The setup was very simple. I used hydroton as my growing medium here.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Heinz Tomato - Hydroponics Style
Heinz initiated a deal with Bonnie Plants to exclusively distribute some of their heirloom ketchup tomatoes to Wal-Mart. I am unsure if this plant is a true heirloom, only time will tell. But what I do know is this plant looked like a good candidate for a deep-water culture hydroponics setup.
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So with hydroponics you have clay pellets that the roots grow around and water with nutrients is dripped over the exposed roots right? Or the roots just sit in water.
ReplyDeleteDoes the cost of the nutrients outway what it would cost to just go buy the tomatoes in the store?
This setup is known as Deep Water Culture (DWC). Here the majority of the roots just sit in the water. There is an aerator in the water that makes bubbles to increase humidity in the bucket to keep roots above the water from drying out.
ReplyDeleteTomatoes in the store vs homegrown? I believe mine are cheaper, and mine will always seem to taste better and never go to waste (we just pick them as they are needed).
As for the cost: to me its cheaper than traditional gardening, just a higher startup cost. I never buy potting soil or miracle grow to get great yields. I simply purchase nutrients and put a couple teaspoons in 4 gallons of water every couple weeks. As a result my bottles of nutrients last a long time. I also save big time on water consumption. What will make or break me here is the lighting. I will soon get LED grow lights to improve efficiency and on very nice days I can set my bucket outside and get free light!
So how did your farm do this year?
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