Changes for Next Year's Garden

Here are some notes on things we plan to change next year and some general obvservations about our garden.

• no red okra. they are more ornamental than edible. Too tough, not enough fruit.
• no Jetsonic tomatoes. These were "freebie" seeds we received in the mail. They appear to be determinate, although i am sure packaging says otherwise. they all got to about 24 inches and stopped growing. fruits are small and not many blooms. Boo.
• all tomatoes growing hydroponically next year will likely be patio's. we have some green zebras and other varieties. they are very heaving in foliage and outgrowing the hydro systems they are in. i am running out of room to stake them. the patio in the SWC has more fruit on it than any indeterminate plant we have so far.
• no cherry tomatoes. they are too small to enjoy. the yellow pear and tom toms are heartier and better in salads and for small snacks. do not want to waste garden real estate on tomatoes the size of raisins.
• likely will plant cherokee purple and georgia streaks in all SWC and in the regular garden next year. these are producing well with large fruit and healthy vines. contrary to all southern gardeners, we only planted one of the "better boy" (gasp!) this year. it is in the homemade topsy turvy.
• hydroponic eggplant is growing so much better than in soil garden. i had an extra plant and put in the autopot so it would not go to waste. the foliage and size are triple that of the soil counterpart.

With respect to hydroponics:

• we are using or have used the following systems

1. autopot
2. drip system using grodan
3. deep water culture with air circulation
4. waterfarm
5. wick method using coco and perlite

here is what we have noticed....

• the autopot has the most consistent results. good vegetative growth. the smart valve works well. we built our own autopot from rubbermaid trays and pickle buckets as a reservoir.
• the waterfarm is slow to start, but has a nice size tomato in it now. uses a lot of nutrient. at this point, almost every 3 days, it runs out.
• the DWC seems to be the most self reliant and easy to use. the nutrient has never run dry. the roots drop down into the nutrient. the gap between the nutrient and the top of the roots provides oxygen uptake. there is always some root mass "underwater". i top it off every few days.
• the perlite/coco mix with wick system works well too. this has a medusa pepper in a grobal system. i like this method
• the drip system is the most work. i will not create another. it uses a butt load of nutrient. the drip lines clog easily. they pop out of the little stakes. the plants are growing well. almost too well. the tomato is so big, it is staked and tied and staked so more. as a result, it drinks a lot of nutrient. takes up a lot of space, the pump had to be put in a net bag to prevent the roots from clogging the uptake. must keep nutrient at a certain level or the pump will run dry.