Plants for Floating Raft System

[Eco Owl]

Hi all,

What plants, other than lettuce, will grow on a floating raft system?

Thanks,

EcoOwl

[Jon Parr]

Any leafy green is well suited. In my rafts I grow lettuces, watercress, kale, sorrel, mint, flowers, strawberries, basil, etc. Larger plants grow fine as well, but need anchoring, which defeats the point of the rafts (which is mobility and rapid crop rotation). I think I've seen papayas and pineapples grown in rafts by FAP, and taro. Peas, beans, tomatoes, even carrots. the only thing I've tried that didn't do well was arugula, and I've only tried it once. Perhaps my seed was an exception, I don't know.

[Pat James]

Jon, I was curious about strawberries as I had been told they need plenty of water but good drainage as the roots were sensitive.

[Jon Parr]

So far so good, just keep the crowns high and dry, and plenty of O2 in the water.

[Pat James]

Are your strawberries producing yet? I bought a 30 or 40 bare-root plants, but not sure how many I want to risk in the AP system and haw many into a regular garden bed. strawberries are one of those' money crops: they cost alot in the store except when there is a glut on the market. But being a perennial, you don;t just move them around..

[Ryan Chatterson]

About anything you can think of other than big tubers. I will say that I completely disagree with you about rafts only purpose being for moveable crops John. The ability to clean the root zone area when needed is a huge advantage.

To give you an idea OP, I'm up to 389 varieties over the many years I've been growing (greens, tomatoes, melons, onions, tobacco, cakes, squash, gourds, etc etc etc.

[Ryan Chatterson]

On the strawberries, just make sure to keep the crown clean from old dead leaves or you can attract pests and rot. They grow great, just need to keep them clean.

[Jon Parr]

Amen to that, Ryan. I should have worded my statement differently, that floating raft mobility is a major advantage. I love rafts, for root access, mobility, super high planting density, solids handling, and kind of amazing to me...I have had better faster growth from DWC than flood and drain media. So thanks for the correction.

Pat, I have grown them before, yes, and I just planted a couple hundred more. And yes, they are cheap right now, this last batch cost $2 for a bundle of 5, and the bare roots are a joy to plant, just pop them in the holes (no soil to get rid of), and they spring to life. Enjoy.

Ryan Chatterson said:

About anything you can think of other than big tubers. I will say that I completely disagree with you about rafts only purpose being for moveable crops John. The ability to clean the root zone area when needed is a huge advantage.

To give you an idea OP, I'm up to 389 varieties over the many years I've been growing (greens, tomatoes, melons, onions, tobacco, cakes, squash, gourds, etc etc etc.