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I am just about ready to put my first DWC into action growing lettuce. I am curious to know how far the water level should come up into the net pots? I will be using rockwool cubes and hydroton rocks.

I plan on starting off my lettuce plants in the rockwool cubes in the humidity dome on my heat table just as I would a jiffy pellet. Is this a standard practice, or is there a better way of doing it?

T.M.H.[/list]

One of my friends has a successful DWC system running and the water level comes up to about a little under HALF WAY of the net pots.

Hope that helps - I grow lettuce in a DWC/Top-drip hybrid.

Thanks Hydro. I greatly appreciate it. I will keep the level there then. I made me a nice little sight glass so I will have to see how it measures out.

T.M.H.

IME, it depends on the size of the plant. I always try to make sure the roots are in water, so at the least the level reaches the bottom of the net pot, higher if roots are not growing out the bottom. As the plant grows, I let the level decrease so part of the roots are not in water. I've had lettuce and a banana plant that has exposed roots for 3-5 inches in a typical five gallon bucket.

Mike

Good advice. I say half way because for the lettuces I have seen thats where they hang.

In my large net pots my lettuce does not go out the bottom when fully matured (its simpson) but I use a hybrid top drip so they don't have to go searching for nutrients.

In a full DWC they do so they may grow down alot.

Thanks everyone. I appreciate the advice. I would imagine this should be ok to add rainbow lights in this same grow? I plan on having four containers of lettuce and the middle container being the Chard. Here's my little grow tub.

[img]https://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d118/Scooter6512/IMG_20110527_145937.jpg[/img]

T.M.H.

Looks good. I would cover the space on the container around the net pot holes with reflective material (mylar?) to maximize the light your using and not waste anything.... but that's just me, not really necessary!

I have thought about covering the top as well, but the blue and the black is just so pretty together lol.

T.M.H.

Nice system T.M.H. You'll want to keep the rockwool moist for 2 weeks or so until the plants roots are growing out of the cube then just keep the roots submerged like Mike said. Lettuce is a hardy plant in hydro so you should have great success in that system. The one system of mine where the bottom of the rockwool cube is sitting in the water has preformed so well I'll be converting 2 other systems over to that method soon. My days of washing lettuce roots out of hydroton are numbered

Best of luck to ya

hydroguy

As soon as my horticubes arrive and I can grow several decent size lettuce and chard seedlings, I want to experiment with a raft system. Extremely cheap to build, especially going the ghetto route (making a container, lining it with thick plastic and using a sprinkler hose instead of air stones. I can get 4'x8'x2" slightly damaged styrofoam sheets for nothing and use a keyhole saw to cut out the holes for the net pots. I'm hoping to grow about 216 plants under 6 4-bulb shop lights this winter. If I can cut the DTM down to about 50 (by transplanting month-old seedlings) that would allow me to sell about 40 heads a week. I wouldn't get rich but might make enough over time to afford a couple of LED panels s they keep improving and the prices slowly decrease.

Mike

I really like that raft idea Mike. That would be really cool. I used black plastic paint that you would use to paint plastic outdoor furniture with. It seemed to work pretty well.

We just got back from a mini vacation. All my lettuce is up and just barley sticking their roots out if the bottom of the rockwoll. No Swiss Chard yet though. I am wondering if I may have a bad batch of seed. I planted this outdoors as well and only had two plants pop up.

I figured it was birds eating my seed, but now I am beginning to wonder. Everything is moist and I have bottom heat, just no seedlings lol. I will give it a few days and see what happens. I may end up with a hole not used in this first run if the Chard don't come up.

I have thought about transplanting from one cube to another, but they seem to be anchored pretty good and I don't want to damage the plants or the cubes.

T.M.H.

Just a picture of my little babies. The Chard must have heard my concern this morning as it is just barley poking its head out now.

[img]https://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d118/Scooter6512/IMG_20110530_140909.jpg[/img]

T.M.H.

This is day eleven I believe in the hydro tub. So far I think everything is looking ok. Between what the have consumed and what has evaporated, the water level is Dow a half a gallon but I am still well into the net pots. I may add some water back in once it gets to the five and a half gallon mark depending on how the roots are exiting the hydroton or not. Right now I have just one root that is hanging below its pot.

T.M.H.

[img]https://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d118/Scooter6512/IMG_20110610_083416.jpg[/img]

Here is a picture from today. I think another week or so and I can begin picking leaves off.

[img]https://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d118/Scooter6512/IMG_20110622_161112.jpg[/img]

What an awesome hobby / adventure. I am planning some peppers now. Just don't have them started yet.

T.M.H.