Category: Greenhab Report

Crew 297 GreenHab Report 23-04-2024

GreenHab Officer: Sean Marquez

Environmental control:

Heater on (set to 55F)
Fan on (set to turn on at 94F; turn off at 82F)
Average temperatures: 83F

Hours of supplemental light: N/A

Daily water usage for crops: 5 gal

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0 gal

Water in Blue Tank: 170 gal

Time(s) of watering for crops: 13:25

Changes to crops: N/A

Narrative: Fan system was on full power, but still needed supplemental passive airflow from the tunnel system, in lieu of the afternoon heat wave, which kept the atmospheric temperatures below 105F.

Harvest:

27g of parsley
3g of cherry tomato
Support/supplies needed: N/A

Crew 297 GreenHab Report 20-04-2024

GreenHab Officer: Sean Marquez

Environmental control:
– Heater on (set to 55F)
– Fan on (set to 92F; not accounting for power outages)

Average temperatures: 84F

Hours of supplemental light: N/A

Daily water usage for crops: 4 gal

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0 gal

Water in Blue Tank: 183 gal

Time(s) of watering for crops: 14:05

Changes to crops: N/A

Narrative: Fan power went out again some time in the afternoon. Based on tests from the prior night, the fan power outages seem to be linked to the HomeAssistant network, which becomes unavailable during power outages. Between HabCom duties, lunch, and dinner preparations, I was unavailable to open the GreenHab door until around 14:04 (at which point the GreenHab atmospheric temperature had reached ~110F), then closed at around 19:25 when the GreenHab atmosphere temperature had dropped to ~80F. Brown/wilting leaves from the radishes were composted.

Harvest:
– 13g of cherry tomato
– 66g of red cabbage
– 147g of radishes
– 177g of kale
– 23g of green onion

Support/supplies needed: Would it be possible to run HomeAssistant on our other local network that is currently configured and powered via the UPS, so as to circumvent vulnerability to power outages? This change is minor and temporary and will be undone before the end of our mission.

Crew 297 GreenHab Report 21-04-2024

GreenHab Officer: Sean Marquez

Environmental control:

Heater on (set to 55F)
Fan on (set to 92F)
Average temperatures: 78F

Hours of supplemental light: N/A

Daily water usage for crops: 4 gal

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0 gal

Water in Blue Tank: 179 gal

Time(s) of watering for crops: 12:28

Changes to crops: Crops looking much healthier; minimal to no wilting compared to previous day.

Narrative: Fan power did not go out today, as the network on which the fan system controller running on HomeAssistant has been switched to the generator. Based on the recorded logs, the GreenHab atmospheric temperatures appear to not have exceeded 98F. Some brown leaves/stems from the cherry tomato plants were composted. Cucumber vines were found strangling its neighboring cherry tomato plants, which have since been separated and placed on an adjacent trellis.

Harvest:

106g of cherry tomato
Support/supplies needed: N/A

Crew 297 GreenHab Report 22-04-2024

GreenHab Officer: Sean Marquez

Environmental control:

Heater on (set to 55F)
Fan on (set to turn on at 94F; turn off at 82F)
Average temperatures: 82F

Hours of supplemental light: N/A

Daily water usage for crops: 4 gal

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0 gal

Water in Blue Tank: 175 gal

Time(s) of watering for crops: 12:50

Changes to crops: N/A

Narrative: Fan system was operating nominal. Though, due to the afternoon heat wave, the GreenHab atmospheric temperature reached close to 110F around 14:30. The GreenHab door was opened again to allow for supplemental airflow from the tunnel system, which helped keep the atmospheric temperatures below 100F. More brown/yellow leaves/stems from the cherry tomato plants were composted.

Harvest:

2g of cherry tomato
Support/supplies needed: N/A

Crew 297 GreenHab Report 17-04-2024

GreenHab Officer: Sean Marquez

Environmental control:
– Heater on (set to 55F)
– Fan on

Average temperatures: 91F

Hours of supplemental light: N/A

Daily water usage for crops: 5.25 gal

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0.25 gal

Water in Blue Tank: 191 gal

Time(s) of watering for crops: 11:34, 12:33, 15:18

Changes to crops: Carrots, radishes, and red cabbages were looking wilted. Two of the (Riya & Garbanzo) kale plants were looking less wilted compared to the prior two days.

Narrative: Crops that were wilting today were likely due to EPS fluctuations, causing inconsistent air flow from the fan system in the GreenHab throughout the day. While watering the plants around 15:18, the GreenHab temperature had reached 110F. In an attempt to supplement the lack of air flow and reduce heat build up in the GreenHab, the door was opened around 16:00 to allow for the tunnel system to act as a temporary air conduit, at least ’til around sunset when the door was closed.

