Cultivars for DWC: What works and what doesn't

[Marina Galvan]

Lettuce, obviously, is a great success in DWC. Some lettuces are better than others, however. So far we have had great success with

- Baker Creek Seeds' "Red Wing Mix"

- Baker Creek Seeds' "Rocky Top Mix"

 

Not as well-

 

green frilly lettuces. They tend to grow too big, crowd out others, go to seed prematurely, and we harvest more weight in stem than leaf.

 

Other greens-

 

- Seeds of Change "Celebration Celery- Rare" grows exceedingly well. Not a fast grower, but a happy heavy one. 

 

-Cilantro from a variety of companies. Grows well. Bolts prematurely. Our water temp is 75-82. Air temp can get up to 90F inside the hoophouse, which may be to blame.

 

- Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds Lettuce Leaf Basil- grows well. Haven't grow lots of basil plants yet, just a few and they do fine.

 

-Baker Creed Seeds' Shanghai Green Choy- so far has either been small or too tall and lanky.Being a brassica, the cabbage months occasionally find them amongst the lettuce and chow.

 

Tomatoes- all get blossom end rot. Sigh. We've added calcium, DO is good... why??

[Kate Mink]

Hm, blossom end rot is supposed tobe directly related to calcium. Is your pH off so the calcium isn't getting absorbed?

 

I lose tomatoes to insect-borne wilts.

 

things that grow well here (coastal Hawaii, temps 65 to 88 degrees F, humidity about 60-70%, small variation in day length) - lettuce, Manoa variety (also called Green Mignonette) from U Hawaii; leeks (American Flag), chayote squash (don't know variety), any basil or mint, taro, tomatillo. Detroit Dark Red beets have sometimes done well, sometimes poorly. Onions, especially the green bunching ones, have done well.

[Chris Smith]

I have found that it is best to use seed varieties that are heat and disease resistant for growing in my climate. At times it can get very hot here and I have temps well in excess of 110 degrees on top of the rafts. Heat resistant plant varieties fare much better in those conditions even though the roots stay cool.

The most important consideration for me is disease resistance. I use Johnny Select Seeds and their catalog shows what varieties are resistant to certain diseases. I now focus on disease resistance then look for heat resistance. Non resistant varieties have not done as well resistant varieties in my systems.

Most UH seeds seem to do well in aquaponics. UH spent time researching the best varieties for Hawaii and they have provided us with quality seed.

[Chris Smith]

I grow Skyphos as well and it does great. I grow Rex and Dancine and think that Dancine is far superior. Dancine grows very compact and dense heads that can be spaced very tight. It is also the most delicious lettuce that I have grown and is what we eat every night. I also like Tiede, Panisee, Paradai, and Bambi.

I have had great success with celery. I grow it in gravel beds. It is a little slow to get to the harvest point but I can then continuously harvest stalks for up to 6 months. Each plant can yield 1/2lb+ per week with little to no labor other than harvesting. Celery grows very sweet and juicy and is always in demand with my customers. I am in the process of quadrupling my gravel bed space to grow more celery because of the demand.

We have noticed the same results with reds not getting as dark when under plastic and shade cloth. My commercial system is covered and my micro system is not. The reds, in the micro system, get way more color  than the ones under the cover do. This does deserve its own discussion.

[Kate Mink]

I see from your p[rawn post that you're here in Hawaii. How does Dancine lettuce compare with Manoa?

 

Also, has anyone been able to grow celery in rafts over water? I tried it with very poor results.

 

thanks

Kate

Chris Smith said:

I grow Skyphos as well and it does great. I grow Rex and Dancine and think that Dancine is far superior. Dancine grows very compact and dense heads that can be spaced very tight. It is also the most delicious lettuce that I have grown and is what we eat every night. I also like Tiede, Panisee, Paradai, and Bambi.

I have had great success with celery. I grow it in gravel beds. It is a little slow to get to the harvest point but I can then continuously harvest stalks for up to 6 months. Each plant can yield 1/2lb+ per week with little to no labor other than harvesting. Celery grows very sweet and juicy and is always in demand with my customers. I am in the process of quadrupling my gravel bed space to grow more celery because of the demand.

We have noticed the same results with reds not getting as dark when under plastic and shade cloth. My commercial system is covered and my micro system is not. The reds, in the micro system, get way more color  than the ones under the cover do. This does deserve its own discussion.