Hydroponic at 45-50 degree celcious

[instructkamal]

Hello all

I have recently start learning about hyderoponic . I want to setup a facility in my area but i'm curious since in my area in summer temperature goes till 35-50 degree celcious , or say 90-120 Fahrenheit . Is that a good option. and what kind of vegetable or crop i should go for . I was thinking about tomato and strawberry but it seems that they can't live on that heigh temperature. Please somebody suggest something

Thanks

KP

[GGM]

I will be able to answer your question in a few months time First summer I am growing hydroponically in the country I am currently living, I did grow tomatoes and peppers in containers last year, lots of water and they struggled during the hottest parts ofthe day.

[GpsFrontier]

Originally Posted by instructkamal

Hello all

I have recently start learning about hyderoponic . I want to setup a facility in my area but i'm curious since in my area in summer temperature goes till 35-50 degree celcious , or say 90-120 Fahrenheit . Is that a good option. and what kind of vegetable or crop i should go for . I was thinking about tomato and strawberry but it seems that they can't live on that heigh temperature. Please somebody suggest something

Thanks

KP

Tomato's generally like warm weather, 120F is a bit high but may still work fine, especially if you use heat tolerant variety's and place them where they get shade in the hottest part of the day. I live in the desert where the summer temps reach over 120F every day starting late June-early July. I had strawberry's growing last summer, but I pulled the plug on them in early July because I was unable to keep the nutrient solution temp under control. But I had hundreds of flowers on 32 strawberry plants at that time, with berry's as well. I had a shade cloth structure covering them to help protect from the direct sunlight. Though you will probably get smaller berry's with the higher air temp than you would in cooler temps. You will need to cool the berry's down quickly once picked, or they wont last long at all. Like sticking them in the freezer right away for 15-20 minutes before sticking them into the refrigerator.

Peppers do well in the heat, I think just about all variety's of them. I had some growing last summer but I had the same problem with controlling the nutrient temp with them as well, so I pulled the plug on them for the same reason. For me, the nutrient temp is my biggest issue in the summer. I have some honeydew melons seeds started that I plan to try this summer. I will place them on the side of the house where it gets shade in the hottest part of the day (afternoon-evening). Make sure you keep the nutrient solution temp at or below 72F or the plants will suffer.

I will build a geothermal reservoir for the nutrients. I will be building a insulated box-trench to contain the growing medium and roots. As well as a insulated top for the box with the plants sticking up through it (removable without hurting the plants). I hope to even paint the outside with white roofing insulation for even more protection. It will be a drip system with all the above ground lines insulated with pipe insulation. That should keep the root zone cool.

[Luches]

@instructkamal,

Think seasonal as it is the first rule with such hot climate. Grow your long term crops including tomatoes and strawberries in winter and early spring and in the hottest month more heat tolerant and short term vegetables.

With the big heat you have to adopt, as it will not to you or your plants. Either you grow heat resistant vegetables only or you grow what you want, BUT lower the temperatures with cooling systems in a more closed environment like a cooled greenhouse, cooled nutrients, etc which is always more expensive and energy consuming. Or you can make a break for 2-3 month with limited and resistant plants during the hottest time - than you don't have to "pull the plug" on anything.

My hint: work out a seasonal strategy and stick to it.

[GpsFrontier]

If your concerned with the 120F temperatures I assume you are planing on growing outside. I am not sure what your winter time temps get, but here it gets into the 30'sF. I don't think you will have much luck with tomato's in and around those temps. The cold was too much for mine (along with another problem). I had a plan to cover them and heat the inside at night, but I never had the money to complete it. You may be able to find cold tolerant variety's, but tomato's mostly like and do better in warm weather.

Cooling in the summertime is and can be expensive, that's why I like the idea of using "geothermal energy" (free energy) to cool the nutrient solutions. I didn't really have that option last summer. I recently built a geothermal reservoir for my tomatoes that only cost me $30-$35 for a 20 gallon reservoir. I plan on building the same one for my melons.

[Luches]

Obviously each and everyone has to consider his/her own climate and seasonal temperatures and changes. If you are at the equator you have almost the very same climate and temperatures with only minor changes (28-32°C) all year round. In more "desert-like" or mountainous regions, you got these extreme changes in temperatures. In other more northernm but still tropical or sub tropical regions you got very hot and short summers, an extended monsoon season and a relatively short cool or moderate season.

