Ep 031: Pulse Pro vs Apogee PAR Meter Head-to-Head

0:00 — 0:51

Intro and Episode Plan

Jeremy opens episode 26, day 41 of flower, with roughly three weeks left. He wants to go at least 60 days. Outlines the plan: quick quadrant 1 and 2 updates, side-by-side Pulse Pro vs Apogee PAR meter test in quadrant 3, and a quadrant 4 vegetable seedling update. Will also top dress with koko (Colorado Worm Company castings).

0:51 — 2:28

Quadrant 1 — Take-and-Bake vs Recycled 3.0 Comparison

Walks the two plants in quadrant 1. The right-side plant is lighter in color, frostier, finishing faster because it had fewer nutrients (the Take-and-Bake mix). The left-side plant was the 3.0 recycled soil with cover crop top-dressed with Craft Blend and worm castings, darker, more odor, more worms and food. Notes the recycled box had trouble drinking water at first but caught up. Curious which yields more at harvest.

2:28 — 3:57

Quadrant 2 — Earthbox Ten-Gallon Flower Progression

His favorite side. The 10-gallon containers in quadrant 3 are the fastest drinkers and the emergency if he doesn't water in time. Earthboxes in quadrant 2 are the easiest and forgiving. Flowers are getting frosty and greasy, with one branch falling over from weight. Describes waxy vs greasy trichome feel. Notes the take-and-bake mix was not heavy on phosphorus — plans to add Koboko (super loaded in P and K) for the final swell. Expects these to go 70 days or longer.

3:57 — 5:42

Quadrant 3 — Purple Fade and Overwatered Keeper

Quadrant 3 plants are pumping, not finishing yet, showing a purple fade instead of yellow. The previously overwatered plant is the most beautiful candidate for keeper, with resin rails, stacking and swelling. Jeremy explains why he's not driving them hard: small 10-gallon containers + busy schedule mean he can't handle faster watering cycles. The strip light is on full blast but he hasn't dropped it to the plants. Quality is more important than a small yield bump.

5:42 — 8:00

Quadrant 4 — Vegetable Seedlings and Chapin Sprayer Misting

Shows the Earthbox with lettuce (hundreds of seeds germinating in the mulch), carrots, radish (wants drier), kale (starting to recover after heavy drinking). Will shoot short clips of each sprouting step and stitch them together. Pulls a second tray showing tulsi and sakura tomato germinating — a green seed visible below the pumice. Hot peppers expected to germinate in 3–5 days. Misting the surface with a Chapin sprayer morning and evening to keep mulch moist without disturbing seeds. Mentions alternative domes. Walks the pepper plant that he's been harvesting and plans to top dress tomato and pepper with Cowoco and Craft Blend, chop-and-dropping cover crop first.

1. 1. Mist the mulch surface with the Chapin sprayer morning and evening to keep it moist without irrigating and moving the seeds
2. 2. Check for germinating seeds poking through the mulch layer
3. 3. For a busy grower, consider a dome to prevent drying out from the light and fan
4. 4. Chop and drop the cover crop growing around the tomato and pepper so it doesn't compete
5. 5. Mound the soil slightly so top dress doesn't spill out when watered
6. 6. Apply Craft Blend and Colorado Worm Company castings as top dress

8:00 — 10:00

PAR Meter Primer — What PAR, PPFD and DLI Mean

Jeremy holds up the Apogee PAR meter and explains: PAR = photosynthetically active radiation, the type of light plants can actually see (as opposed to lumens which measure what humans see). This Apogee is a full-spectrum meter so it can measure sun as well as LED grow lights; other meters were made just to read grow lights and there are differences. Encourages viewers to look up DLI (daily light integral) — related to light power and hours of light. Suggests grabbing PAR and PPFD readings from the light manufacturer's website with a tape measure instead of buying a meter.

10:00 — 11:30

Pulse Pro Introduction and Setup

Introduces the Pulse Pro: reads humidity, temperature, converts to VPD (vapor pressure deficit), has a full PAR meter built in, and a CO2 meter. Explains VPD simply as keeping plants in their comfortable zone — which also helps prevent mold. Calls it fairly expensive because it does so many things. Trusts Pulse from their first version and loves the company. Sets up a dropped cable and tape-marked line in quadrant 3 so he can take readings at a repeatable height on both meters.

