I live in New Hampshire and garden outdoors during the six months of warm weather. I'm looking at setting up a
hydroponic system for the six cold months. I mainly want to grow leafy greens and herbs for a family of four. I would also like to use the same system in the spring for starting
seeds for the outdoor garden. I currently have a T5 grow light for the seedlings and I hand-water. The system will live in my finished basement and I would empty it each spring and restart it each fall when the cold weather halts work in the outdoor garden.
In addition to the grow light, I have a plastic shelf :
http://www.lowes.com/pd_339949-230-3...lue+hawk+shelf
automatic timers, etc that I would re-use for the hydro system.
I have a Milwaukee
pH meter and air
pump from homebrewing beer.
I am an engineer and fairly handy at DIY.
Would an NFT or DWC hydro system be more appropriate for these purposes?
Conventional or organic
nutrients? I also run a red worm composting bin - can I use the leachate in a hydroponic system?
I would be interested in growing leafy green stuff, not really fruiting and blooming (although strawberries would be nice one day)
Lettuce (romaine, Bibb, arugula, mesclun)
Napa cabbage
Kale
Basil
Rosemary
Parsley
Cilantro