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Old 04-20-2016, 11:37 PM
GpsFrontier GpsFrontier is offline
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Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Lake Havasu AZ.
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Hello twd000,
This is part 2 of the reply, I had to break it into two posts because it was too long to fit in one post.

Quote:
I can setup a series of kitty litter buckets if necessary, but a single tote would be much simpler to manage.
Again before even trying to think about designing the hydroponic system/s, you need to figure out and identify the specific goals first. A generic goal results in generic results. I devoted an entire section of the article I told you about to this one specific thing (figuring out your goals) because so many people don't understand the scope of what that means or entails.

Also before skipping past planning to building and designing a hydroponic system, it's very important to know the needs of plants you plan to grow. That's part of planning. How can you design a system to grow the plants when your unaware of what the needs are. And again I wrote a section on "knowing your plants" because when I talk about the plants needs, most people think that's only referring nutrient needs. But there are a lot more aspects about plant needs to consider. Would you pour a foundation for a house before you planed out what kind of house would be going on it? It really only takes a few minutes to define your goals, and research anything you don't already know about the size and needs of a plant you don't already know. But that information is the difference between to success or failure (learning the hard way and starting over).


I would break up your list into two main groups.

Lettice group
romaine (short term)
Bibb (?)
arugula (?)
mesclun (?)
Napa cabbage (short term)
Kale (?)

Herbs group
Basil (long term)
Rosemary (long term)
Parsley (long term)
Cilantro (short term)

But I would break these down even further based on type of plant, plant needs, harvesting method, harvesting goals, seed to harvest times, water consumption, temp requirements, long term and short term plants etc. etc.. Once again it all depends on your specific goals for each plant first. Once you know the specific goals, and done the research so you know the plants needs, like light requirements (full sun/part shade etc.), size of full grown plants, how long the plant will be in the system, seed to harvest times, if your going to harvest full plants and rotate, or just trim what you want at the time, temperature needs, etc. etc.

After you know the plant needs and your goals, you can start grouping them together based on those plant needs, harvesting methods, number of plants, and your harvesting goals. Once you have the groups and plant numbers, you can start thinking about the best system to put them in, Deciding what plants to put together based on similar needs and goals, then start thinking about designing it to make the most out of your space and budget. Even knowing what you can realistically accomplish with your space and budget before you spend a penny, or start building a thing. If you have to rethink things and/or cut back on lofty goals because of space or budget, you want to find out before you spend all your money and have to start over because you didn't take the time to do some planing first.

So far you've given me a list of plants, but I still don't have any Idea how much of each of them you plan to consume weekly. I'm also unfamiliar with some of those, so I'm not sure how big they will get, therefor room they will take up, root space needed, etc.. I think some of them (arugula, and mesclun) are micro greens, thus you would only harvest leaves, not heads. But I still don't have any information on seed to harvest times, plant longevity (seasonal, short term, long term), temp requirements, growth rates etc.. I can research them, but your the one who wants to grow them, so I leave it to you to research. You can find out everything you need to know from seed manufactures and online pictures of the specific plants growing. If your not sure about the information needed, just give me links to the exact seeds you plan to use, and I can help you see where to get what you need to know.

But you haven't given me any information on the plants and harvesting needs I need to make decisions on the best way to grow them and make the most of space and budget. Ive got plenty of ideas on systems and designs, but I cant give specific advice based on generic information. That would be like me taking the time to explain everything about a specific alternator for a Toyota, it's specifications, it's capability's and limitations, how to install it, how to wire it up, then selling it to you to take home all excised and ready to install it, only to find out it won't fit your car. It may fit a Toyota, but not all makes, models, and years. Doing things backwards and/or trial and error that way would only be a waste of both our time, and a waste of your money. That's why I stress planning first. If you give me specifics, I can run some numbers and come up with a plan. But without specifics, a successful plan would only be a shot in the dark.
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Last edited by GpsFrontier; 04-21-2016 at 03:56 AM.
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