Crew 290 GreenHab Report 13-01-2024 (Sol 6)
Greenhab Officer: Ben Kazimer
Heater on, fan off, door closed
Average temperatures: 0925: 71.2⁰F, 17%, 1729: 75.4⁰F, 20%
Hours of supplemental light: 4.5 (4 overnight and ½ from misting after sunset)
Daily water usage for crops: 5.25 gallons
Daily water usage for research and/or other purposes: None!
Water in Blue Tank 158.05 gallons
Time(s) of watering for crops:
0925: 3 gallons watering, ½ gallon misting, 1729: 1.5 gallon watering, ¼ gal misting
Changes to crops: Harvested a fair bit a greens for salad tonight, paid extra attention to moisture levels in tomato plant soil
Narrative:
Today was a bit lighter on Greenhab operations due to preparing, executing, and unloading from a 4-hour EVA to Candor Chasma (see other crew member reports for details!) I was still able to get all the watering and misting in, and I even swapped the environmental sensors between the Science Dome and Greenhab. Chopper had been harboring a more capable sensor that displays the current status, as well as the 24-hour max and min reading, so I took that and gave her my plain sensor. I cleaned up some dead pieces of plant throughout the growing areas and made sure that all sprouting plants were not choking out their neighbors (the pea shoots put up a good fight against the cilantro). In Tomatoes news, Tomato number 4 now has 2 yellowing fruit! I’m hopeful Crew 290 will experience some ripe tomatoes by the end of our mission (291 is going to have enough to make a whole pot of Sunday sauce!). Tomorrow is our rest day so I’m looking forward to spending some time going through all the plants in detail to trim unhealthy branches and rearrange crops as needed. Lastly, if you have ever wondered how a plant’s growth rate would respond to about half an hour of Louis Prima, Dean Martin, and Frank Sinatra, then tune into my sol 7 report!
Harvest: 73 g Kale, 51 g Red Cabbage, 11 g Parsley
Support/supplies needed: Another idea for future greenhouse upgrades, a nice stereo system with surround sound would be cool. The plants seem to love the music as much as I do 😊