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Old 10-15-2012, 07:04 AM
GpsFrontier GpsFrontier is offline
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Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Lake Havasu AZ.
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Well my first thought is I understand your goals, but I think you want to bite off more than you can chew at this point (given your space). Have you ever grown raspberry's before, or researched how to grow them? How many raspberries you can expect from a full size plant (8 foot tall, 4-5 foot wide)? Because beyond the small space you have to work with, I can think of other issues. Second, is how many strawberry plants are you planning to grow? And how many berry's a week are you hoping for? It's true strawberry plants grow many berry's at the same time, but they all ripen at different times. So if your growing them for a family, you'll likely need well over 100 strawberry plants in order to make one strawberry shortcake for each person in the family each week. Not that it cant be done, but is it worth it with that space? And do you have a system in mind to grow the amount of strawberry plants it will take to make it worth it without taking up all the space? I can think of other plants you could grow (and/or rotate) in much less space that would save you money at the grocery store too.

Given your space requirements of 6 feet high, and that needs to include the hydroponic system, lights, as well as the space between the lights and plant foliage, I wouldn't consider any plants that will grow taller than 3 feet max. And given the your space requirements of less than a 10x10 room, I wouldn't consider many large plants like tomato's, squash, raspberries, just one-two 3x3 foot plant max etc.. And keep in mind that plant foliage/leaves will block light to other smaller plants, as well as the lower leaves on a larger plant. So your not going to just be dealing with vertical space issues, but light distribution issues as well.

If it were me, I would take into consideration the strengths of the space I have to work with, and try to maximum them. As well as think about what I like to eat on a regular basis, that will save me money at the store. But you need to consider how big the plant's will get when their full grown (both foliage, as well as root mass). Also not just nutrient requirements, but also temp, humidity and air circulation needs as well. Even how you will maneuver through the space to do maintenance.

P.S.
Quote:
Also willing to do a small tilapia tank in the room
Where is the room for it? If your considering aquaponics, I would suggest researching how many fish you would need in rotation, as well as how you'll need to take care of them first. What you'll need to do to keep "biofilters" healthy. Not to mention how your going to keep track of the nutrient contents in your water (PPM/TDS/EC meters are useless).
Quote:
Interested in compost teas as opposed to purchasing nutrients
Compost teas are not a replacement for a complete nutrient solution. Their just an additive/enhancement to a complete nutrient solution. Not to mention very difficult for a novice without experience in both hydroponics, as well as making their own compost tea's, and/or making their own nutrients to have success. You will spend quite a lot of time, and have many disappointments before you have success. If you are considering "aquaponics" (I assume because you mention growing fish), simply put it isn't easy without a true understanding of everything involved. And again, you'll spend quite a lot of time, as well as have many disappointments before you have any success. Bottom line, I understand your goals, but i would recommend sticking to hydroponic nutrients for now if you want success.
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