Arugula Flood and Drain Table

Unfortunately my arugula didn't do as well as I had hoped with the floating styrofoam ebb and flow system. So I'm trying something different this time around. I filled one 4x4 flood table with approximately 60 liters of expanded clay pellets. I adjusted the water level so that I could just sprinkle the seeds over the top so they would get wet but not float. You can see how already, at day 4, the seeds have grown tiny roots that are attached to the porous lava rock.

Day 4

The arugula is getting 12 hours of light per day from a 1000 watt metal halide grow light. The light is about 3' above the plants. They are only a little over a week old today and are growing nicely. I will have to thin them out when they get a bit larger. Arugula sprouts taste amazing so I will just add them to dinner.

Vertical growing!

The beginning of my A frames, prior to the addition of top horizontal 1x2 braces

I began building this on a very limited budget. So although I could have made a fancier version, I opted for the practical one. The boards are joined at the top using hinges. This will allow the table to be collapsed and moved if necessary. It also made it much easier to cut and measure without worrying about angles and trigonometry. I then cut and attached 6 inch 2x2's to support the nft channels.

NFT Channels on the A-Frame

Each NFT channel is 10' long and will grow 15 plants. I purchased the channels, end caps, and lids from Crop King for around $35. each. Although it was a costly upfront cost, I should be able to use them for at least 30 years. They will also transfer nicely into a commercial greenhouse.

The almost complete system. I need to hang more lights on the left side.

Currently, I am running 2 400 watt metal halide grow lights and 4 of the 4' fluorescent fixtures with one warm bulb and one cool bulb each. I still need to add the fluorescent fixtures to the left side because the top two rows were not getting enough light. I am very pleased that the bottom row was able to grow really beautiful basil plants. Which I used to make fifteen quarts of spaghetti sauce, and the most delicious blueberry basil lemonade. I have to say I also grow a pretty amazing head of lettuce too!