I decided to do something about our junk closet downstairs.
In hindsight would I have changed things about the design? Yes.
Is it the most economical set up? No.
I did have a lot of fun researching and building.
One system is for strawberries. The other is for leafy greens. Currently bok choy and butter lettuce.
The leafy green system seems to be doing well. I can germinate seeds on the bottom shelf and transition them to the middle and top as needed.
I have strawberry questions. The plants have just started fruiting. Well, most of them. The bottom shelf hasn't had a single flower on any plant. What gives?
The first strawberries are smaller than I had hoped. Is it just because they are the plant's first flush? Nutrients? Pollination? I try to hand pollinate often.
Anyhoo, I just wanted to share this. Critique away. I'm glad to have found this subreddit and the info on here.
by TheRussianGuyovich
2 Comments
Neat! Looks like you have good progress overall. I also grow in a similar setup but mine is hooked up to a raspberry pi which pumps solution to each tray until full and then drains back to the reservoir, on schedule. Flood and drain style.
I assume you pump solution to the top tray and let it overflow all the way down to through the trays and back into the reservoir? And it looks like you have airlines running to the trays. Sort of a DWC mixed with NFT idea.
Do you have any safeguards against flooding? With a setup such as this I’m guessing the total volume of water in the trays is greater than the volume of the reservoir. What happens if the pump stops working? If so, gravity is going to drain all your fluid to the reservoir and it would overflow. Have you accounted for this?
I like those containers and plant site covers. The whole setup is pretty neat. Maybe do a walk through so others could replicate?
Nice, I like it! Leafy greens are a great way to start! Strawberries need more light and the light schedule is more important. So that’s probably the main issue you might be able to move the lights closer. Are you using flowering nutrients?