commercial 1 gallon system.

[Carlos]

Questions regarding the commercial 1 gallon system. I'm using a 10 X 20 foot greenhouse and would
like to know the optimum spacing and number of plants i should be able to grow. Is gravel the
preferred growing medium or should i be looking into grow rocks? If the system uses top feeding, is
this a 24 hour operation? Lastly, what is the best way to maintain a nutrient reservoir. Should I use a
flushing valve to maintain water level or is it better using an eductor and flushometer. This is my
second year and a half experimenting with hydroponics. Last year i manufactured 4 two foot by
seven foot tables and plumbed them together to yield 56 plants using perlite as the medium with
approximately 6 feedings per day since i live in California. What i did learn quickly is that i have to
cool the greenhouse significantly and i hope to accomplish that this year with screening. (due to lack
of funds). What i would like to do is expand and modify the grow tables to use the sewer pipe. I like
your site because it is the only one i've seen that appreciates the initiative of it's members rather than
trying to sell over-priced minute systems based on traditional growing methods. Thanks in advance
for any support.

[Ron]

Sorry for not answering your questions sooner but I got five things going at once. Got to make a
living.
For a 10 x 20 greenhouse I would space them 24 inches from center to center. I would add as many
rows as you can with room to walk between rows for harvesting. Tomato plants can get big so I
would give each plant 4 sq. ft. for room to grow.
Yes I drip feed from the top 24 hours but you don't need to when the sun goes down. A photocell
switch would work well. With hydroponics you want to automate as much as possible.
Gravel is ok if it is porous enough. I prefer grow rocks because it is lite weight. Gravel can get pretty
heavy.
Here in Florida we have to use swamp coolers to cool greenhouses even in the winter.
Ron