Kale ..difficult or easy ?

[John]

Is kale easy in these type of systems or not also what about celery ?

Thanks ,

john

[Sylvia Bernstein]

John, I've successfully grown both of these in media systems and I would rate them both as very easy.  Don't know how they would do in raft, but I suspect because they are both vegetative, not fruiting, plants they would do well there as well.

[TCLynx]

I've not grown celery but I've hear of many people being very successful with it in media beds at least.  It can be continually harvested which night be way it works well in media beds for a season long of stalks.

 

Kale, Easy,  And it along with most of the other related cabbage and broccoli family can continue growing for a long time.  I've got some kale that has been continually getting the lower leaves harvested for about 9 months now.  As they keep going for so long they also seem very appropriate to media beds but if you want to harvest the whole plant younger they would be just fine for a raft too I expect.

 

Kale and broccoli are also good for cold weather.

[Raychel A Watkins]

I have grown both in rafts> I believe the celery grows the better of the 2.  Chris Smith has grown the celery in the rafts with great success

[Sahib Punjabi]

Hello John,

 

I have successfully grown both of these in both media and raft beds. As TCLynx says, it depends how long you want to keep growing the plant. If for a reasonably short time, then raft will work as well as media. If longer, then switch to media as the roots will tend to grow rather large in the raft beds.

 

God bless,

[Steve Perreault]

I haven't tried rafts yet. But, celery loves AP media beds. I grew celery in a media bed and in a raised bed (18 inches of compost) this year to compare. The AP media bed celery grew faster with thicker stalks.

 

I haven't tried the kale in AP yet. Mainly because I grow it through the winter in an unheated greenhouse. Sadly, the AP system is going to go dormant this winter. Water temperature this morning was 52. Outside air temp was 27 (coldest yet). I guess winter's here! brrrrrrr.

[TCLynx]

Yea, without heating in the greenhouse in RI, I don't think you will keep water flowing without ice problems.

[John]

Ok Newbie here ...
 
AP media beds  and Rafts ?

[Chris Smith]

I have successfully grown both crops in rafts, media and towers. They are long term crops that can be continually harvested for many months. I have harvested the same celery plants for more than 6 months. Since they are long term crops I now prefer to grow them in elevated media beds to eliminate lifting/replacing rafts or bending over for harvesting. Celery is a little slow to get to harvestable size but makes up for it with longevity. Kale grows great but really attracts the white butterflies so regular Dipel applications are required in my area.

[TCLynx]

Media beds would be like flood and drain gravel beds.

Raft beds would be where you put the plants in net pots in holes in Styrofoam rafts that float in a trough of water.

[George]

Darn right.  It's 60 degrees here at about 10 a.m.  Doubt it will make 70 today but maybe.

Steve Perreault said:

II guess winter's here! brrrrrrr.

[George]

I planted Kale both in the ground and in a new media bed system sometime in Nov - actually I thinned the plants from the dirt garden and moved the thinned out plants to the aquaponics system at that time.  Both are doing well but the in-ground plants are growing faster at this point.  The thing we like most about Kale is that it produces over a long period of time.  Usually we plant late summer and once they reach harvest size we cut leaves off about once per week until it's time to put spring plants in.  Here in N. Fla, we are able to harvest Kale for at least 3 months, maybe 4.  It is frost tolerant.  Kale is slow to get going but it is very nutritious and productive.  Snails and Slugs will eat it but generally bugs aren't much of a problem, possibly because of the season mostly.  I don't know of anything easier to grow.

[Wil Miles]

I have a friend he has a float with celery kao bok choy and another he sells for $25 a lb to some restaurants in the are and the grow super fast very good they are all 80 % water anyway. worse case it takes alittle longer to grow