Maybe instructkamal simply tells us where the actual location is and what the yearly temperatures and the climate actually is, - before we get into a purely subjective debate on principles that do not apply at that end

I am in fact consulting with a colleague in Pakistan at the moment who has developed a heat resistant tomato hybrid and yet faces serious BER problems from 30°C upwards. And here we are talking commercial growing according to high seasonal market prices, that at least legitimates the effort and the extravagance that is done here.

Especially for beginners and people who have more seasonal flexibility, I STRONGLY recommend to respect the seasonal climate if only they can. Simply avoid planting such heat sensitive plants like tomato and strawberries during the hottest months (like everyone else in the region does), because climatic conditions are clearly unfavorable.

Even if cooling down your nutrients by any means there are or you may have at your disposal, the air temperatures may still prevent blooming or proper fruit setting with these. You can always go against all odds and "pull the plug" when it goes wrong again for the second or even third time, - but how smart is that at the end?!

[GpsFrontier]

Maybe instructkamal simply tells us where the actual location is and what the yearly temperatures and the climate actually is, - before we get into a purely subjective debate on principles that do not apply at that end

You should not assume that there is only going to be one person who reads the post. So specif and exact conditions are helpful with decisions, but other people want to apply the information to there exact conditions also. Subjective debate is the point, not just principles that are only useful to one person.

from 30°C upwards. And here we are talking commercial growing according to high seasonal market prices, that at least legitimates the effort and the extravagance that is done here.

Not for the home hydroponic guarder, and especially the beginner. As mentioned there are ways to keep them warm, and there are ways to keep them cool if one wants to take that on. But most first time people don't really want to try and do that (again there is more than one person reading this thread).

Especially for beginners and people who have more seasonal flexibility, I STRONGLY recommend to respect the seasonal climate if only they can. Simply avoid planting such heat sensitive plants like tomato and strawberries during the hottest months (like everyone else in the region does), because climatic conditions are clearly unfavorable.

I don't know where you get your tomato plants from, but mine are not nearly as heat sensitive as yours are. I grew them in soil successfully all summer long in California where we had weeks of over 100F degree days. They were not even heat tolerant varieties. Strawberry's as well, but they didn't get enough sunlight being so close to the ground in that location. But yes it is best to grow seasonal plants, when growing outside in the natural climate. Talking to local nursery's will help with those decisions.

But the conditions don't need to be 100% perfect, they never are, and both tomato's and strawberry's grew well for me in 100 degree heat. Even though strawberry's are generally considered cool weather crops (from what I understand) but they grew well for me in our 120 degree days here (under shade cloth) even so. Even our local farms in southern Calif were growing strawberry's in 100 degree weather, so I was just doing "like everyone else in the region does." They sell strawberry plants here in the desert (the ones I grew) in late spring, they wouldn't be doing that if they weren't expected to survive into the summer.

The only reason I pulled the plug was because of the 90 degree nutrient solution temperatures. Adding ice was helpful but I wasn't able to make enough to cool down 40 gallons twice a day when the outside air temp got into the 120 degree range. Even if I could, it wouldn't stay within the low 70's for more than a few hours. It was just to hot to spend all day digging the required dirt (rock), not to mention I had no money what so ever to buy what I needed to build the geothermal reservoir. I would (and will) do it again in a hart beat as long as I can keep the nutrient temp down efficiently.

the air temperatures may still prevent blooming or proper fruit setting with these.

Fruit setting was not a problem for me, but as I mentioned you may get smaller berry's because of the high air temp. Also when there are many berry's on one stem. But as long as you are not expecting the largest berry's, and are willing to do some trial and error it's completely doable. That at least legitimates the effort

You can always go against all odds and "pull the plug" when it goes wrong again for the second or even third time, - but how smart is that at the end?!

Learning from the experience is invaluable for anything, without doing so you wont ever be able to fix the problems. Not even trying is the real problem. In the end that's the only way to learn, and in turn is invaluable for those who want to learn, rather than just being told what to do like a sheep.

[simon]

In the picture with the berrys are they first year berrys? And how long did it take from seedling to ripe.
Thanks
Simon