The Hey abby Team - April 12, 2024

Behind the Scene: the Soil Edition

Background

The conception of the Soil Edition was a natural progression for us. Observing that over half of Hey abby’s growers begin with seeds, most of which originate from soil-grown plants, we saw potential. Although seeds can thrive in hydroponic systems, they are inherently more suited to a soil environment due to their evolutionary adaptations to soil conditions.

Growing with soil, especially organic blends, is not only fun but also allows for a fully organic process — a truly gratifying and experience. With this in mind, our team embarked on the journey to explore the Soil Edition.

Challenges

It’s essential to understand that creating the Soil Edition is not as simple as placing a pot inside a Hey abby grow box; it’s much more complex. The challenge was threefold.

Dealing with Runoff Water

When growing in soil, at each watering event, the plant needs to be watered until slight runoff is reached. A typical soil setup includes a saucer or tray to catch runoff water. But that presents a problem; you will need to move the plant in order to get rid of the runoff. When the plant has ongoing LST (low-stress training), being supported by trelis, or is fully grown with large flowers present, runoff removal can really be a hassle.

Goal#1: Ensure the plant remains stationary throughout the growing process.

Flooding

In soil cultivation, runoff flooding is a common mishap, regardless of the grower's experience. Any overflow into the grow box can risk electrical wiring and cause rust, potentially damaging the box.

Goal #2: Prevent overflow/flooding when watering.

Space Utilization

Standard round pots may be convenient but utilize only half the available space provided. A custom pot that fits perfectly and prevents water from leaking out from all sides is necessary to keep the water contained and in the runoff catch.

Goal #3: Design a larger, leak-proof pot that fits perfectly.

First Trial with Wick System (Not Working)

We initially considered a wick system — a hybrid between soil and hydroponic growing. Unfortunately, the wick’s inconsistent performance led to its dismissal. It was prone to over-drawing water, and caused issues with over saturation and lack of oxygen in the soil. It also was prone to clogging with different soil types. Aiming for a universally stable system, we had to look beyond the wick.

Solutions and Designs

Our early OG edition had a nutrient drop design that was functional 95% of the time. However, issues arose when the nutrient pack became wet, so we moved on from this approach. This taught us that a 95% success rate isn’t enough; reliability is paramount. For the soil edition, there are no overly complicated designs, but a lot of thought was put into the details to provide a more enjoyable growing experience overall.

Easy Flow System

With the Easy Flow System, we target simplicity and efficiency in water management. The runoff is collected quickly in a large drawer, initially designed to hold 500ML, later expanded to 700ML for more additional forgiveness. The Runoff collection drawer is also clear, which allows you to see when and how much runoff has been collected.

Multiple design adjustments were made for ease of use, including separators for stable water levels to prevent spills and flooding.

Redesigned LED for Soil Grow

Our growing team has been performing extensive testing on the Samsung 301D LED, and found the performance is very competitive. Our engineering team built up a new panel with 301D for soil edition. The testing report came out with amazing results shown in the charts below.

The newly designed light and spectrum mimics the natural sunlight conditions, which soil-grown plants have evolved to respond to. Thus supporting their full growth cycle from seedling to harvest. That means not just the soil is organic, the lighting also mimics that or organic sunlight.

Integrating Sphere

Customized Grow Bag

As mentioned earlier, rapidly applying water can cause leakage, allowing water to escape from all sides of the grow bag and not just the bottom. Our engineer designed the spacing to avoid this issue.

However, during our testing, we noticed that the rear side of the grow bag tended to lean against the box panel, allowing water to escape onto the panel. To counter this, we've innovated a dual-material design for the grow bag, combining waterproof and highly breathable fabrics. This bespoke creation ensures the grow bag is robust, spacious, highly air-permeable, and crucially, leak-proof.

Add-on Rack

For enthusiasts of smart add-ons, who might be concerned about space constraints in the Soil Edition, we've devised a solution: a magnetic add-on rack that is capable of holding the desired accessories in proper position-will soon be available.

Soil Supplies

Choosing from the tons of soil brands on the market can be challenging. Furthermore, standard soil bag sizes are often excessively large for our growers' needs. To simplify the process, we're partnering with esteemed soil brands to potentially tailor soil and flowering supplements exclusively for Hey abby. We're making significant progress and will update shortly.

Conclusion

The soil edition is a new design with a principle design in mind. By stripping away the DWC components, we've introduced an affordable and approachable product.

Growing your own medicine at home, though still a novel concept in the U.S. Despite years of legalization, it is emerging as a significant trend. It transcends economic benefits, evolving into one of the most fulfilling hobbies that deepens our connection with nature.

Hey abby is on a mission to make home gardening accessible, easy, and social. We would like to thank our community who contribute greatly to our product development that makes this possible.

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