Hydroponics 2010 RIP

Yesterday we took down the float system and the garden. It only took a little more than an hour to pick up all the dried stalks of corn and root up the dwindling tomato plants. The hydroponics float system took even less time since you just dumped the nutrient and then took the plants, although there is always a tangle of roots, and pulled them out and put them in the trash cans.

We scavenged some green tomatoes and some last minute ripe ones and got about ten pounds in that category. The total summation for the season will have to wait a while until I have a few minutes to go over all the records.

SUCCESS

Overall this float system was a big success. It grew a lot of tomatoes, more than the garden despite having fewer plants. The support system was a disaster but tomatoes grow anyway so it wasn't all that big of a disaster. Next time we put out a float system we'll fix a better support design. I've already got one in mind. I don't know if we'll do a hydroponics system next Summer. The better half says she has plans and you fellows know what that means.

A Little Catch Up Ball ...

A friend of mine sent me a very nice email saying that he was worried about me since there had been no update on the gardens since September 12th. My only excuse is that I've been very busy. However in the interim I've topped off the system at least 3 times putting in two cups of concentrate twice and one and a half cups just today when I topped it off. I may have missed a topoff here since that would be 9 days (but that sounds about right, an average of 3 days between topping off).

I've also been taking a large number of tomatoes off both the garden and the float system every couple of days. The counter never gets empty, just more and more tomatoes ... I'm getting really tomatoed out since Jessica has abandoned eating them, the challenge is all mine even though I've given some to the neighbors.

As I take them I keep a record, weighing each tomato. But I'm way behind in posting the data. I used to just post it to a spread sheet (I should go back to that). But I'll get around to catching up in a few days.

Pictures and Such ...

Well here the counter is covered with tomatoes. I'm eating them as fast as I can and they are still rolling in even it the density is a bit slower than in the past. Probably only another few weeks of tomato harvesting left.

This is what the garden looks like. You can see that it has a lot of tomatoes still coming. There are something like fourteen tomato plants in the garden and frankly they've been prolific but not as nice as the hydroponics tomatoes. For some reason a lot of garden tomatoes seem to be a little hollow. I'm guessing it is some kind of deficiency. They also have not tended to turn red as uniformly as as the float system tomatoes.

Here are two views of the float system. In the first you can see the floats and the pool and get the picture of how they just sort of fell over and were all skewed to one side by the rains and wind. I really think the system has been terrific, but it certainly doesn't look like much right now. I'm still taking a lot of tomatoes off it but you have to hunt them up by picking through the leaves.

Topped Off and Ratty ...

Well I've taken a ton more tomatoes off the garden and the float system. Today I topped it off again driving it down to CF=12 and adding two cups of concentrate to bring it up theoretically to 24. Have not checked however. I really have to update the harvest statistics and put up pictures. Both systems are starting to look a little ratty. It's the end of the season or getting close to it. The float system supports pushed over so the plants are mostly on the ground.

We even got a volunteer out in the front of the house and I picked five little tomatoes off that fellow this afternoon. They are small Dona type tomatoes but they looked good even though it's been completely neglected. I'll try to remember to take pictures soon so that what a ratty system looks like can be seen. I've really been neglecting the garden system too. So the result has been that the tomatoes from the float system have tended to be better since the garden has received no fertilizer and no watering but natural rain of late.

Catching Up

I've been a little slow in updating the page the past few days. So rather than bore you with all the individual data I'll just update the numbers and totals from August 23rd to August 31st.
So the total harvest between the Garden and the Float system has been 709 3/4 ounces for a total of 44.36 pounds of tomatoes. Pretty good and there are many more to come.

Both the Garden and the Float system are looking a bit ratty with the 95+ degree days. I've refreshed the float system by topping it off with water and adding a cup and a half of nutrient concentrate on the 29th and again today the 31st. I probably did another one but didn't record it.

