Transistioning seedlings to the GH

[PureHarvest]

Ive seen a ton of MHP's videos and built a Kratky table like he has 3 years ago.
I gave it to my dad after the first year I used it because I moved and temporarily did not have room. I need to get it back because he did not use it after the first go-round.
I had good luck with it growing lettuce in the winter in an unheated garage. I put a 2-tube 4' flourescent fixture right over top each row of lettuce.
Your nutrients are what I use now for my tomatoes, but I have the chemgro brand of 4-18-38.

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[clkeiper]

nice. I keep looking at it and thinking I really need to do this for Fall growing in my greenhouses. I just haven't decided WHAT am I going to Do with the raft while I need the greenhouse for bedding plants.

[PureHarvest]

Set it outside under a tree for the eventual shade and grow a summer crop of lettuce (a Batavia type).

[FourOaks]

Pure Harvest - that pic with the roots.. I have a similar one with either a tomato plant or maybe a cucumber. Don't recall which. If I can find it, ill put it on here. Kratky may be stone age compared to using air stones, pumps, ph meters, etc. but it works.

Meanwhile, back at the greenhouse, Pepper seedlings made it out from under the lights and out to the great out doors. By pure luck my greenhouse runs east, west. Being a gothic shape it creates a natural shady spot on the North side. Also the cover itself shades the plants a bit, its less translucent then your standard greenhouse film. Hardening off is a thing of the past. Sure the plants may look a little sad for a day, but they do perk up. Never have much trouble with sun burn or similar stress. Just water the plants well, and voila.

[PureHarvest]

I was thinking Kratky for lettuce, in which case you'd have to move it outside b/c of the heat.

[PureHarvest]

Four Oaks, do you live in the country or has your land been farmed before?
Just wondering, because you might be able to apply for an NRCS high tunnel grant.
You can get an awesome tunnel for free if you can get a farm and tract number assigned to your land via FSA (Farm Service Agency) of the USDA.

[FourOaks]

Originally Posted by PureHarvest

Four Oaks, do you live in the country or has your land been farmed before?
Just wondering, because you might be able to apply for an NRCS high tunnel grant.
You can get an awesome tunnel for free if you can get a farm and tract number assigned to your land via FSA (Farm Service Agency) of the USDA.

Can't say I have ever thought about it for myself. By my standards, its not out in the country. But with that being said, our local Town Hall is open 3 days per week. So... that should tell you something.

As far as "has it been farmed", thats a tough question. At one time yeah, probably 100 years ago. Just last summer we had it timbered and had some enormous trees on the property. But proving it was farmed is probably a tall order.

I might still look into it.

Moving on, I found last years Kratky photos. I thought I had a better picture of the roots but I guess not. Enjoy

[Uncle Doss]

very nice. I would love to see more pictures and details

[PureHarvest]

Nice pics!

Do a search in your county to find out where the USDA FSA office is.
See if you are in their mapping system with a Farm and Tract number.
Ask them if they can add you if not. It is free to do.
Tell them you are a beginning farmer and what to get set up with them.
Once they add you, you are a farm in USDA NRCS's eyes.
Now you can apply for NRCS EQIP programs and get a high tunnel.
The beginning farmer rate here is 3.50 per sqft, with the cap on that around $7,300. That buys a pretty nice high tunnel.
There is paperwork and a lot of time that goes by to go through the process, but if you are not in a hurry, it's not too hard.
Basically, (in my area) apply by October this year, get paperwork submitted (only a few easy documents) by December, we rank applications for priority in March (beginning farmers rank higher. We rank because there are more applicants than money), sign a contract in April, then you have one year to begin construction. When you complete construction they pay you.

[FourOaks]

Originally Posted by Uncle Doss

very nice. I would love to see more pictures and details

Well, thats about all the pics I have. Let me try to fill in the blanks. You need a 5 gallon bucket with lid at a minimum. Drill a hole in the lid that fits a net cup. The seedling goes into the net cup. Cucumbers, I just put the seed directly into the cup instead of transplanting. Put enough fertilizer into the 5 gallon bucket to come up to the net cup.

Ill try to take some pictures later today.

