retrofititguiy
New Member
Greetings all;
On Feb 25th I planted a cucumber seed into a 2 inch wide forestry tube with potting soil for support, and set that in a 30 gal trash can (new). Using the Kratsky method. Today, April 26th, I will take my third harvest of 7 cukes, with yet a fourth picking coming should the young crop survive the coming heat. I set this up outside on my back porch in Galveston Tx and have to contend with salt in the air, heat and high humidity. Very surprised and happy at the results. Temps have been a little cooler this year ,mid 70 to now mid 80's, soon to be 90's. So far we have 6 pints of bread&butter pickles, and 2 pints of sweet relish, plus we deep fried several for snacks. This system has produced well, has been effortless, and just yesterday I added another 5 gals of nutrient as roots were enormous and using it up. I am supplying air with an aquarium pump 24/7. I did encounter a light case of powdery mildew a month ago when temp went from daytime 80's to nighttime 60's and sprayed with a natural herbicide, and no fruit damaged.
Nutrient is a 8-16-36 formula. Pretty sure my fourth upcoming crop will fry on the vine, but honestly for two people, we have enough with todays harvest, and wont do another crop until the hot summer wanes. Now have a tomato plant growing inside, using the same setup, only with small fan on it, and its growing well, so far. Hopefully, a 30 gal container will help mediate temp, plus air and fan to cool. This time, I made a 4 inch diameter forestry tube about 12 inches long, filled with potting soil, hoping to provide support and "burying" stem to produce more roots ( as you do in soil). Will it matter? Lets see.
Also bought 4 romaine lettuce plants from Bonnie Plants and put two in soil container, and two in Kratsky system, and after a week of "transplant shock" and light tip burn, all plants have recovered and we harvested lightly for a salad today. I supply air and fan to all Kratsky units, and believe it helps greatly.
Hydroponics is really the only way for us to grow anything with a measure of success. For those unfamiliar with Galveston, it's built upon dredging spoils from offshore pumping, meaning salt ridden oyster shell and debris for "soil", and requires buying good soil and amending it in raised beds. Costly ,heavy, and lots of work in the heat and humidity. Only success was planting tomato seedling outside in mulched bed in JANUARY. Got a half dozen cherry tomatoes. Glad to have this forum, Texas is another world.
On Feb 25th I planted a cucumber seed into a 2 inch wide forestry tube with potting soil for support, and set that in a 30 gal trash can (new). Using the Kratsky method. Today, April 26th, I will take my third harvest of 7 cukes, with yet a fourth picking coming should the young crop survive the coming heat. I set this up outside on my back porch in Galveston Tx and have to contend with salt in the air, heat and high humidity. Very surprised and happy at the results. Temps have been a little cooler this year ,mid 70 to now mid 80's, soon to be 90's. So far we have 6 pints of bread&butter pickles, and 2 pints of sweet relish, plus we deep fried several for snacks. This system has produced well, has been effortless, and just yesterday I added another 5 gals of nutrient as roots were enormous and using it up. I am supplying air with an aquarium pump 24/7. I did encounter a light case of powdery mildew a month ago when temp went from daytime 80's to nighttime 60's and sprayed with a natural herbicide, and no fruit damaged.
Nutrient is a 8-16-36 formula. Pretty sure my fourth upcoming crop will fry on the vine, but honestly for two people, we have enough with todays harvest, and wont do another crop until the hot summer wanes. Now have a tomato plant growing inside, using the same setup, only with small fan on it, and its growing well, so far. Hopefully, a 30 gal container will help mediate temp, plus air and fan to cool. This time, I made a 4 inch diameter forestry tube about 12 inches long, filled with potting soil, hoping to provide support and "burying" stem to produce more roots ( as you do in soil). Will it matter? Lets see.
Also bought 4 romaine lettuce plants from Bonnie Plants and put two in soil container, and two in Kratsky system, and after a week of "transplant shock" and light tip burn, all plants have recovered and we harvested lightly for a salad today. I supply air and fan to all Kratsky units, and believe it helps greatly.
Hydroponics is really the only way for us to grow anything with a measure of success. For those unfamiliar with Galveston, it's built upon dredging spoils from offshore pumping, meaning salt ridden oyster shell and debris for "soil", and requires buying good soil and amending it in raised beds. Costly ,heavy, and lots of work in the heat and humidity. Only success was planting tomato seedling outside in mulched bed in JANUARY. Got a half dozen cherry tomatoes. Glad to have this forum, Texas is another world.