GreenGrowBox Nicole

Features and specification:

• Size: 545 x 145 x 500mm
• Power: 45W
• Capacity: 4 pcs plants
• The roots are constantly accessing water through the water reservoir
• Automatic lighting schedule
• Set the timer via smartphone app (Blitzwolf)
• Quiet operation

The purpose of this Growbox is to grow any kind of plants that can be bought in a grocery store. Those plants/herbs, like basil, chives, parsley normally sold in plastic pot that can be re-planted into these printed pots.

The idea is to buy these already grown plants in store and replant them into the Growbox which is going to provide ideal circumstances to the seedling to regrow itself in case it is going to be harvested. This way in few weeks time the freshly “regenerated” plant can be enjoyed again. The plants/herbs have been replanted this way on the photo.

The traditional way was also tried out to grow plants from seeds. However as it turned out, the hydroponic way is far more effective in this regard - see my other GrowBox designs.

Also further trials and developments are required to improve and make more effective the method of growing seeds in soil with this device.

The whole electronic unit is designed to be stable without the water reservoir, it will not fall over if nothing is attached to it. The water reservoir can be separated easily from the electronic base unit. Therefore if it is required own pots could be also used. They only need to be placed underneath the led bar.

What can be tried to grow from seeds (As it was mentioned above, not validated with this Growbox):

• Basil
• Parsley
• Ruccola
• Chives
• Any kinds of salad
• Tomato - at least until it is reaching the LED lamp, after that the plant need to replanted outside
• Chili - at least until it is reaching the LED lamp, after that the plant need to replanted outside Chamomile
• Mint
• Strawberry will be tried again soon from baby plants. There were some bad experiences when they were grown from seeds. They grew many leaves, some flowers as well, but they never turned into fruit.
• Until now this GrowBox has been used with soil only. Coco fibre can be used and it is going to provide better results especially for growing from seeds method.

Assembly:

The assembly of the unit is straight forward. Please refer to the uploaded photos and cross section view pictures.

Most time consuming is the soldering of the LED strips and putting the cable work together. For the wiring please refer to the attached wiring diagram. The wires of the LED's are guided inside of the T-slot of the vertical aluminium profile and conducted through the designated opening inside of the electronics case.

A reflective screen / Light shield on the light bar can be attached if required. See on 5th photo. Size of the plates (for example a foamed PVC sheet): 530x80x4mm. It will anchor itself into the T-slot of the aluminium profile. Extra 500 lux can be directed towards the plants if the inner side of the plates is covered with reflective foil. https://www.easy-grow.co.uk/products/reflective-sheeting/diamond-lightite/

Put 4 pcs Felt Pads on the bottom of the electronics case to help ventilation.

How to prepare the GrowBox for the first plants:

1. Pair the Blitzwolf switch module with your wifi network, install the app on your smartphone
2. Fill the water tank until the marking line on the fill-opening with fresh tap water
3. Optionally add some fertilizer to the water
4. Pull out the plants from the standard plastic pot with which you bought them from the grocery store
5. Remove the bottom of the soil, try not to harm the roots
6. Put some of the removed soil into the printed pot
7. Put the plant with the remained soil and roots into the printed pot. The goal is to reach a nice compact soil base without huge gaps inside the pot. Don not push it too hard, the roots require oxygen as well.
8. Program the timer via the Blitzwolf app (instructions below)
9. Turn on the lights and let the timer switch on and off the lights. Plants need a stable day-night cycle.
10. The soil will suck up the water, check it regularly to have a constant water supplement to the roots.

