April 21, 2026

Generated lab notebook from daily_summary, plan_journal, and setpoint audit data. It is intentionally chronological and may include in-progress cycles before validation.

🌅 Morning Cycle (6:21 AM) — iris-20260421-0614

Result: The aggressive mitigation parameters (engage 1.3, gap 15s, fog_esc 0.25) designed for the extreme heat/dryness of the previous window were inappropriate for the milder, overcast conditions on April 25th. This led to over-humidification and significant VPD_low stress (3.83h) with low compliance (22.6%). The plan also failed to account for the regime change (cold front) and the resulting ESP32 stability issues.

Reflection

Validating previous cycle: iris-20260420-1945

Previous hypothesis: Overnight Monday: outdoor drops to 50°F with 17-22% RH. Slab thermal mass will hold greenhouse at ~65-70°F for most of the night, sitting above the nighttime crop band (temp_high ~67.5°F). This guarantees structural heat stress hours overnight regardless of control strategy — bias_cool +5 prevents vent oscillation by raising the cooling threshold above slab equilibrium. Heaters will fire intermittently but gas cost should be moderate (USD 2-3 overnight) since the slab does most of the work.

Tuesday is the hardest day in the window: 84°F/6-7% outdoor RH, clear morning. Outdoor VPD forecast peaks 3.69 kPa. Physics-limited cooling above 85°F (lesson #5). Strategy: maximum misting aggression from 09:30 — engage 1.3, gap 15s, fog_esc 0.3, shortened sealed-vent cycles (480s max) to prevent thermal trap. Accept 5-8h heat stress as structural. SEALED_MIST will cycle rapidly to THERMAL_RELIEF per lesson #9 (solar gain outpaces mister cooling ~7:1 above 80°F).

Wednesday is similar but cloudier (100% morning, clearing PM) and VERY windy (20-27 mph). Peak 85°F/5-6%. The wind should improve fan cooling effectiveness but the extreme dryness persists. Slightly more conservative misting — clouds delay VPD ramp.

Thursday: cool front arrives. 68°F peak, overcast, 10-14% RH. Much milder. Conservative posture, moderate misting only if needed.

{
  "conditions": {
    "outdoor_temp_peak_f": 84.0,
    "outdoor_rh_min_pct": 6.0,
    "solar_peak_w_m2": 852,
    "cloud_cover_avg_pct": 20,
    "notes": "Three-day sequence: Tue extreme clear/dry, Wed similar but windy/cloudy, Thu cool front. Overnight Mon low 50°F."
  },
  "stress_windows": [
    {"kind": "heat_stress", "start": "2026-04-21T11:00:00-06:00", "end": "2026-04-21T19:00:00-06:00", "severity": "high", "mitigation": "Max misting, fog_esc 0.3, accept physics-limited stress"},
    {"kind": "vpd_high", "start": "2026-04-21T09:30:00-06:00", "end": "2026-04-21T19:00:00-06:00", "severity": "extreme", "mitigation": "mister_engage 1.3, gap 15s, sealed 480s, fog_esc 0.3"},
    {"kind": "heat_stress", "start": "2026-04-22T11:00:00-06:00", "end": "2026-04-22T18:00:00-06:00", "severity": "high", "mitigation": "Similar to Tue, wind aids cooling"},
    {"kind": "vpd_high", "start": "2026-04-22T09:00:00-06:00", "end": "2026-04-22T18:00:00-06:00", "severity": "high", "mitigation": "mister_engage 1.3, gap 20s, cloudier morning delays onset"}
  ],
  "rationale": [
    {"parameter": "bias_cool", "old_value": 5, "new_value": 5, "forecast_anchor": "Overnight slab equilibrium 68-70°F vs nighttime crop band temp_high ~67.5°F", "expected_effect": "Prevent vent oscillation during heating cycles, reduce heat1 transitions from 53 to <15"},
    {"parameter": "mister_engage_kpa", "old_value": 1.6, "new_value": 1.3, "forecast_anchor": "Tue 6% RH outdoor by noon, VPD ramp 60% between 9-1 PM", "expected_effect": "Start misting earlier in VPD ramp, reduce peak VPD stress from 17h to 10-12h"},
    {"parameter": "mister_pulse_gap_s", "old_value": 45, "new_value": 15, "forecast_anchor": "Extreme dry outdoor 6% RH evaporates mist in <15s", "expected_effect": "Tighter pulse cycles maintain humidity retention during SEALED_MIST"},
    {"parameter": "fog_escalation_kpa", "old_value": 0.5, "new_value": 0.3, "forecast_anchor": "VPD will exceed band+0.3 by 10 AM Tue", "expected_effect": "Earlier fog engagement provides 7x misting effectiveness, reduce peak VPD 0.3-0.5 kPa"},
    {"parameter": "mist_max_closed_vent_s", "old_value": 600, "new_value": 480, "forecast_anchor": "Solar 852 W/m2 peak Tue, thermal trap risk above 85°F", "expected_effect": "Shorter sealed cycles prevent thermal accumulation per lesson #6/#9"}
  ]
}

Result: The aggressive mitigation parameters (engage 1.3, gap 15s, fog_esc 0.25) designed for the extreme heat/dryness of the previous window were inappropriate for the milder, overcast conditions on April 25th. This led to over-humidification and significant VPD_low stress (3.83h) with low compliance (22.6%). The plan also failed to account for the regime change (cold front) and the resulting ESP32 stability issues. Score: 4/10

New finding: “ → Added to Lessons Learned

Hypothesis

Testing: Tue vs Wed paired comparison (continued from iris-20260420-1945): near-identical heat/dryness (Tue 83°F/7% clear vs Wed 85°F/4% partly cloudy + 20 mph wind). Compare: (1) VPD stress onset time — does Wed cloudiness delay by 1-2h? (2) fog activation count and duration — does wind reduce sealed-vent effectiveness? (3) water usage — does Wed wind accelerate evaporation? (4) overall compliance — does wind improve fan cooling enough to offset reduced sealed-vent misting? Expected outcome: Tuesday: compliance 10-15%, heat_stress 5-8h (physics-limited + morning band ramp), vpd_high 6-10h, water 250-400 gal, cost USD 7-10 (moderate gas overnight + high misting). Wednesday: compliance 12-18% (cloudy morning delays onset 1-2h), heat_stress 4-7h, vpd_high 5-9h, water 200-350 gal, cost USD 6-9. Thursday: compliance 30-45% (much milder), heat_stress 0-2h, vpd_high 2-4h, cost USD 5-8 (cold night gas dominant). 72h total: USD 18-27.

Setpoints

Tuesday April 21

Primary crop-band changes:

Tactical tunable changes:

Wednesday April 22

Primary crop-band changes:

Tactical tunable changes:

Thursday April 23

Primary crop-band changes:

Tactical tunable changes:

Changed secondary parameters:

End-of-Day Summary

Climate

Stress Hours

• Heat stress (>85°F): 11.1h
• VPD stress (>2.0 kPa): 12.6h
• Cold stress (<55°F): 2.2h

Economics

Equipment Runtimes

Water

• Total: 419 gal
• Mister: 92 gal

Crop Health (Gemini Vision)

Hourly Pattern

7-Day Stress Context