1. 1. Drop a cable and mark a consistent height line in the canopy for repeatable readings
2. 2. Take a reading with the Apogee at the marker
3. 3. Take a reading with the Pulse Pro at the same marker
4. 4. Take several random readings close to the light to test variance with distance

11:30 — 15:30

Head-to-Head Reading 1 — Canopy Level

Apogee at canopy reads 2100 close to the light, 400s-500s back at canopy, settles around 450 flat. Close to the taped line the Apogee reads 525, 550, 560 high, 565 best angle. Pulse Pro with the app open: Jeremy clicks 'receive reading', holds the device in the same spot, presses the side button — takes 10–15 seconds to come through. First reading 447. Comments that a constant live reading is better because you can pinpoint by angling toward the center of light. Takes another reading at 498 after angling better. Calls it 65 points low of 565, around 10 percent.

1. 1. Open the Pulse Pro app to the spectral power distribution and historical readings section
2. 2. Refresh and tap 'receive reading' in the app
3. 3. Press the physical button on the Pulse Pro device to send data
4. 4. Hold the device still in place while the reading is transmitted (10–15 seconds)
5. 5. Wait for the yellow flash and 'save to reading'
6. 6. Repeat at the same spot to verify consistency

15:30 — 17:30

Head-to-Head Reading 2 — Closer to the Light

Moves meters to a second taped line closer to the light. Pulse Pro reads 828 flat, verifies with a second reading at 827 — very accurate against itself. Apogee at the same line reads 900+, 950 at one angle, 880, 850, 940-965 flat — calls it 950. So Pulse Pro 827/828 vs Apogee 950, same relative ~10 percent delta. Concludes Pulse Pro errs on the side of caution consistently lower, possibly because it is a full-spectrum meter. Speculates the user may not be getting the perfect angle.

17:30 — 19:42

Pulse Pro Verdict and Use Case Recommendations

Summary: the Pulse Pro really increased the amount of environmental data in the tent — Jeremy appreciates the CO2 measurements. It's very repeatable against itself but reads roughly 10 percent lower than the Apogee PAR meter, which is the industry standard and more expensive. Jeremy would trust the dedicated Apogee more for pure PAR, but the Pulse Pro is valuable and a great data logger — especially in greenhouse environments with multiple points. Recommends the Pulse Pro for growers who never considered buying a PAR meter: buy one, set up the light, take a couple of readings, and then mostly use it as an environmental data logger. True professionals running a business should get a dedicated more accurate meter. Also mentions using the Niwa as a third device that does environmental controlling — will address more later.

19:42 — 25:30

Colorado Worm Company Castings Top Dress

Moves to top dressing the flower room. Holds up the Colorado Worm Company castings bag. Describes them as a mom-and-pop friend's operation: homestead property, clean water, thermal compost fed to worms, premium additives added back into the pile before the worms work it for maximum nutrient density. Harvested once a week on order, delivered fresh. Opens the bag, immediately finds predator mites and a rove beetle. Explains what makes good castings vs bad: home bins are moist and alive; large-scale recycled castings are high in potassium and sodium, low in everything else, because they have a single manure source. Good castings are more robust in phosphorus, calcium, micronutrients. Shows live worms, rove beetles in the bag. Scoops 2–3 scoops per plant onto quadrant 3 containers, adds Craft Blend, works it in, will water it in to make water-soluble nutrients available immediately. Also top dresses a lighter Earthbox and the tomato and pepper plants.

1. 1. Open the Colorado Worm Company castings bag and check for life (predator mites, rove beetles, worms) and moisture
2. 2. Mound the existing soil slightly in each container so top dress will not spill when watered
3. 3. Scoop 2–3 scoops of castings onto each plant to form a layer across the top
4. 4. Add a scoop of Craft Blend on top
5. 5. Work the Craft Blend in just a little
6. 6. Water it in to release water-soluble nutrients immediately
7. 7. Apply a half scoop of castings next to each plant in the Earthbox as well
8. 8. Top dress the lighter Earthbox, the tomato and the pepper plant too

25:30 — 26:17

Outro and FAQ Preview

Jeremy signs off episode 26. Teases that they'll be catching up with some frequently asked question videos soon and invites viewers to submit questions.