Timer settings:

Set Channel 1 - LED lamps, for every day:

• ON = 08:00
• OFF = 20:00

My tips to make watertight prints:

• Increase the flow rate (extrusion multiplier) to 105% (1,05)
• Ironing can be used (print settings → infill)
• Infill overlap 15%
• Increase the nozzle temperature by 10°C
• Lower printing speeds, 30mm/s is a good choice
• Use 0,6mm nozzle (with 0,6mm nozzle settings, of course)

What you can do, to improve the growing results (based on personal experiences):

• Do not place the GrowBox above a radiator, a constant warm air flow will dry out the leaves.
• Regularly adjust the LED bar height 50mm above the top of the plant
• The pH of the water can be set and maintained to the optimal value of pH 6 +/-0.4. However the soil also has a pH value which has an impact on the overall pH value (Water + soil). These need to be taken into consideration when adjusting the overall pH value.
• Instead of tap water you can try collected rain water or water from your garden well. But keep in mind, with those you can bring unwanted bacteria or other harmful substances into the system.
• When the plant has reached the LED bar and the height of the lamp cannot be increased further up, cut off the top 70mm of the plant. This will make the plant to concentrate the growth to the side branches and leafs.
• Do not overdose the nutrients, it will have an opposite effect.
• Do not let the LED bar continuously on, it will not help the plant to grow faster. Plants need the night cycle to stay healthy.

Your shopping list:

Smart switch module: https://www.banggood.com/BlitzWolf-BW-SS4-Basic-2200W-10A-1-or-2-Way-WIFI-DIY-Smart-Switch-Module-Remote-Control-Socket-Work-with-Google-Assistant-Amazon-Alexa-p-1593822.html?rmmds=myorder&cur_warehouse=CZ&ID=6281298

12V power supply: https://www.meanwell-web.com/en-gb/ac-dc-ultra-slim-din-rail-power-supply-input-range-hdr--30--12

40x40 fan: https://noctua.at/en/products/fan/nf-a4x10-flx

23x30 - 500mm aluminium profile: https://www.minitec.de/produkte/profilsystem/profile/profilserie-30/profil-23-x-30

16x30 - 550mm aluminium profile: https://www.minitec.de/produkte/profilsystem/profile/profilserie-30/profil-16-x-30

Power lock fastener for 30mm alu profiles: https://www.minitec.de/en/products/profile-system/fastening-elements/power-lock-fastener/power-lock-fastener/minitec-power-lock-fastener-30

LED strips: 18-20W/m, 10mm width, cold white (6000K), warm white (3000K) and red. If you prefer, you can use a “full spectrum grow led strip”, but in my experience it is not giving you the expected benefit. These are just red and blue leds in a row and the naming “full spectrum” is a bit misleading. If you measure the luminous flux 200mm beneath the led strips, you should get around 10.000 lux.

Wago 221 splicing connectors: https://www.wago.com/gb/electrical-interconnections/discover-installation-terminal-blocks-and-connectors/221

220V 2way, 4 pole switch: https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/zf-electronics/WRG32F2FBBNN/446050

AC power plug: https://www.beleuchtung.de/legrand-50416-stecker-seitenanleitung-230v-16a-2p-t-weiss/

2 x 0,5mm2 power cable: https://www.electron.com/flexible-power-cable-cyly-h03vv-f-2x0-5b-p71126/

1 x 0,5mm2 power cable: https://www.electron.com/stranded-wire-h05v-k-1x0-5mm-black-p51567/

Cable gland PG7: https://www.conrad.cz/p/kss-533729-kabelova-pruchodka-pg7-polyamid-sedobila-ral-7035-1-ks-533729

60 pcs steel washers diam. 20 mm as counterweight into the two cylindrical opening in the base unit: https://www.newark.com/tr-fastenings/dm520mustwaz100/plain-washer-steel-5-3mm-20mm/dp/71Y8985

4 pcs felt discs: https://www.amazon.com/Adhesive-Felt-Pads/s?k=Adhesive+Felt+Pads

Safety hints:

If you are not experienced in electrical wiring, please ask a competent electrician for help. Electricity is hazardous.

The horizontal LED aluminium bar can heat up to 60-70°C. The LED chips can handle it, your skin cannot.

Take extra care if you are mixing the water with the nutrient solutions. Always close the bottles securely and store them in a safe place, where children cannot reach them.