Hi from Chicago burbs... Looking forward to growing some great tomatoes.
Hello BLOOMers!
As I'm sure many of you have noticed, we are seeing some data issues between our BLOOMs and the cloud. This can impact recipe upload and download and limit what you can see from the APP, but should not impact the day to day running of your BLOOM garden.
Most of our BLOOM cloud development had been done with trusted long term partners in the Ukraine, Belarus and other countries now impacted by the crisis in the Ukraine. For security reasons, we ended relationships with contractors in those areas and are working hard to build expertise in safer zones. BLOOM is complex however, and so far we have not been able to move fast enough to keep all the wheels on all the time. We sincerely believe we will have this resolved soon, and thank you for your patience.
We are sorry for any frustration this downtime causes. We wanted to make sure you knew that we are aware of the issue, and let you know that we are working to get these issues resolved as soon as possible. If you have any other questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out.
I can no longer connect to my Bloom from the IOS app. After logging in, I get the internet connection lost message in red at the top of the screen.
Also on the forum and the Bloom panel, I am unable to download recipes from the forum. repetitive loop back to the login screen despite being logged into the forum.
Anyone else having similar issues?
Dwarf sunflowers are GLOWING in my BLOOM! This is day 100, with florals opening about 10+ days ago. I plan on harvesting the blooms in a few weeks and putting out for the birds. 20220510_093734.jpeg
Hi BLOOMers!
We're learning lots, thanks to your help, and some urgent new firmware updates will be coming soon for your device. To upload them successfully, we need to make sure that you have updated your software to the latest version to prevent errors from occuring.
To Check What Software You Have:
Press on the Home icon Press on My Account Press on Status In the center block of items, scroll down until you see "FW/SW Version". The second version number should read v.1.1.93. If it shows v1.1.93, you do not need to do anything else. If it does not show v.1.1.93, you need to update your software. Follow the instructions below.To Update Your Software:
Press on the Home icon Press on Wi-Fi On the left, third button down should say Software Update. Press that and follow the prompts. Once it is updated and takes you back to the main screen, Press on the Home icon Press on My Account Press on Status In the center block of items, scroll down until you see "FW/SW Version". Confirm that the second version number reads v.1.1.93.Please let us know if there is anything further we can do to help by commenting below OR email us at customerservice AT bloomgrows.com
So this is the fourth attempt to grow some sweet Mary Jane. The first 3 times all ended tragically due to various kinks which have been worked out for the fourth attempt. Finally was able to track down an auto flower seed and used that grow recipe. FAA1CAE6-B1E4-4576-A416-3CEE3408E0E8.jpeg 40FE56A2-4BB6-4284-98DF-B2E5A4221D9F.jpeg 2014F2C7-5D86-4C25-B035-BF29590BA958.jpeg
I sent an email with an issue I'm having but it bounced back that the user has been deactivated. My worst nightmare after going through this with the Grobo!
@BloomCS are you still with us?
I cannot exit out of Edit Recipe on my control panel. I click every button possible, but it keeps saying fill in the missing information.
She's alive!
I started by soaking the seed from ILGM in a dark cabinet in a small cup of water for 24 hours before moving into Bloom. She had a tail popping out by this point.
