Re: Hydroponics, was Re: Re: (and anyone interested) found a new garden idea for us to try

[Guest guest]

We farm using hydroponics -- ours is a mix of different techniques.  A favorite of mine that works well for small home systems is a passive pool.  Some use a " kiddee pool " such as a 6' child's pool (6' diameter, about 12 " deep works well) with the plants in some form of inert material.  Another similar option is our floating tables---the plants either sit in inert material or float on the surface.  Nutrient water is added as necessary (depends on the plant, growing season, rainfall, etc).  You can add an air pump and it will help growth, but they grow very well if allowed to keep " air roots " above the water line.  Another similar method is " barrel ponics " -- check out the info on the web.  Fish are kept that feed the plants, the plants clean the water.  I prefer a more natural aquaponics with a small pond (we are now using such a method to grow green food for our dairy goats)---the plants are floated on the pond until they reach the desired size.

The growth rate for hydroponics is much better than normal field grown due to the " perfect nature " --we feed the plants exactly what they need when they need it.  Actually, we just make sure it is always available and they feed at will.  Taste and nutrition of the products is so much better and again can be controlled by what they are fed.  For just a few plants, it is probably less work than growing in the ground as you have fewer issues with ground fungus and insects, as well as fewer weeds.  It can be more labor intensive in larger plots as the work is primarily people driven (no tractors and plows!). 

So many possibilities!Diane KHeart of Christmas Farmshttp://hocfarms.comOn Thu, Apr 14, 2011 at 5:29 AM, Fiona <fiona.k@...> wrote:

 

I've just started (a couple of months ago) a few plants

hydroponically, but very very low tech - no electricity needed and

no fancy equipment.  They are in pipes that have holes in the top

for the plants and are outside in the sunshine.  I put water and

nutrient in them - and drain them to change the water and add new

nutrient each week.  I put the drained nutrient from the top row,

which has tomatoes, into the bottom row, which has lettuce and needs

less nutrient (and I put the nutrient and water from that row onto

the garden or into a seedling tray).

This first lot is an experiment just to see how it goes running it

exactly as per instructions, but the next lot I'll change things a

bit and try making up a nutrient mix myself using perhaps worm wee

or seaweed or something - not sure yet.

[Guest guest]

Hello Diane,SO Happy to see that you are on this list! I hope that you find some useful information! THANKS for this very informative post!To everyone else - Heart of Christmas Farms is the vendor at my local farmer's market where I get my raw cow and goat's milk, raw cream, and grass fed beef!I can vouch for their produce - I see it at the farmer's market and it is beautiful! I've purchased greens from them before - they make a wonderful mix greens salad mix.

Blessings,Lea Ann SavageSatellite Beach, FL(321) 773-7088 (home)(321-961-9219 (cell)))><'>www.VitamixLady.comwww..com<))><

On Apr 14, 2011, at 7:31 AM, Diane Kann wrote:

We farm using hydroponics -- ours is a mix of different techniques. A favorite of mine that works well for small home systems is a passive pool. Some use a "kiddee pool" such as a 6' child's pool (6' diameter, about 12" deep works well) with the plants in some form of inert material. Another similar option is our floating tables---the plants either sit in inert material or float on the surface. Nutrient water is added as necessary (depends on the plant, growing season, rainfall, etc). You can add an air pump and it will help growth, but they grow very well if allowed to keep "air roots" above the water line. Another similar method is "barrel ponics"-- check out the info on the web. Fish are kept that feed the plants, the plants clean the water. I prefer a more natural aquaponics with a small pond (we are now using such a method to grow green food for our dairy goats)---the plants are floated on the pond until they reach the desired size.

The growth rate for hydroponics is much better than normal field grown due to the "perfect nature"--we feed the plants exactly what they need when they need it. Actually, we just make sure it is always available and they feed at will. Taste and nutrition of the products is so much better and again can be controlled by what they are fed. For just a few plants, it is probably less work than growing in the ground as you have fewer issues with ground fungus and insects, as well as fewer weeds. It can be more labor intensive in larger plots as the work is primarily people driven (no tractors and plows!).

