kasturiraju… you are doing an great service for novices like us to learn from your experiences…
The effort that you have taken to explain every detail is sheer awesome!
Your investment on Hydroponics is great too… it is a great concept of creating fodder for the animals… especially for people with less space… and grass is always considered the best for cows…
may I make a few comments on the whole concept… which consist mainly of 3 things - Aircooling, Humidity & Water.
All of us are aware a seed germination doesnt require light (photosynthesis) nor any nutrient for the first week. This I know as all of us have grown some kind of plant indoors at some point in time. Only when the leaf is out can the process of photosynthesis establish itself. So I am guessing one could get the same effect if one grows the first 3 days indoors and the next 4 days outside in the sun.
The process of cooling (airconditioning I guess) and spraying of water probably cancel each other’s properties. Meaning when there is humidity one needs Aircon. All over India I guess there is enough sunshine and enough humidity to sustain vegetation. Thus this cooling and misting I guess is not required unless one is in high heat or desert area…
The only other thing remaining in the concept is the water which cannot be done without.
Thus I kindly request you to conduct one experiment if your time permits you. I could be wrong… I could be right who knows?:
When the next time you fill your tray with seeds… keep one tray outside in the open environment but in the shade… near your house or even inside your house for the first 3 days and water it once in 2 hours no need in the nighttime as there will be minimal evaporation.
When leaf appears (3rd or 4th day) keep it outside in the shade . While doing this keep in mind that there should be no excess water and not to let it dry.
Theoretically it should come out fine… probably the speed of growth might be a little slow… but if this experiment is success anybody with sunshine could do it anywhere and still get the same results without the great expense.
On re-examination of the whole system it appears to me that “climate control” is more suited for people who either live in very cold climates (below zero degrees) or very hot climates (called extreme climate zones) for longer periods… growing grass needs no cooling at least in India…
Anybody else having a similar system or are interested are also requested to carry out this experiment…
Please note the whole aim of conducting this experiment is to know if this process can be done successfully “on racks” but without electricity and the whole machine which is a very big cost and difficult to be replicated by a small poor family. But if the experiment is a success anybody can create fodder at home… the cost of lights & irrigation are bearable… but the running expensie of a air-conditioner and the whole computer controlled system is not. Thats why I request for this experiment.