We were hard at work today at Thera Farms! Teddy the Master Tomato Whisperer and I had the help of my Nonno, a seasoned farmer from Southern Italy that can make figs grow out of a can of poo. After cleaning the channels with hydrogen peroxide, transplanting baby romaine seedlings into channels, and planting more bok choy and green oak lettuce, we unclogged some channels. While the warm weather is exciting since we can once again come out of the greenhouse, into the dirt, and run around half naked, it means we must say goodbye to our beloved friends arugula and the allstar lettuce mix. They did great in the hydroponics system throughout the winter, but they wilt quickly and must be kept at a constantly cool temperature. Unless we refrigerated the entire stand at the outdoor farmers markets, there's no way these guys would make it throughout the summer. Teddy decided to switch to something heartier, aka romaine. We will however, be continuing to grow Boston Butter/Bib lettuce!
Everyday we check the small, individual hoses that run directly into the channels for clogs. If the water flow is not as strong as it should be, it means something is wrong. Calcium builds up in the oxygen filter in the main reservoir of water, which sometimes slows the flow. First we turn the pump off and clean the filter. If that doesn't slow the problem, we blow into the individual hoses, while banging the pipe in the hopes that any excessive calcium build up will free itself. If that doesn't work, which it usually does, we have to remove the hoses and clean the joint in the pipes with a small wire. What a pain in the butt!
Today we decided to make an educational video that will show people more about what hydroponics actually is. Teddy is really a farmer AND a scientist, as you can see in our video below. It takes a lot of dedication, monitoring, and handy-man skills to keep this large unit up and running smoothly. Check it out and share!
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| Bok choy babies |
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| Freshly transplanted romaine lettuce |
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| "Almost-full-grown" romaine lettuce |
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