Hydroponics

[ken]

Back at seasons's start (as Newsweek might have phrased it, I said I would be growing my tomatoes and peppers hydroponically this year, having moved house and no longer having room for a greenhouse. Someone kindly asked me to report back on how I've got on. The short answer is, very well.
I sowed the seed in early March, as I normally would. The equipment I used was from Greenhouse Sensation. I used the bigger unit they make to grow 5 tomato plants (2 Gardeners Delight, 2 Gigante Liscio, 1 Olivade), and the smaller version to grow 3 peppers, Bell Boy.
Such problems as I had were either my own fault, or to do with the location of the conservatory, which is on the west(ish) side of the house and therefore gets most sun after midday. Because of this, one of the GDtomatoes was in a bit too much shade, and its fruit were on the small side. Otherwise, everything grew very strongly and cropped very well. I used to have a target of first GD tomato by 1st July; this year we had tomatoes from all three varieties ahead of that date. Again, because of growing in the conservatory, I had to stop most of the tomato plants when they reached the roof, i.e. after about eight trusses. I was able to tie in Olivade to a supporting bar, however, and it has gone on to about 12 trusses. And the Gigante Liscio actually doubled over because of the fruit weight, so they've had more than eight trusses, too.
One disaster, again my fault. We got about 20 really good ripe fruit from the 3 pepper plants, but the plants then got badly infected with aphids before I noticed, and I think that destroyed later flowers. I had to take those plants out befoe the end of August.
Next year I'll got for something similar. I might replace the 2 GD with 2 more Olivade, and supplement with some early-fruiting Latah in pots outside. But overall, we've been very pleased.

[Nature's Babe]

I'm pleased it worked out well for you Ken. I haven't tried Latah, what are they like?

[ken]

Hi again, NB. Early! Latah is a bush tomato bred for parts of the US which have a very short growing season. It looks quite straggly with skinny leaves because it puts all its effort into fruiting. The tomatoes are cherry style - very similar in size to Gardeners Delight, and a good flavour which I would describe as more savoury than Gardeners Delight. We grew it for several years at our old house as an outdoor tomato. Started it off at the same time as the greenhouse plants, and yet regularly picked fruit from Latah before the first were ready in the greenhouse. We get the seeds from The Real Seed Company which, if you haven't come across, has a philosophy which I think you will approve of...

[pongeroon]

We grow Latah too. Personally I don't think the flavour is that good, but still better than shop bought toms, and they are well worth growing in order to have a longer tomato season. They are very early. I like Real Seeds, and get a most of our seeds from them.

[ken]

I could have added, because Latah fruits so early, it is largely finished by the time blight strikes, which is an advantage.

[Nature's Babe]

Yes, real seeds always seem to give good value. Maybe we should try to get a latah /gardeners delight cross.

[ken]

My memory's letting me down a bit here, but I think Real Seeds by chance got a cordon version of Latah. They were making the seeds available with the suggestion that gardeners saved the seed, selecting the plant they liked best each time, until eventually they would have their own, stable seed line.

[MikA]

Ken

can you give more details of the hydroponic system you use. I have had problems with compost and watering in this first year of my greenhouse and would love to use something more reliable next year.

[ken]

Hi MikA
As I said originally, the equipment came from Greenhouse Sensation, who have a website at www.greenhousesensation.co.uk. There are three versions - one for 5 plants and one for 3 (both of which need an electricity supply), plus a solar-powered version which can stand outside. The units don't use much electricity - it's just to power a small pump and water heater (to keep the water at approximately room temperature) such as you might use in a fish tank. The company provides two types of soluble food, an 'A' and a 'B' (this seems to be common to hydroponic systems): to which you add water to make concentrated solutions. Then, whenever you top up with water, you add the required amount of 'A' and 'B'. You then have to test the water to make sure the pH level is correct, adding a small amount of acid if it needs adjusting. It made me feel a bit like a chemist rather than a gardener, but really it is quite straightforward, and the company has a really helpful customer service section if you have any queries. Hydroponics has worked well for me, but if what I've said has put you off I'd still say take a look at their catalogue because they have other possible solutions that migh appeal, including self-watering pots fed from a 34 litre (7 gallons?) reservoir.

[MikA]

Thanks Ken,

I have looked at the website and I would need the solar version as I have no power in my small greenhouse.
You say that you just top up but the web site says about the Hydrogrow NFT - "The planter reservoir is completely emptied and refilled every 3 or 4 weeks, so no elements are ever too depleted or too concentrated."

Is this what you meant?

[ken]

Hi again. Elaborating a little bit, the tank has a top marker and a bottom marker, and you are supposed to keep the water-and-feed between the two. I queried it with the company because it would be possible to top it up a little every day, or let the level fall to the bottom marker and then give it a big fill. They said it was a matter of personal choice, and didn't matter. I preferred to let the level go down to the bottom marker before topping up, which meant adding 25-30 litres. I tried once to empty the tank but it wasn't very successful and I reasoned that as I let the water get very low fairly regularly, totally emptying it probably wasn't essential. I didn't encounter any problems that could be attributed to that. In fact, I think the system is pretty forgiving. For example, more than once I switched off the power while I tested the acidity, and then forgot to switch it back on again (once overnight), and there were no ill effects.

[MikA]

Thanks again Ken, I'll definitely try this next year. Maybe family will get me one for Christmas.

[ken]

Hi MikA. I had a further thought after posting my reply yesterday. Give Greenhouse Sensation a call just to check that the solar version is suitable for your needs - they are really very friendly and helpful. The reason I suggest calling them is that the catgalogue pic of their solar system has only one plant in it, albeit a very large perennial chillie. So it may be a question of how many plant you want to grow, and how many will fit in their unit....

[MikA]

Ken,

gave them a ring and I was assured they will take 3 tomatoes even though only 44 * 55 cms.
I thought I would post a photo to show an extreme of the problems I have had with water and composts this year which I have asked about earlier in the year and is part of the reason to go for hydroponics.

This photo is the pot I grew a gardener's delight in.
A beautiful mat of moss complete with a couple of sedges I think.

moss.jpg (158.91 KiB) Viewed 5041 times

[ken]

Does look a bit extreme, MikA! Am I right in thinking that all the floor of your greenhouse is paved? If you have soil borders, it is usually reckoned that you can grow tomatoes directly in the soil for about three years before disease problems start to build up. At our previous house, where we had a greenhouse, I grew my tomatoes in large pots, much as you have done. I used a mix of John Innes No. 3 and garden compost (or possibly coir fibre if I didn't have enough compost - I just needed something to lighten the John Innes a bit). The pots stood in plastic saucers. I watered from the top, and if the water began to trickle from the bottom, I reckoned that was enough. If there was water standing in the saucers, I had to tip it out, otherwise the roots got damaged. Overall, it worked well. In fact, if I had a problem, it was the opposite of yours. I found that plum tomatoes (Olivade, Red Dobaro) needed more water than Gardeners Delight, and suffered from blossom end rot if they didn't get it. I overcame that by incorporating water storing gel in the compost.