In the fall harvest season, it is quite common to leave someone’s house loaded down with fresh vegetables. These are often extras from the personal garden and shows off their dedication to growing something. The most common items are things like tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, corn and beans which are rather easy to grow. However, when you get into the more exotic fruits and vegetables, they become increasingly rare, especially when the plant isn’t well adjusted to the climate.
Dennis has been on a quest to grow some special watermelons, which can be done in this climate but, is rather difficult due to the rather short growing season and unpredictable weather. This is what prompted him to experiment with hydroponics and the promise of tuning the system to get a favorable result.
The system is a traditional Dutch Bucket system using pearlite as a growing medium. Hydroponic nutrient is supplied using the Masterblend formula and a large 50 gallon storage tote is used to store the solution while a submersible pond pump is used to feed the plants. A return drain system will capture the excess water and allow the system to become oxygenated and ensure the plants are always getting the same amount of nutrient solution.
So far, the system has been working extremely well with two years of bountiful harvests and an amazing story to tell.
Related Links
Growing Hydroponic Watermelons in a Dutch Bucket System - YT
Episode 172 featured music:
Little People - Start Shootin' (http://www.littlepeoplemusic.com/)