So many possibilities!Diane KHeart of Christmas Farmshttp://hocfarms.comOn Thu, Apr 14, 2011 at 5:29 AM, Fiona <fiona.k@...> wrote:

I've just started (a couple of months ago) a few plants

hydroponically, but very very low tech - no electricity needed and

no fancy equipment. They are in pipes that have holes in the top

for the plants and are outside in the sunshine. I put water and

nutrient in them - and drain them to change the water and add new

nutrient each week. I put the drained nutrient from the top row,

which has tomatoes, into the bottom row, which has lettuce and needs

less nutrient (and I put the nutrient and water from that row onto

the garden or into a seedling tray).

This first lot is an experiment just to see how it goes running it

exactly as per instructions, but the next lot I'll change things a

bit and try making up a nutrient mix myself using perhaps worm wee

or seaweed or something - not sure yet.

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the very nice compliments!  We have a very large variety of veggies and greens, though we are probably best known for our heirloom lettuces, greens, and of course, our mixes.  Our salad mix includes edible flowers and herbs and has many repeat customers!

Though our farm sells to the public, as well as co-ops and restaurants, I encourage others to grow at least some of their own produce, when at all possible.  For many, hydroponics is a great means of growing.  I encourage others to at least give an inexpensive system a try--it can be a lot of fun!

As a side note--- for those in the central Florida area, we offer farm tours of our hydroponics once a month (except during the hot summer months).  Diane KHeart of Christmas Farms

http://hocfarms.comOn Thu, Apr 14, 2011 at 9:51 AM, Lea Ann Savage <lsavage@...> wrote:

 

Hello Diane,SO Happy to see that you are on this list!  I hope that you find some useful information!  THANKS for this very informative post!To everyone else - Heart of Christmas Farms is the vendor at my local farmer's market where I get my raw cow and goat's milk, raw cream, and grass fed beef!

I can vouch for their produce - I see it at the farmer's market and it is beautiful!  I've purchased greens from them before - they make a wonderful mix greens salad mix.

Blessings,

Lea Ann SavageSatellite Beach, FL(321) 773-7088 (home)(321-961-9219 (cell)

))><'>www.VitamixLady.comwww..com<))><

On Apr 14, 2011, at 7:31 AM, Diane Kann wrote:

 

We farm using hydroponics -- ours is a mix of different techniques.  A favorite of mine that works well for small home systems is a passive pool.  Some use a " kiddee pool " such as a 6' child's pool (6' diameter, about 12 " deep works well) with the plants in some form of inert material.  Another similar option is our floating tables---the plants either sit in inert material or float on the surface.  Nutrient water is added as necessary (depends on the plant, growing season, rainfall, etc).  You can add an air pump and it will help growth, but they grow very well if allowed to keep " air roots " above the water line.  Another similar method is " barrel ponics " -- check out the info on the web.  Fish are kept that feed the plants, the plants clean the water.  I prefer a more natural aquaponics with a small pond (we are now using such a method to grow green food for our dairy goats)---the plants are floated on the pond until they reach the desired size.

The growth rate for hydroponics is much better than normal field grown due to the " perfect nature " --we feed the plants exactly what they need when they need it.  Actually, we just make sure it is always available and they feed at will.  Taste and nutrition of the products is so much better and again can be controlled by what they are fed.  For just a few plants, it is probably less work than growing in the ground as you have fewer issues with ground fungus and insects, as well as fewer weeds.  It can be more labor intensive in larger plots as the work is primarily people driven (no tractors and plows!). 