Harvest:
– 288g squash
– 2g cherry tomato

Support/supplies needed:
– (more of a nice to have, but) a means to query and download the GreenHab atmosphere temperature data from HomeAssistant as to be able to perform time-series analysis, automation of calculating average temperatures, and/or for comparison with the FPrime data collection system.

Crew 297 GreenHab Report 18-04-2024

GreenHab Officer: Sean Marquez

Environmental control:
– Heater on (set to 55F)
– Fan on

Average temperatures: 80F

Hours of supplemental light: N/A

Daily water usage for crops: 3 gal

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0 gal

Water in Blue Tank: 188 gal

Time(s) of watering for crops: 11:30

Changes to crops: Radishes and red cabbages were still looking a bit wilted, but less so than yesterday. Carrots and the two (Riya & Garbanzo) kale plants no longer appear wilted.

Narrative: Fan was on full power at the time of watering, but due to power outages throughout the day, the GreenHab door was purposefully left open again between 16:10 to 19:00 to allow for air flow from the tunnel system to try and prevent the GreenHab from overheating. Brown leaves from cherry tomatoes, kale, and squash were composted. Vines from a squash plant were found strangling a neighboring cherry tomato plant, which then had to be separated and placed along an adjacent trellis.

Harvest:
– 4g cherry tomato

Support/supplies needed: N/A

Crew 297 GreenHab Report 19-04-2024

GreenHab Officer: Sean Marquez

Environmental control:
– Heater on (set to 55F)
– Fan on (set to 92F; not accounting for power outages)

Average temperatures: 79F

Hours of supplemental light: N/A

Daily water usage for crops: 1 gal

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0 gal

Water in Blue Tank: 187 gal

Time(s) of watering for crops: 12:30

Changes to crops: N/A

Narrative: Fan power went out again shortly after entering the GreenHab around 12:20. Same procedure was implemented as previously whereby the GreenHab door was purposefully left open at 12:20 to allow air flow from the tunnel system to mitigate heat build-up, then closed at 17:25 when the GreenHab atmosphere temperature had dropped to ~85F and the outdoor temperature had dropped to ~79F. More brown leaves and/or yellow stems from cherry tomatoes were composted.

Harvest:
– 11g cherry tomato
– 1g rosemary

Support/supplies needed: Access to MDRSCampus network and HomeAssistant credentials would be convenient for being able to download temperature data from personal laptop, as opposed to having to use the lower deck computer.

Crew 297 GreenHab Report 15-04-2024

GreenHab Officer: Sean Marquez

Environmental control:

Heater on (set to 55F)
Fan on
Average temperatures: 76F

Hours of supplemental light: N/A

Daily water usage for crops: 15L

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 1L

Water in Blue Tank: Full (unknown quantity)

Time(s) of watering for crops: 18:07

Changes to crops: N/A

Narrative: No changes to crops as this is the first day’s greenhab report. Basil, parsley, dill, red cabbage, radishes, and carrots seem to be particularly thriving. About a dozen of the cherry tomatoes and one squash appear either ready or approaching readiness for harvest. A little more than half of the leaves on the squash plants have turned brown and dried. Two of the (Riya & Garbanzo) kale plants appear to be slightly wilting. About 1L of water was used to refill an experimental self-watering vegetable pot containing a Murasaki sweet potato that I brought into the GreenHab.

Harvest: N/A

Support/supplies needed: A means to quantify capacity of blue water tank. A chair would also be nice.

Crew 297 GreenHab Report 16-04-2024

GreenHab Officer: Sean Marquez

Environmental control:
– Heater on (set to 55F)
– Fan on

Average temperatures: 92F

Hours of supplemental light: N/A

Daily water usage for crops: 2gal

Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: N/A

Water in Blue Tank: ~197gal

Time(s) of watering for crops: 10:45

Changes to crops: N/A

Narrative: Composted dried brown leaves from cucumber plants. Need to repair a water leak in the self-watering vegetable pot.

Harvest:
– 49g of cherry tomatoes

Support/supplies needed: Tissue paper and trash bin (for allergies)

GreenHab Officer: Hippolyte Hilgers
Environmental control:
Heater on (setup temperature = 75°F)
Fan on (to keep temperature below 94°F)
Average temperatures: 78.2°F
Hours of supplemental light: None
Daily water usage for crops: 9 gallons
Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: 0 gallons
Water in Blue Tank (200 gallon capacity): 101 gallons
Time(s) of watering for crops: 7:00 PM
Changes to crops: None
Narrative: Watered all the crops today, harvesting parsley
Harvest:
Parsley (~20 leaves) : 2 g
Support/supplies needed: None