HARVEST 2010
Totals: G: 339.75 ounces; F: 370 ounces.
8-23-8-31 G: Atkinson/AL 9 at 52 1/4 for a total of 21 at 121 1/2.
8-23-8-31 G: Dona 33 at 104 3/4 for a total of 70 at 218 1/4
8-23-8-31 F: Atkinson/AL 9 at 54 3/4 for a total of 27 at 163
8-23-8-31 F: Dona 36 at 104 3/8 for a total of 86 at 207
8/22 G: 3 Atkinson/AL 5, 5, 6 5/8 for 12 at 69 1/4
8/22 G: 14 Dona 1 3/4, 2, 2 1/2, 2 5/8, 2 3/4, 2 7/8, 3, 3 1/8, 3 1/8, 3 1/8, 3 5/8, 4 3/4, 4 3/4, 4 7/8 for a weight of 44 7/8 and a total then of 37 at 113 1/2 ounces.
8/22 F: 4 Atkinson/AL 5, 5 1/8, 5 1/4, 8 for a total of 18 at 108 1/4 ounces
8/22 F: 14 Dona 3/4, 7/8, 1 1/4, 1 1/4, 1 3/8, 1 3/8, 2, 2, 2 1/2, 2 3/4, 3, 3 1/4, 3 3/8, 3 3/8 for a total of 29 1/8 ounces for a total of 50 at 102 5/8 ounces.

Tomatoes Keep Coming

Yesterday I decided to replenish the nutrient so I connected a little hose to the circulation pump and pumped about four buckets of nutrient out of the float system which started at about a concentration of 27 and after carrying the buckets away and putting water in it went down to about 12. I added 2 1/2 cups of concentrate with the expectation of taking it up to about 25 and this morning it's at about 24 and maybe 4 inches deep.

The harvest from the past two days of tomatoes was 35 tomatoes weighing 114 ounces in total. This is a mix from the garden and the float system. So far we've harvested 49 tomatoes from the garden and 68 from the float system for a total of 393.625 ounces (24.6 pounds).

HARVEST 2010
Totals: G: 182.75 ounces; F: 210 7/8 ounces.
8/22 G: 3 Atkinson/AL 5, 5, 6 5/8 for 12 at 69 1/4
8/22 G: 14 Dona 1 3/4, 2, 2 1/2, 2 5/8, 2 3/4, 2 7/8, 3, 3 1/8, 3 1/8, 3 1/8, 3 5/8, 4 3/4, 4 3/4, 4 7/8 for a weight of 44 7/8 and a total then of 37 at 113 1/2 ounces.
8/22 F: 4 Atkinson/AL 5, 5 1/8, 5 1/4, 8 for a total of 18 at 108 1/4 ounces
8/22 F: 14 Dona 3/4, 7/8, 1 1/4, 1 1/4, 1 3/8, 1 3/8, 2, 2, 2 1/2, 2 3/4, 3, 3 1/4, 3 3/8, 3 3/8 for a total of 29 1/8 ounces for a total of 50 at 102 5/8 ounces.
8/11 G: Corn picked three total now 5. and likely only a couple more.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Only a little more than a week of August left and then we're into September and school. I checked the system this morning and the rain we've been having and the slightly lower temperatures seem to have extended the fill time. CF =24 and I picked a lot of tomatoes from the float system. I'll bring the total up to date below.

HARVEST 2010
Totals: G: 121 1/4 ounces; F: 158.25 ounces.
8/20 G: 2 Atkinson/AL 5 7/8, 6 1/8 for 9 at 52 5/8
8/20 G: 7 Dona 2 7/8, 1 3/8, 1 1/4, 1 3/4, 4 1/8, 4 3/4, 3 5/8 for 23 at 68 5/8 ounces.
8/20 F: 1 Atkinson/AL 5 3/4 for 14 at 84 3/4 ounces.
8/20 F: 8 Dona 7/8, 4 5/8, 1 3/8, 1 3/4, 1 1/8, 4 1/2, 2 1/4, 3 1/8 for 36 at 73 1/2 ounces.
8/11 G: Corn picked three total now 5. and likely only a couple more.

HOW's IT GOING?
So let's have an assessment shall we. The float system has been awesome and a big surprise. It has grown terrifically but the haphazard support system I came up with has been a disaster. The rains and winds have blown it over so the plants are mostly all over the ground. Next year it I do a float system I'll improve the supports. I have some simple ideas for that that I should have thought of this year. Experience is a great teacher.

I may swap out the nutrient in the float system soon because the plants are looking a little poor which always makes me think perhaps the nutrient is getting out of balance. Maybe tomorrow!

The garden has been a surprise too, especially the garden tomatoes which have been doing great. Powdery mildew took out the squash early and I just didn't plant very much corn, but the few ears we got were good.