So many possibilities!Diane KHeart of Christmas Farmshttp://hocfarms.comOn Thu, Apr 14, 2011 at 5:29 AM, Fiona <fiona.k@...> wrote:

 

I've just started (a couple of months ago) a few plants

hydroponically, but very very low tech - no electricity needed and

no fancy equipment.  They are in pipes that have holes in the top

for the plants and are outside in the sunshine.  I put water and

nutrient in them - and drain them to change the water and add new

nutrient each week.  I put the drained nutrient from the top row,

which has tomatoes, into the bottom row, which has lettuce and needs

less nutrient (and I put the nutrient and water from that row onto

the garden or into a seedling tray).

This first lot is an experiment just to see how it goes running it

exactly as per instructions, but the next lot I'll change things a

bit and try making up a nutrient mix myself using perhaps worm wee

or seaweed or something - not sure yet.

[Guest guest]

Diane, I would LOVE to come see your farm next time I come to Florida! I am "GREEN" with envy over your greens! I have SUCH restricted space-tiny yard, tiny house, but do manage to grow all of our fruits and veggies, though I have to be super diligent to pull it off. How wonderful it must be to have the space for it! I have often been asked to sell veggies through my co op, but I hoard every little bit for us, and even then, we run short sometimes. How nice that you get to do it for a living!

I've just started (a couple of months ago) a few plants

hydroponically, but very very low tech - no electricity needed and

no fancy equipment. They are in pipes that have holes in the top

for the plants and are outside in the sunshine. I put water and

nutrient in them - and drain them to change the water and add new

nutrient each week. I put the drained nutrient from the top row,

which has tomatoes, into the bottom row, which has lettuce and needs

less nutrient (and I put the nutrient and water from that row onto

the garden or into a seedling tray).

This first lot is an experiment just to see how it goes running it

exactly as per instructions, but the next lot I'll change things a

bit and try making up a nutrient mix myself using perhaps worm wee

or seaweed or something - not sure yet.

[Guest guest]

Fiona,

How big are the planting holes in the pipe?

TIA

Carol K

---- Fiona <fiona.k@...> wrote:

=============

I've just started (a couple of months ago) a few plants hydroponically,

but very very low tech - no electricity needed and no fancy equipment.

They are in pipes that have holes in the top for the plants and are

outside in the sunshine. I put water and nutrient in them - and drain

them to change the water and add new nutrient each week. I put the

drained nutrient from the top row, which has tomatoes, into the bottom

row, which has lettuce and needs less nutrient (and I put the nutrient

and water from that row onto the garden or into a seedling tray).

This first lot is an experiment just to see how it goes running it

exactly as per instructions, but the next lot I'll change things a bit

and try making up a nutrient mix myself using perhaps worm wee or

seaweed or something - not sure yet.

So the whole lot is manual - no electricity.

I started with a couple of punnets of plants - didn't start from seed as

I didn't have anything ready at the time - and put half in the garden in

soil and half in the hydroponic pipes. I have watered the ones in the

soil and added seaweed extract to boost them along. So far, the

hydroponic ones are about three or more times the size of the ones in

the garden. I'm picking leaves from the hydroponic lettuces regularly,

but haven't picked anything yet from the garden ones. Waiting to see

how the tomatoes go.

The system would be really really easy to make yourself, but I did buy

it all done for me (my family gave me a few bucks towards some plants to

dress up my front verandah for my birthday, so this is what I did with

it). It has been very easy to maintain. I had thought that I'd get

heaps more of them set up if this worked (which I'd say that it has) as

I have lots of railings that I could put them on and it would keep my

supplied with greens for smoothies and enough for salad, but I think

that with lots of them, changing the water each week could get a bit

time consuming. I'm also a bit uncomfortable with the nutrient in the

bottles, as I've always gardened organically.

Anyway, here's a link to the site I got them from.

http://nakedhydroponics.com/ I know that it is useless to most of you

as you're in the US and this is in Aus, but you'll be able to see what

it looks like from this and the instructions are there as a download.

There's also a forum that you can join to discuss it if you want - forum

is just getting started and is VERY quiet. They would definitely be

very easy to diy.