Comments on: More Lettuce Under Lights

By: kerry

kerry — Mon, 13 Feb 2006 21:53:09 +0000

Update :
The coir and a single fish alone did NOT provide enough nutrients to maintain the lettuce. The lettuce sprouted and grew to about an inch across. It was the cutest little plants, full of leaves but never grew any larger. I even tried over feeding the fish to up the ammonia in the water but for the life of me I could not get the numbers high enough to have an impact on the plants. Perhaps the next time I try this I need to add more fish.

By: kerry

kerry — Sat, 17 Sep 2005 19:23:06 +0000

The main reason I added the fish was for mosquito control. The ammonia was a benefit I hadn’t considered. The real test to see if fishy produces the needed ammonia will be seen this time around. The soilless medium I seeded in last round may or may not have been ammended, I don’t remember. I know I didn’t add anything after planting though. The coir, afaik, doesn’t offer anything in the way of nutrients, it is just a medium to grow in. I know goldfish can produce a lot of ammonia (ever forgot to clean the fishbowl regularly?). If I had to guess I would say that there are about 2-3 gallons of water in the plastic container the float tray sits in. I do feed the fish daily, did not change the water and it has never smelled. It seems to me that the plants were taking it up as it was produced.

The amt of space needed for this setup is about 2′x4′ with the two shop lights. I used the basement because it is out of the way, I can keep it dark easily when the lights are off, and it has cooler temps. I suppose a closet might work too if someone wanted to try it.

By: jenn

jenn — Sat, 17 Sep 2005 17:57:45 +0000

Neat.
Such a cool experiment. I’m glad the fish worked out. I’m amazed the fish worked out.

Keep us posted on the next batch. I don’t have room for this sort of garden, but I love to cram ideas into my head… maybe the next house!