Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
FIGURE 3.1
Bibb lettuce at 6 × 6 inch spacing in Styrofoam board of a raft
culture system. (Courtesy of CuisinArt Golf Resort & Spa, Anguilla.)
similar to lettuce. Arugula can also be seeded almost touching each other
in rows 6 inches apart.
WATERING
You need to adjust your irrigation cycles as the plants grow. As their leaf
area increases and fruit formation is underway the plants will demand
more water, so shorten the irrigation cycles. That is, increase the number
of irrigation cycles per day. Fully mature tomato plants may use as much as
2 quarts of water a day. But this is also dependent upon temperatures and
light intensity. Under indoor growing, irrigate during the mature stage of
these vine crops at least once every 2 hours. Of course, this applies to soil-
less culture systems that use some substrate such as perlite, vermiculite,
sand, or gravel. Nutrient film technique (NFT) and water culture systems
have a constant flow 24 hours per day.
Install an automatic float valve system in the reservoir of the unit, so
that water may be added to the nutrient tank as the plants use it. This will
prevent a possible disaster of running out of solution if you are away for
several days. Use a standard float valve assembly similar to your toilet
reservoir. You can purchase complete units that are easily installed in any
pipe at most irrigation stores.
TEMPERATURES
Optimum temperature ranges differ for each crop. This, however, is not
possible for a small indoor unit. It is best to use a temperature regime
