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livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] Hydroponics & Soil Organisms

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Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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  • From: Diane Kann <dianek59@gmail.com>
  • To: Healthy soil and sustainable growing <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Hydroponics & Soil Organisms
  • Date: Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:22:25 -0400

We grow just about everything using hydro  or aquaponics.  Lettuce, spinach, and most greens are naturals for water systems, but most plants can be grown very well, depending on how they are kept.  A big advantage of hydroponics or aquaponics is that we can completely control how much of which nutrients a plant is offered and also the amount of water it receives.  Some plants do best with less nutrient, others more.  Some need a lot of water, others less.  Tomatoes, for instance, are heavy feeders and fruit best when water levels are more consistant.  We can monitor all of that and ensure best conditions.  By using separate timers, we can water our tomatoes more than our radishes.  Everyone gets ideal levels.  Our soil here in Florida needs a great deal of work to grow things well.  Our pastures are good, but we would need to irrigate and heavily fertilize for vegetables.  Yes, we are able to grow more product in a smaller space (though that is not a huge benefit for us as we have 50 acres, except that we can use less shade cloth as needed). 
Our big benefits come in the perfection of the product--our customers come to us because our product does have superior nutrition and flavor.  That comes with careful monitoring of the systems, of course and it is very possible to water or feed at less or more than optimal amounts (water logged fruit and veggies are just not that flavorful!!).  Soil grown in more forgiving in some of this, as it allows for more drainage and plants naturally pull in the nutrients they need (assuming they are there and assuming that the pH levels are in proper range, etc)  But properly done, hydoponics is an important growing system that has been proven to be even more beneficial in depleted areas. 
As for organic, there are organic fertilizers that some of us use and plenty of organic pesticide options.  We maintain organic standards, in additon to being hydroponic.  It is actually easier in some ways--since our plants are out of the soil, we avoid most soil born pests and disease.  Also, we can handpick the few windblown weeds that enter the system.  The set up cost is high for most types of systems and it can be more work than growing in the ground.  But we see a greater yield and a longer growing season than ground methods.
Is hydroponics for everyone?  Probably not.  But it can be at least as good as ground growing and in some areas, is far superior.

Diane K
very THANKFUL homeschool Mom to 9 blessings in
Christmas, FL

On Thu, Aug 13, 2009 at 1:18 PM, Tradingpost <tradingpost@lobo.net> wrote:

But are you growing aquatic plants that naturally grow in water? I've always wondered why people try to grow soil plants in water when the produce doesn't taste right or have the same nutritional value. And how the downside can justify all the added expense of hydroponics. If you're looking for a genuine space saving system of growing, I have it.

paul tradingpost@lobo.net


*********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********

On 8/13/2009 at 5:30 AM Diane Kann wrote:

>We do mostly hydroponics using a fish based fertilizer but are steadily
>moving toward more aquaponics where living fish feed the plants and the
>plants cleanse the water for the fish.  A good aquaponics system can be a
>complete eco-system.  For a school project, I might lean more toward the
>aquaponics model.  Fish can be grown for food (tilapia are popular) or
>simply for nutrient production (some use goldfish or koi for straight
>production)
>
>Diane K
>very THANKFUL homeschool Mom to 9 blessings in
>Christmas, FL
>http://hocfarms.com
>
>On Tue, Aug 11, 2009 at 9:00 AM, Marty Kraft <martyk@allspecies.org> wrote:
>
>> I have been helping a school start a no-till organic garden. Now they
>> are applying a for a grant doing hydroponics. Are there hydroponic
>> systems that use various beneficial microorganisms to feed the
>> plants? I must admit to some prejudice about avoiding soil to produce
>> plants but have a small window of open mindedness on the subject. I
>> know most are busy but experience or references i would be appreciated.
>>
>> Marty Kraft
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>
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