Pure Harvest - Thanks for the info. Ill be looking into this, probably in the fall, when time frees up.

[FourOaks]

For anyone interested:

http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/hawaii/d...nic_method.pdf

This was a not so technical paper by Dr. Kratky. For Tomatoes and Cucumbers you can skip to page 5. If you google kratky, you will get all sorts of results. Its funny that so many folks, and hydro companies will tell you that Kratky isnt for anything BUT lettuce. The link I provided, and my pics as you saw prove otherwise.

[Uncle Doss]

4oaks, sorry, maybe I worded that wrong. I know what Kratky method is, I know the basics of hydroponics in 3 or 4 variations.
by details, I was asking how productive, growth rates, flavors, sizes, etc of everything you produced.

[pecker88]

Originally Posted by FourOaks

For anyone interested:

http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/hawaii/d...nic_method.pdf

This was a not so technical paper by Dr. Kratky. For Tomatoes and Cucumbers you can skip to page 5. If you google kratky, you will get all sorts of results. Its funny that so many folks, and hydro companies will tell you that Kratky isnt for anything BUT lettuce. The link I provided, and my pics as you saw prove otherwise.

I agree. I have 2 bush beefsteak tomatoes in full strength hydro solution (Kratky method) they are about 3 months old and HUGE. My basement ceiling is 9 ft and my 400w HPS lights are cranked to the top and still burning the plants!

I prob. add about 2 gal of solution every week; I have never changed the water or looked inside. I would bet the bucket is almost completely full of roots.

[FourOaks]

Originally Posted by Uncle Doss

4oaks, sorry, maybe I worded that wrong. I know what Kratky method is, I know the basics of hydroponics in 3 or 4 variations.
by details, I was asking how productive, growth rates, flavors, sizes, etc of everything you produced.

My sincerest apologies, I just assumed there was confusion. We know what happens when we assume.

Moving right along. I really can't provide accurate info. for what you ask. I didn't keep track. I do recall my tomato crop was dimished due to Horn Worm. My greenhouse was infested so that certainly didn't help. I plan to treat the plants this year.

Growth rate seemed to be on par with the out door plants. I didn't take measurements, but just eyeballing, all things seemed equal.

Flavors, same as outdoor plants.

For reference I grew - Better Boy, Roma, Rio Grande, Beef Steak, and one other that seems to elude me.

The Cucumbers I grew were Sumter. Or it might be Sumpter. Limited production due to lack of pollinators. This year I want to switch to Sweet Success. But I will say that the cucumbers were crisp and absolutley NO signs of bitterness. I have always had issues with cucumbers in the past when grown in soil.

Peppers were probably the most varied. Banana and Hot Wax type did "ok". Bell peppers (specifically Keystone - which I have good luck with) did very poor. Habaneros were cranking out like it was no ones business.

One of the overwhelming issues with greenhouse growing, as im sure you understand, is heat and pollinators. Over coming those two issues will help with success.

Back to Kratky for just a moment. I did make a modification to the basic bucket. One of the biggest problems is determing just how much, and how often to refill the bucket, assuming you need to refill. My solution was an over flow hole about have way up the bucket. I drilled a hole, inserted a gasket and a small barbed elbow. To the elbow I attached clear hose. In the beginning the hose points upward extending to the lid. This is helpful because you can see how much solution is in the bucket. Once the solution is no longer visible in the tube, I rotated the tube downwards. When I would refill the the bucket, it would just overflow. No worries about drowning the plant.

Originally Posted by pecker88

I agree. I have 2 bush beefsteak tomatoes in full strength hydro solution (Kratky method) they are about 3 months old and HUGE. My basement ceiling is 9 ft and my 400w HPS lights are cranked to the top and still burning the plants!

I prob. add about 2 gal of solution every week; I have never changed the water or looked inside. I would bet the bucket is almost completely full of roots.

Have you considered topping the maters?

[Uncle Doss]

Thank you.
I am hoping that by mid to late spring I will have a dutch bucket hydro system in place for tomatoes and peppers. Starting a kratky bed next weekend or so for lettuce. I am starting the seeds this weekend, and hoping to be able to transplant them into the net pots next weekend.