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This is a timely post, as we are amidst Spring...typically this is the time when growers start their seeds or clones and head to the great outdoors, for their once a year gardening projects. Well Spring, once a year is not for me! The fact that Spring can be year round indoors, has me in a perpetual grin. I know in advance that this is going to be a chatty, detailed laden introduction, but you will never hear from anyone as sincere. This is Jeff from Sherman Oaks, which is basically the same as Los Angeles....as a disclaimer, I am a part owner of this company...yes, today I bought some shares of Scott's Miracle Grow :). O.K., all joking is finished. I really did buy a few shares, and I will hopefully give "Beta users" validation for their brilliance on this unbelievable machine. From my gut and heart, I cannot wait until I am joining you men and women with Bloom. I am a gent who has seen automated grow box companies come and go more than anyone....my journey began in 2016 when through the ether of cyberspace I learned of a company called Cloudponics that was creating and wanted to market their automated hydro units. I was so spellbound that I invested significant coin into their vision. I will never see a penny returned to me. At that time I also put a deposit down on The Leaf, and soon after Seedo, and also Grobo. Eventually all deposits were returned. I ended up purchasing a hydro unit from BCNL that died....by the way, that company recently folded as well, as did Growbox USA. Going back to "Cloudponics" now, and as an investor and Beta tester, I had 2 of these machines in my home. Each machine ended up giving me a single grow, and then basically went on the fritz. Sure this was frustrating, but the takeaway was that this technology does exist. The huge problem with these well intention-ed start up companies, of course has to do with money. To go through appropriate research and development takes brilliant minds, hard work, and deep pockets when it comes to dollars. I am a late bloomer (pun intended), as only within the last 2 weeks have I come to learn of The Bloom. And in these past 2 weeks, Sir TJ, will attest that I've busted his chops more times than he or I can count. The lineage of The Bloom is like no other grow box company on the planet....Aerogarden---Scott's Miracle Grow---Hawthorne.....this is ASTOUNDING. I am learning features of The Bloom that every other company has only stated that they "hope" to include one day in their machines. Even my last hydroponic unit from BCNL came with a warning that the ambient temperature could not be above 82°. I ended up putting a hole in our laundry room venting to the outside, and installed a cheapo AC unit, to keep the room fairly cool. It was a joke, and cost me a lot of money. And when the machine died, what was I left with? The Bloom controls temp/humidity and this is a huge crucial game changer. Like a love struck fool, I spend daily time scrutinizing all of Bloom's features, and realize that all of you who are Beta testers have to be the happiest men and women on earth. My prayers are loud and clear for The Bloom to end Beta phase and fully come to market. Only because of my previous experiences I am forcing myself to wait for Beta to end. Scott's/Hawthorne/Aerogarden is my mantra. If anyone could guarantee an outcome for success, The Bloom's lineage comes up every time. I am keeping this post between myself and you growers. Spousal unit will never be reading this because I've gotten more flack than I can say when it comes to all of the grow boxes that have come and gone. As they say....Cannabis is not addictive, but growing it IS! I know it's not wise to wish time away, but clearly I cannot wait for The Bloom's next phase. In the meanwhile, I still get my kicks out of indoor growing, but presently just in soil from the company called Supercloset. Anyway, sending love to all of you who are putting The Bloom onto the map. Can't wait to be joining you, and huge thanks for your faith.
this is a good topicpexels-sohail-na-807598 (1).jpg
11 days ago (I'm late posting) and 72 days after planting the seeds, I ate my first tomatoes.
The chives were poking up through the snow in the outside garden, so I made an omelet and homemade bread to celebrate the fresh tomatoes.
There flavor of the tomatoes was better than when I have grown this variety in the greenhouse. They were not as sweet, or as acidic. But they had a rich deep and complex flavor. It really was fun.
I've been pruning all the leaves off the lower part of the vine and using the suction cups to pull the vine down, coiling the fruit along the floor of the unit. That way I still have room at the top of the unit for the vine to continue to grow.
I've been plucking all the suckers. I am considering letting one of them grow. I think there is enough space in the unit for a second vine. Any thoughts?
Every morning, while I tend the plant, I eat a few tomatoes. I harvested just over a pound one day this week. The flavor is perfect: sweet, rich and bright.
Day 6
I noticed that the seeds sprouted yesterday. I must have dropped several seeds into the whole; I pinched off all but two seedlings, and will pluck one more in a few days.
@jk Oh, and it smells wonderful. Like a mature tomato plant in summer.
@bloomcs said in BLOOM Components and System Overview: Nutrient Dosing System:
Thank you. I found this interesting. I had to look up what a Peristaltic pump was, and that was interesting too.
I grew eggplant this summer in the greenhouse for the first time, and I cannot believe how much I enjoyed eating it. Cook's Illustrated has a great recipe for baba ganoush. I was also amazed by how productive one plant was. I'm excited to see your grow!
Outside, bleak winter; Inside, tomatoes are growing!
Yesterday I moved to Stage 5: Fruiting. The plant has in fact started setting fruit.
I had trouble when I changed the water yesterday. The extension hose leaks, and I spilled water. So, when it all started back up the moisture sensor gave an alert. I dried it, but must not have reseated the grow tray correctly, because it flooded a second time. I dried it out again. But a few hours later the plant did not look good. I got an alert that the temperature had dropped below the target range. (Which was odd, the temperature inside the Bloom was below the house temperature.) I ran through the system check; everything seemed to be working. An hour later, I watched to make sure the roots were being flooded, and everything seemed to work. It took around 7 hours for the ph and nutrients to reach their target range. Everything has stayed in range since then. The plant has perked back up.
56 days since planting, at it is has an unbelievable number of tomatoes!
