![]() Learn more in the Four Markets course on Upstart U. It’s important to do your market research before starting a farm. On the other hand, thirsty plants like lettuce will thrive in DWC systems, so pick seed varieties that love water. You’ll waste a lot of space between plants.)ĭrought loving plants and herbs (like rosemary) that prefer “dry feet” don’t do well in DWC systems. (For instance, don’t leave 12 inches of space between sites if you’re growing romaine lettuce. Be sure to match your plant site spacing on your rafts to your plant size. This does mean, however, that you want to fill that horizontal plane efficiently. If you have abundant space, this won’t be as big of a problem. If you have limited space, consider a technique that can facilitate denser growing. This means that you have a 1:1 volume to growing area ratio. Without the root anchoring provided by a dense media, top-heavy plants can fall over or break at the stems.ĭWC systems function on a single horizontal plane since they are typically too heavy to stack. Larger crops like tomatoes grow top-heavy. Lettuce, for example, is a popular DWC crop and the perfect size to fit on rafts. The best crops for deep water culture are small and lightweight. Rafts are usually quite durable and affordable, but they can only support so much weight. Instead of recommending crops without any context or clear methodology, consider the important qualifications for your crops: Selecting crops is a complex choice based on your individual growing situation. After reading this guide, you’ll be on track to make the best selection for your deep water culture operation, no matter how large the scale. Each kind of crop possesses a number of positive and negative qualities and offers unique possibilities for each growing situation. This guide will walk you through a number of the best crops for deep water culture growing. ![]() Plants are supported on the raft with net pots or other tools like Grow Grips.Ĭheck out our course on Upstart University for more information on managing an aquaponic DWC system.ĭeep water culture system floats the planted crops on rafts above a bed of nutrient-rich water. ![]() A raft floats on top of the water, and plants on the raft dangle their roots into the solution below. What is DWC?įor the uninitiated, deep water culture (DWC) or raft systems use a tank with nutrient solution (fertilized either with fish waste or a hydroponic fertilizer). We’ve put together this guide on deep water culture (DWC) to help you learn from our mistakes, and make the right choice of crops from the get-go. We’ve grown dozens of crop types and had our share of failure. Once you have market research done, you can consider other factors. ![]() Do market research before choosing crops! If you don’t have demand for your produce, you won’t make money. To help you make those decisions, we’ve put together a recommended list of crops for your raft system.īefore you choose, remember that crop choice depends not only on climate, technique, and facilities but on your local market. You’re not entirely sure what crops to plant in your raft system (deep water culture system), but you’ve got some ideas. You’ve got a basic business plan, a mentor to help you, and a growing facility.
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