Things to know after setting up homefarm

 

With your homefarm successfully set up, your plants are perfectly prepared for the start of the germination phase. The homefarm offers a range of useful features, so the following information will be particularly helpful to you.

The following topics are described briefly and precisely here:

1. Why are the LED strips flashing?
2. How does the push notification for the water level work on my smartphone?
3. How should I adjust the height of the LED strips?
4. Which lighting schedule should be chosen?
5. How do I use the liquid nutrients after setup?
6. How should the plant capsules and Microgreens pads be stored?

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1. Why are the LED strips flashing?
The built-in water level sensors measure the water level and flash every
15-20 seconds if there is too little water and therefore water needs to be refilled. Each of the three plant rows of the homefarm has a water level sensor installed behind the metal plate.

 

2. How does the push notification for the water level work on my smartphone?
The push notifications are sent to the phone at eight-hour intervals. This means that as soon as the sensor detects a low water level, the first message is sent to the phone after 8 hours. For notifications to be sent, it is important to grant the urbanhive app notification permissions.

 

3. How should I adjust the height of the LED strips?
For successful cultivation with your homefarm, the correct position of the LED strips is crucial. Too close to the lights, plants can suffer "sunburn" and burn. If the distance is too large, the lighting conditions are not optimal, so the plants put their energy into vertical growth. This means that the main shoots grow towards the energy source (etiolation/leggy growth). This leads to less leaf mass developing and a smaller harvest. Therefore, regularly adjust the LED strips to the growth of your plants and group plants of similar growth height in a plant box for perfect lighting conditions. Especially with newly inserted plant capsules, the LED units should be as low as possible to promote optimal growth.

 

4. Which lighting schedule should be chosen?
We recommend a lighting period of 16 hours a day. It is also important to allow the plants a resting phase/dark phase for regeneration, as important processes take place during this phase. The resting phase should therefore not take place during the day, but at night without any additional light influence. An optimal period is between 6:00 AM and 10:00 PM.

 

5. Use of liquid nutrients
To optimally support your plants, make sure they receive enough nutrients. Use our carefully selected liquid nutrients, which contain important natural elements such as nitrogen, phosphate, potassium oxide, and trace elements. Add the nutrients when inserting new plant capsules and with each water refill.

 

6. How should the plant capsules and Microgreens pads be stored?
Store your plant capsules and Microgreens dry and in the dark. Under these conditions, they usually remain viable for about a year, as the germination capacity of the seeds is preserved. However, improper storage can reduce the germination capacity of the seeds.

 

Further information can be found in the next guide on the germination phase, which is relevant for plants in the growth stage of approximately 10-15 days.

If you have any uncertainties or specific questions, you can always contact our support (happy@urbanhive.de).