pretty simple, flood the planting area with water nutrients and let it drain, wait a defined amount of time and then repeat. For this build I had a…

Read More Simple and cheap homemade ebb and flow hydroponics system