# Hydroponic greens



## Toddrickfl1 (Jan 1, 2022)

So I've embarked on a new mission, hydroponic greens. I've been reading a lot about it and decided to give it a try. Set up my own diy system and I've got 6 butter crunch lettuce sprouts started. If it's successful the goal is to be able to grow a head of lettuce to pick and throw in each tortoise pen once a week. I'm thinking about using the water from my pond to feed them instead of artificial nutrients, like aquaponics sort of. Does anybody know if their would be any risk of cross contamination if I feed lettuce to my tortoises that was grown with water from the pond that has turtles in it? Or risk of salmonella if I eat the lettuce?


----------



## jaizei (Jan 1, 2022)

There would be some risk. Salmonella contamination doesn't just occur from the bacteria on the leaves, but it can also get inside lettuce, either through openings in the leaves, or taken up through the roots.


----------



## Toddrickfl1 (Jan 1, 2022)

jaizei said:


> There would be some risk. Salmonella contamination doesn't just occur from the bacteria on the leaves, but it can also get inside lettuce, either through openings in the leaves, or taken up through the roots.


Thats what I was afraid of, hydronic nutrients it is. Thanks @jaizei


----------



## Maggie3fan (Jan 1, 2022)

That's too bad...think of all the nutrients in that water...


----------



## jsheffield (Jan 1, 2022)

I grow plants in a bed of those volcanic pebbles over a tank of goldfish, using a pump to pull the water (and fish poop) up and through the plants continually.

It keeps the plants fed and the water clean for the fish... I just add fish food a few times a week and harvest the plants from time to time.

I've grown herbs, opuntia, and pothos.

Jamie


----------



## Toddrickfl1 (Jan 1, 2022)

I think I might setup a small fish pond next summer with no turtles specifically for this purpose.


----------



## jaizei (Jan 1, 2022)

Toddrickfl1 said:


> I think I might setup a small fish pond next summer with no turtles specifically for this purpose.



Using an IBC tote is probably the easiest way to make a mid-size system


----------



## Maro2Bear (Jan 1, 2022)

Nice. Keep on with the updates. ??. There are all kinds of places that hydroponically grow “things” using cycled/filtered fish water.

Good Luck


----------



## Toddrickfl1 (Feb 10, 2022)

Hydroponic greens was not working for me. Not sure what I was doing wrong. Decided to keep it simple with just dirt. 3 weeks in


----------



## Maro2Bear (Feb 10, 2022)

Toddrickfl1 said:


> Hydroponic greens was not working for me. Not sure what I was doing wrong. Decided to keep it simple with just dirt. 3 weeks in
> View attachment 340331
> View attachment 340332
> View attachment 340333



Thanks for the update. Takes a lot of room, equipment & effort to grow enough greens to feed tortoises (other than a mere snack). I have a few 2-3 ft tall hibiscus bushes in our plant/sunroom. Every few days I pick a few handfuls of leaves & provide to our Sully. Not near enough for daily feeding.


----------



## Toddrickfl1 (Feb 10, 2022)

Maro2Bear said:


> Thanks for the update. Takes a lot of room, equipment & effort to grow enough greens to feed tortoises (other than a mere snack). I have a few 2-3 ft tall hibiscus bushes in our plant/sunroom. Every few days I pick a few handfuls of leaves & provide to our Sully. Not near enough for daily feeding.


If this works well I'll probably expand it. I've got some mustard and turnip green seeds to try next too.


----------



## jaizei (Feb 10, 2022)

Toddrickfl1 said:


> If this works well I'll probably expand it. I've got some mustard and turnip green seeds to try next too.



How high do you have light above plants?


----------



## Maro2Bear (Feb 10, 2022)

Toddrickfl1 said:


> If this works well I'll probably expand it. I've got some mustard and turnip green seeds to try next too.



Id think down in Georgia, you can start planting those early “cold weather” crops now. Good luck.


----------



## Toddrickfl1 (Feb 10, 2022)

jaizei said:


> How high do you have light above plants?


It's probably about 12-14" currently. Should I lower it you think?


----------



## Tom (Feb 10, 2022)

Maro2Bear said:


> Id think down in Georgia, you can start planting those early “cold weather” crops now. Good luck.


