Hydroponic Vegetable Production in Florida - Manatee County ...

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Hydroponic Vegetable Production in Florida 4Rockwool production techniques are similar toperlite lay-flat bags, with drip irrigation through therockwool slabs, two rows draining to a centralcollection trough, and gravity feeding of the effluentto a collection tank. The solution can be sterilized andre-circulated or flow through and used for anotherpurpose, such as providing water and nutrients for anadjacent float system.Vertical SystemsVertical hydroponic systems produce crops inupright or vertical rows, a method that cansignificantly increase plant populations. The mostcommon vertical systems include stacked pots(Figure 6), stacked and sloped PVC pipes, andhanging vertical bags. The potential for increasedyield in vertical systems is sometimes offset by thenon-uniformity of product due to competition forlight and space.The vertical systems are popular for producingstrawberries, leafy greens, edible flowers andfresh-cut herbs. More recently, vertical-productiontechniques have also been developed for tomato.Figure 5. Floating raft hydroponic systems in Sanford, FL,2007.Floating Raft SystemsFloating raft hydroponic systems and verticalsystems (see below) are popular, new hydroponicsystems that were not even reported in 1991. Thefloating systems utilize the floating-raft or matsystem, in which Styrofoam rafts with holes drilled inthem are floated on nutrient-rich water (Sweat et al.,2003). This system works well with short-season,shallow-rooted crops -- such as lettuce, basil, andwatercress, which grow well under high-moistureconditions in the root zone. High-tech versions of thissystem can be expensive to build and operate, butlow-tech versions have been tested and are in use onsmall farms in Florida (Figure 5).Figure 6. Verti-Gro ® stacked pots (A) planted withnasturtium (B) in a vertical hydroponic system in Live Oak,FL, 2001.Web sites of some currently available verticalsystems are identified below.Hydro-Stacker -- http://www.hydrostacker.com/Green Tower --http://www.greenworldpath.com/hydroponiccontainers-accessories/green-tower-gro/prod_92.htmlTower Garden --http://www.futuregrowing.com/Towergarden.htmVerti-Gro -- http://vertigro.com/Media-filled TroughThe media-filled trough is a hydroponic systemgaining in popularity due to the potential for addingmedia that can be certified organic (Figure 7). These
Hydroponic Vegetable Production in Florida 5growing systems use different liner materials toproduce a trough that will hold a media selected bythe grower. A drip system runs the length of thetrough, uniformly providing water.In the case of organically certified systems, thenutrients are included with the media. In solelyhydroponic systems, soluble synthetic fertilizers areinjected into the irrigation line.Once concentrated nutrients are mixed in thetanks, the mix is injected directly into the water linethat goes to the drip system. Complete directions andrecipes for the premix and individual ingredientmethod are available for Florida conditions(Hochmuth and Hochmuth, 2008). (See NutrientSolution Formulation for Hydroponic -- Perlite,Rockwool, NFT -- Tomatoes in Florida,.http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/CV216.)Small hydroponic units, which dont requirelarge volumes of solution, can mix all the fertilizerdirectly into a mini-bulk tank and use a sump pump toroute the solution to the plants.Seasonal Limitations to GreenhouseHydroponic Production in FloridaWhile this publication generally focuses oninformation for greenhouse hydroponic productionsystems and crops, growing vegetables ingreenhouses during the summer months in Floridacan be problematic due to heat, humidity and pestbuildup that can occur. Additionally, prices forvegetables are usually low during the summertime.Figure 7. These photos -- taken in a greenhouse inMcAlpin, FL, in 2006 -- picture (A) a crop of mixed herbs forfresh-cut, grown in an open trough filled with a peat-basedmix and (B) a chives crop in perlite bags in a trough.Fertilizer Stock TanksIn most hydroponic production systems, at leasttwo fertilizer stock tanks are needed. One tankcontains calcium nitrate, and the other contains a“premix” of a complete package of nutrientswithout calcium. Large growers often choose to mixtheir own fertilizer batches with individualingredients to reduce cost.Figure 8. A tomato crop under a polypropylene frost coveroutdoors in December, 2008, in Live Oak, FL.For these reasons, most hydroponic growers inFlorida spend the hottest summer months cleaning upthe old crop, sanitizing, and preparing for the newcrop. If all plant material is removed from thegreenhouse for a month or two, any remaining pestsare likely to starve for lack of food, and the growercan then start with a clean house for the fall crop.
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