My backyard hydroponics system is producing, better than expected! I’m very happy about that. Here are some pictures:
So far we’ve harvested and eaten:
- lots of lettuce, including some delicious kinds you won’t get in the grocery store
- Monte Carlo
- Salanova
- Rouxai
- a few radishes
- some dill, for tzatziki
- some basil, for pasta sauces
- some cilantro, for guacamole
Growing nicely are:
- kohlrabi
- cauliflower (although I have a bit of a question how that is going to develop; we’ll see)
- various peppers
and there are some other experiments ongoing.
The only problems so far are:
- stupidity of the operator (me) — but there is hope that operator will manage to learn, eventually. For example, it helps to have some idea how much lettuce you want to eat before germinating dozens of seeds at the same time. On the plus side, I learned you can eat a 400g+ head of lettuce for lunch all by yourself.
- a teensy caterpillar liked my kohlrabi leaves a bit too much
- mildew. Unfortunately there is a bunch on the shadow side on the lettuce. Neem oil seems to keep it at bay, but I need to keep at it.
I can say without hesitation, that the lettuce harvested tastes better than any lettuce I ever had. It’s a good indication for the quality of any food if you can eat it, and enjoy it, without any additions (spices, dressing, other food). It’s still lettuce only, but one can! Never felt like that about lettuce bought at the grocery store of farmer’s market.
Need a hobby? I have something to recommend to you …