The following is based on information taken from H L Saffell's book: "HYDRO 1 - Hydroponic News". If you would like a copy for your own, CLICK HERE.

How about doing both with watercress, tilapia and lettuce? How about doing it with 10 greenhouses for a total of 33,000 sq ft or 3/4 of an acre? All of it integrated into one system?

The owners of a small farm outside Wichita Falls, Texas have got the secret to surviving as a small unit in their fight against large corporations. And they do it all in a climate which ranges from 5 degrees F below freezing to 115 degrees F in the summer.

How do they do it? First off, the greenhouses are designed to stand up against high winds and heavy ice and snow loads. For insulation, each greenhouse is covered with a plastic skin which is double and inflatable. Thermostats control the fans inside as well as the propane heaters. Automatic shutters are roll ups. When the fans go on, the roll ups go down.

In this climate, lettuce is an ideal crop, It likes cool weather. However when summer comes, you'd better keep those fans going. I know - I used to live near Austin which is just about 300 miles or so south of Wichita Falls. And I also know how important a good backup generator can be.

But temperature control isn't all there is to growing lettuce. You have to keep in mind the hours of light you will get as well as the intensity of the light.

The greenhouses used at the Wichita Falls farm are shaded with layers of lime. As the heat gets stronger, another layer of lime is sprayed on top of the plastic roofs. When the weather starts to cool, the lime is allowed to wear itself away. The plastic coverings last about four years and then have to be replaced. Which is pretty good for plastic of this nature.

The lettuce is grown in fiberglass pipes with the NFT method and occupies five greenhouses. One greenhouse is used for seedlings which in this case is Ostinata RZ. This is a Boston variety which has tight heads in winter and is more leafy during summer.

Other varieties of lettuce are also grown, such as baby lettuce and any others which may be in demand.

For nutrient, the owners of this operation mix well water, tilapia waste water and other ingredients. The watercress gets a weaker solution. When summer comes, the nutrient is given in the evening to slow down tip burn.

There are four greenhouses devoted to watercress. This setup is striking when you first see it. What seems to be a long table of flood and ebb is instead a series of tables over which the nutrient flows over a table and down to the next. Like a series of waterfalls!

The tilapia is the latest addition. They are housed in a large rearing tank big enough for 13 to 17 thousand fish. If you keep the water in fair shape and feed them well, tilapia will multiply rapidly. They will even tolerate water which is not as good as it should be.

Because of extraordinary attempts to keep everything clean, there are very few pest problems. For the watercress, beneficial insects are used as well as other biological agents. Pythium is corrected with 3-4 ppm of hydrogen peroxide.

What makes this operation so successful is the marketing tactic of aiming at the quality restaurant and upper end market where the buyer is looking for quality and doesn't mind paying a premium price for what he gets.

With that in mind, right now might be a good time for you to visit my site at (http://www.mayhillpress.com/hydroponics.html). Because a lot of what these folks in this newsletter are doing is explained in more detail in my book on hydroponics.

Page design by Bob Saffell. bsaffell@mayhillpress.com

WE HAVE THREE BOOKS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST TO YOU.
They are as follows:
"How to Start on a Shoestring and Make a Profit with Hydroponics"
"Big Dollars Growing Gourmet Salad Greens"
"Beneficial Insects - How to Mass Rear and Make a Profit"
If you would like a copy or copies of your own,
CLICK HERE