Anyone do hydroponics?

[Wildsky]

That might work, however, it is recommended that seedlings have the roots showing through the media, and have two to four true leaves before you put them in the system. At the stage your seedling are presently in they really need little, if any, nutrients. Also, you should cover the rockwool when you put them in the system to prevent the growth of algae. It not only looks like heck, but it will draw gnats and take nutrients intended for plants. Here is what mine look like when I plant them. Don't get discouraged, you will get the hang of it.

http://i404.photobucket.com/albums/pp121/hydrogardener/307.jpg

Your's look great, I'm just frustrated working without a light, I have other seedlings that were planned to go into my garden and they've fallen over.
The company I purcahsed a light from have left me hanging now for two weeks, only to call yesterday saying they could not get the one I had already ordered and would I like a different one!!!
I'm so MAD. I did choose a different light, but they could have told me a long time ago!

I'm guessing all those will probably get leggy and fall over soon - and I'll have to start over again anyway.

 

[jackb]

Sorry to hear about your problem. Well, at least you will not have to worry about the changing seasons after you get started.

 

[Wildsky]

Sorry to hear about your problem. Well, at least you will not have to worry about the changing seasons after you get started.

Thats true! I might worry about it getting a little chilly - we don't keep the house at 71 in winter, more like in the 60's...

 

[jackb]

Sorry to hear about your problem. Well, at least you will not have to worry about the changing seasons after you get started.

Thats true! I might worry about it getting a little chilly - we don't keep the house at 71 in winter, more like in the 60's...

That's fine for lettuce and all cool weather crops, in fact it is ideal unless you are planning eggplant, tomatoes or cucumbers.

 

[Wildsky]

Sorry to hear about your problem. Well, at least you will not have to worry about the changing seasons after you get started.

Thats true! I might worry about it getting a little chilly - we don't keep the house at 71 in winter, more like in the 60's...

That's fine for lettuce and all cool weather crops, in fact it is ideal unless you are planning eggplant, tomatoes or cucumbers.

I might try cucumbers, I bought seeds for a "container" cucumber, I'm not sure how big it will get.

I've gotten so confused with all my plants, don't remember which is which on some of them. Most I do remember, but those dern Cauliflower and Broccoli seedlings look exactly the same!

I try keep track of everything in a spreadsheet, but once I come inside and get cleaned up I sometimes forget what the heck went where.

 

[jackb]

I might try cucumbers, I bought seeds for a "container" cucumber, I'm not sure how big it will get.

When I am growing indoors I stick to lettuce, although I could grow tomatoes, cucumbers or peppers. I have found that you get a lot more bang for your buck with lettuce. Tomatoes, for instance, require a lot more nutrients, and you will tie up your system for three months or more. Also, unless you can give them 3,000-5,000 footcandles of light 16 hours a day your results will be disappointing. I love hydroponic beet greens and chard, however, I don't like to tie up a system for sixty days to grow them, and have them cook down to a few servings. There are hundreds of varieties of lettuce, and I can grow lettuce in four weeks. We eat salad pretty much everyday and I can supply all we need. Last winter the price of lettuce was close to three dollars a head, but we have not bought any since last summer. I would not trade the difference for a few tomatoes. That said, go ahead and get it out of your system, and we will be looking for the photos of your January crop.

 

[Wildsky]

I might try cucumbers, I bought seeds for a "container" cucumber, I'm not sure how big it will get.

When I am growing indoors I stick to lettuce, although I could grow tomatoes, cucumbers or peppers. I have found that you get a lot more bang for your buck with lettuce. Tomatoes, for instance, require a lot more nutrients, and you will tie up your system for three months or more. Also, unless you can give them 3,000-5,000 footcandles of light 16 hours a day your results will be disappointing. I love hydroponic beet greens and chard, however, I don't like to tie up a system for sixty days to grow them, and have them cook down to a few servings. There are hundreds of varieties of lettuce, and I can grow lettuce in four weeks. We eat salad pretty much everyday and I can supply all we need. Last winter the price of lettuce was close to three dollars a head, but we have not bought any since last summer. I would not trade the difference for a few tomatoes. That said, go ahead and get it out of your system, and we will be looking for the photos of your January crop.

See my hubby isn't much of a salad eater, and the kids will eat tiny little pieces of lettuce with very long teeth!
Mostly I'm going to try broccoli and cauliflower - those everyone will eat! I'm not sure how long they'll take, but we could go through a few of them easily.
I might try green beans, a bush type - my son will only eat beans fresh, he won't go near them frozen!
my daughter prefer's peas - and she'll gobble them up before they get in the house!
I live with a bunch of picky eaters!

 

[jackb]

Well, I am looking forward to the photos of your first harvest, whatever it is.
Good luck.
Jack

 

[LadyBug Lane]

Howdy, I'm new here and am I glad to see hydroponics being discussed! I haven't been to a hydroponic forum yet that hasn't taught me something useful. This one is no exception: I've already seen a couple ideas that I want to shamelessly imitate.

We do hydroponics commercially. We run about 4,000 heads of lettuce in a NFT system and 4,300 tomato plants in Bato buckets. It's definitely not rocket science.

jackb is right, lettuces like it much cooler than tomatoes. If your nighttime temps get above 72-ish then the plants start to "bolt", which means they start to flower and begin to resemble Dr. Seuss drawings about 3 feet tall.

There are many pre-made hydroponic mixes out there. Hydrogardens makes a two-part system that works well but you'll need a different set of nutrients if you're running both tomatoes and lettuces. Although you can raise tomato plants on lettuce formula, they don't do well when they get around to fruiting.

Most hydroponic systems call for a pH between 5.6 and 6.0 since plants lose the ability to uptake certain nutrients outside those ranges. In hydroponics, you don't have to keep everything perfectly situated but the margin for error is pretty small. Tomatoes and other crops in coir or perlite are more forgiving than NFT systems, which are, in turn, more forgiving than aeroponic systems. The margin for error in aeroponics is very small indeed.

When you select seeds, I think you'll find that "container" varieties are determinate varieties (which produce all their fruit at once). These work out well if you're planning to sell, can, or give away a bunch of fuit all at once. Hydroponic systems like Bato buckets or any bucket or container system also grant you the ability to grow indeterminate varieties, which keep producing as long as you maintain the plant. These varieties may be better suited for your needs if you're trying to grow veggies for personal consumption over a longer term.

I haven't figured out how to post pictures here yet but there are some photos at our website : www.ladybuglane.net

This looks like a great site with lots of information from all kinds of sources. I've got a lot of reading to do...

 

[jackb]

Welcome Lady Bug Lane! I checked out your site and that is a great idea for using oddball tomatoes. My three year old granddaughter will love to try it.
jackb