I've been pruning it to a single vine and training it in a spiral along a piece of string... I think it is working. Last week I dimmed the lights to 95% and tightened the spiral so the vine is a little further away from the wall lights. There is still some leaf curl, but not as much as last week.
No color yet, but I think they will start to ripen any day now.
Does the root mass every become a problem? Should we ever trim the roots?
83 Days after planting the seed, here is the vine:
I had trouble photographing the way I trained the vine, but perhaps this will make sense. I used suction cups along the walls and little bungee cords to hold a string in a spiral and then trained the vine along the string.
I had hoped that when the vine filled the cabinet, I would be able to trim the bottom branches, move each bungee cord down one suction cup and coil the vine at the base of the cabinet. (This is similar to what I have done when growing this plant in the greenhouse.)
However, this vine doesn't actually need the supports. It is able to support itself. I am not sure that I will be able to coil it without snapping the vine. And it has nearly filled the Bloom.
I am considering transplanting the whole plant into the greenhouse.
Or topping the main vine and letting a sucker from somewhere low on the plant grow.
Or just trying to coil it and risking a snap.
Any suggestions for how I might be able to lengthen the grow time?
I want to see how long I can keep the vine growing. So I've trellised it in a spiral growing up through the cabinet. Of course the vine reaches the top periodically:
When this happens I trim off all the leaves from the bottom of the vine:
And then I I remove the lowest suction cup, and lower all the rest.
This creates more room at the top for the vine to continue to grow. It seems to be working well, so I am hopeful that I can continue eating tomatoes for a while. I'm 117 days since planting the seed now. That is roughly equivalent to the number of frost free days I get in a year outside here.
@gr0w3r Thank you.
I had missed at least one water change, so I changed the water yesterday.
Nutrients are set to 1500 ppm with a ratio of 1:2:3. (I have not adjusted the nutrients from the pre-made recipe.)
I turned the temperature down.
Thank you again.
Some of the flowers have been disappearing. I though I might have a caterpillar, but I've searched high and low for it without finding any evidence of insects. Does anyone know what might be causing this:
I continue to prune the vine heavily and pull it down as it reaches the top. I have not been fertilizing the flowers with a paint brush for several weeks. Some of the flowers continue to set fruit, but I think hand fertilizing is necessary, so I'll go back to doing that regularly.
Here is the vine at 110 day:
I'll need to pull it down again in the next couple of days. The bottom is coiled densely, and the top has more leaves and room.
@bloomcs Thank you! I will continue to clip the suckers. It is growing beautifully. And the tomatoes are fantastic in flavor.
I've been pruning all the leaves off the lower part of the vine and using the suction cups to pull the vine down, coiling the fruit along the floor of the unit. That way I still have room at the top of the unit for the vine to continue to grow.
I've been plucking all the suckers. I am considering letting one of them grow. I think there is enough space in the unit for a second vine. Any thoughts?
Every morning, while I tend the plant, I eat a few tomatoes. I harvested just over a pound one day this week. The flavor is perfect: sweet, rich and bright.
83 Days after planting the seed, here is the vine:
I had trouble photographing the way I trained the vine, but perhaps this will make sense. I used suction cups along the walls and little bungee cords to hold a string in a spiral and then trained the vine along the string.
I had hoped that when the vine filled the cabinet, I would be able to trim the bottom branches, move each bungee cord down one suction cup and coil the vine at the base of the cabinet. (This is similar to what I have done when growing this plant in the greenhouse.)
However, this vine doesn't actually need the supports. It is able to support itself. I am not sure that I will be able to coil it without snapping the vine. And it has nearly filled the Bloom.
I am considering transplanting the whole plant into the greenhouse.
Or topping the main vine and letting a sucker from somewhere low on the plant grow.
Or just trying to coil it and risking a snap.
Any suggestions for how I might be able to lengthen the grow time?
11 days ago (I'm late posting) and 72 days after planting the seeds, I ate my first tomatoes.
The chives were poking up through the snow in the outside garden, so I made an omelet and homemade bread to celebrate the fresh tomatoes.
There flavor of the tomatoes was better than when I have grown this variety in the greenhouse. They were not as sweet, or as acidic. But they had a rich deep and complex flavor. It really was fun.
Every two weeks I empty the water from my Bloom. Water that is ph balanced and has lots of good nutrients. I've been diluting it and using it to water my houseplants. Do I even need to dilute it? Am I likely to run into problems repurposing the water?