My buddy in GA is a gardening fool! He grows a ton of his own food and enjoys the process of experimenting with different methods to find what works best. Lately he clears an area, puts down that weed barrier sheeting, and then covers the whole area with black plastic. He starts seeds indoors on seed mats inside a little green house thing, and then pokes a hole in the plastic sheeting to plant them when they are big enough to go outside. Due to the amount of rainfall and the water already in the soil, he almost never even waters the plants because the plastic holds in the water. I've never seen such a small area produce so much food. He has no tortoises, but he's always giving away jars of pickles, home made salsas made from peppers and tomatoes he grows himself, and loads of surplus tomatoes. It is inspiring.


----------



## jaizei (Feb 10, 2022)

Toddrickfl1 said:


> It's probably about 12-14" currently. Should I lower it you think?




It could prob be a little lower, but with them having their true leaves idk if its worth it to lower it now only to raise it in a week. If you start anything else, I'd have it lower until after true leaves grow.


----------



## Mrs.Jennifer (Feb 10, 2022)

Toddrickfl1 said:


> Thats what I was afraid of, hydronic nutrients it is. Thanks @jaizei


I guess I have a very different idea about harvesting food…
I grew up on a farm. I swam in ponds that had fish, turtles and other wildlife in it. I drank warm, unfiltered/unpasteurized milk from goats and cows that I drew from the udder into a mug. I ate potatoes dug straight from the dirt. I ate “undercooked“ eggs from our hens and rare beef from the steers we rode around the yard and then butchered. Food never came wrapped in cellophone or on styrofoam trays. I believe that I have an immune system because of eating food from a real source and not avoiding every “pathogen.” Sometimes I wonder if we have created this problem.


----------



## MEEJogja (Feb 12, 2022)

Leafy greens, and plants in general have fairly simple requirements up until the flowering/fruiting stage. You do not need to go with complicated mixes of hydroponic nutrients for greens if you decide the pond water is too risky.
When I was into hydroponics, I switched to almost exclusively using liquid seaweed as my vegging nutrition. It's cheap and will do you well. You can also make something similar yourself (it is just a fertilizer tea that has been concentrated by boiling off the excess water), or pasturise your pond water. 
To be honest, I would not worry about the salmonella risk if the pond water was being constantly cycled. The only thing that makes me nervous is the fact you are basically putting it into a box, keeping it aerated and restricting the exposure to light, and algal filtration. It is a perfect breeding ground for bacteria and you might as well start with something reasonably sterile if you can.


----------



## Toddrickfl1 (Feb 12, 2022)




----------



## Toddrickfl1 (Feb 16, 2022)

Free tortoise food


----------



## Mrs.Jennifer (Feb 16, 2022)

Toddrickfl1 said:


> Free tortoise food
> View attachment 340656


NICE!!!!


----------



## Toddrickfl1 (Feb 19, 2022)

I've started to expand it.


----------



## Toddrickfl1 (Feb 20, 2022)

Expansion complete, I've got Romaine, Buttercrunch, Ruby red lettuce, Kale, and mustard greens planted so far. I've got room for 24 large heads on top shelves and I'll sprout them on the bottom shelf for hopefully a continuous supply.


----------



## Toddrickfl1 (Feb 26, 2022)

First harvest, one for Murphy and one for Marge.


----------



## JoFisch (Feb 26, 2022)

Mrs.Jennifer said:


> I guess I have a very different idea about harvesting food…
> I grew up on a farm. I swam in ponds that had fish, turtles and other wildlife in it. I drank warm, unfiltered/unpasteurized milk from goats and cows that I drew from the udder into a mug. I ate potatoes dug straight from the dirt. I ate “undercooked“ eggs from our hens and rare beef from the steers we rode around the yard and then butchered. Food never came wrapped in cellophone or on styrofoam trays. I believe that I have an immune system because of eating food from a real source and not avoiding every “pathogen.” Sometimes I wonder if we have created this problem.


In regards to the bugs you were exposed to growing up and even potentially the ones in our tortoises, you likely have a point. The problem is when we think that the bacteria in commercially produced food are equivalent. Humans have caused some real nasty bugs to evolve. If we are feeding raw commercially raised meat to our animals, those bad bugs could set up shop in the animal’s body. Won’t necessarily harm the animal but they could shed the bacteria and harm people who encounter it.


----------

