Lettuce Begin



Classic Mesclun Mix
2 weeks

     After much forethought I finally decided the best way to go about my planting arrangements. My goal is to have enough in quantity and type of lettuce to give a good representation of my product. This way I can take samples to the local restaurant's when I go to do my market research. So I planted a tray of arugula, 1/2 of spinach, 1/2 rainbow chard, 2 trays of classic mesclun mix and a tray of cos romaine. Each tray is about 90 plants with germination rates taken into consideration. The plants are all  2 weeks old as of May 16th. The classic lettuce has grown large enough that it should be transplanted into the finishing table within the next week. The rest of the plants that wont fit into the finishing table will be transplanted outside into the garden. 

 

Arugula



Russian Kale

     I've decided the best way to do market research is to call and make an appointment with local chefs, to talk face to face. This way I can ask questions like; Do you currently incorporate any fresh, local, naturally raised produce in your menu? Approximately how many cases of lettuce a week are you currently buying?, Who are you buying those from?. Last year when I did this I was overwhelmed with how many chefs were interested. The majority of them asked to be faxed once a week with a list of what I had available that week. What I am really looking forward to is building relationships with the chef's so that in the future I can grow specialty items specifically  for them.



Mustard Greens



     Thus far, my hydroponics set-up has been self sustained with timers turning on the lights 18 hours of the day, and flooding my table 3 times a day. The only maintenance I do daily is check TDS (nutrients in the water) and pH (acidity/alkalinity). That being said I only had to ad nutrients 1 time, and that's when I added about 15 gallons of water. Since I am using all organic nutrients the pH seems to be keeping itself stable. If things keep going this well I may be adding another table before summers end. I currently have space for 4 more. Doing that will expedite my ultimate goal to financially sustain my household with lettuce/vegetable sales.



Pre-planting thoughts

Peas Shoot

So I have two days to come up with my planting strategy. I have decided that I will be growing baby lettuce mixes, with edible flowers, and shoots. The perfect trio for a mind blowing salad mix that the chefs will love! I will be growing about 250 lettuce plants per 4' x 4' table. I ordered my favorite spicy mustard mesclun mix from FedCo seed company. I grew this in the past and had great success selling it at the farmers markets.I will also plant a classic lettuce mix, spinach, and arugula.



 



Borage



Chive





  



My edible flowers will consist of nasturtiums, purple garlic chive cone flowers, and possibly some borage outside. Im thinking sunflower and pea shoots. I need to pick a third but haven't yet. I really need to focus on timing out the rotation so I can completely utilize my two tables. The plan is to have a weekly rotational harvest indoors and out. This way I can send out a weekly fax with what I have available. So tonight I will sit down and think numbers and space. Im sure I wont get this perfect right from the start. It will probably take at least a couple rotations to get the timing worked out, but at least there is a goal in mind.





Nasturtium







Building the hydroponic table

Growing in water is somewhat new to me. I am a soils girl at heart. However that being said, there are many advantages to hydroponics indoor growing. My yields will be more stable, I can control watering, light exposure and feeding with a timer, much easier to control and treat diseases and pest control is virtually non-existent. That stability, consistency and predictability will make it much easier to please customers.

I am starting out with two 4' X 4' flood tables which I made the stands for myself. I'm so proud. It felt amazing using the drill and saw. I used 1 1/2 inch PVC pipe with side outlet elbows for joints. I purchased L brackets to secure the elbows to the pipe for added security. My table height is 3' in order to allow room for my 100 gallon water reservoir. In total with flood trays and stand I have about $160. invested in each table. The trays were $90. each. Which, I'm sure could be found online for less. My lights are just normal fluorescent 4' two bulb fixtures. I am using 8 of these per table, with one cool and one warm bulb per fixture.