Jacks or other?
 

Hello
I am contemplating a raft or nft system for growing lettuce and greens. We use a water soluble fertilizer in our dirt garden but it has no trace minerals in it. I have read that jacks is a good choice. But haven't ever done this before.

We are doing this for production purposes to help extend our greens season. I am not interested in the high priced nutrients. Lettuce doesn't pay as much as some other hydro crops and I can't justify paying what a lot of grow shops have for nutrient.

Any recommendations will be appreciated.

Sure you are going to get lots of opinion but, here it goes. IMHO it is best to stay with a nutrient designed for hydroponics. Your savings come in to play in the fact that you only have to use the nutrients at half or even quarter strength for lettuce. There are several brands to use and each brand has different options. I like to use a one part which means both the micro and macro nutrients are in one bottle already premixed; more expensive but easier to use. A two part has one bottle of micro and one bottle of macro and so on.
Another option is aquaponics where the fish provide the nutrients for the greens and you can either eat the fish or just get fancy fish to watch and enjoy.

Sorry, I don't know anything about Jacks but hope I offered some food for thought.