Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
FIGURE 7.21
Bok choy 50 days from sowing, almost ready to harvest. (Courtesy
of CuisinArt Golf Resort & Spa, Anguilla.)
beets, chard, strawberries, herbs, basil, peppers, tomatoes, and local crops
of their normal diet are grown (Figure 7.22). In addition, they grow grasses
as fodder for their animals (Figure 7.23).
They also use simple systems of column culture with plastic pipes or
polyethylene sacks containing a mixture of rice hulls and coco coir. A
container with the nutrient solution is attached to the top of the sack or
column where it percolates slowly into it. The drainage runs into a col-
lection pan at the bottom so that the solution may be poured back into the
container at the top for use again. Strawberries are popular in this system.
You can construct a simple raft culture system from lumber, polyethylene,
and Styrofoam. Many poor communities in Latin America construct such
units to grow lettuce, basil, herbs, chard, spinach, and other leafy crops
(Figure 7.24). Cut a 4 × 8 foot Styrofoam sheet in half to get exactly 4 ×
4 feet. Cut sixty-four ¾-inch diameter holes at 6 × 6 inch centers with a
hole saw for the plant sites. The Styrofoam panel supports the plants and
insulates the solution below in the reservoir from light and heat. Make a
wooden or brick frame at least 1-inch wider in the inside dimensions (49
