following are some very simple steps i took in creating my very own floating bed where i used it to grow lettuce.
the above pic shows lettuce seedlings germinated in seedling tray. i had to wait for a few days till they were a few inches tall before i could transplant them in my floating bed
i took a normal dishwashing sponge as seen above and cut it into square blocks measuring about 1 inch as seen below.
on each sponge block obtained i made a deep incision as seen above, at the middle
i took a normal thermacol sheet & made holes in them using a bottle cap.
since my carpentary skills are not as good as my guitar playing skills, i decided to use one of my normal grow bed tubs & convert the same into a floating bed (sorry peggy)i covered the base, and the sides using black polythene sheet & taped the sides as seen above. then i filled it with already prepared nutrient water
i wet the seedling tray, and slowly picked up the lettuce seedlings as seen above & placed them gently in between the cut i had made on the sponge piece as seen below
notice the good root development above n the enlarged image below
another side view of the seedling placed in between the cut on the sponge block
notice the pic above has very small roots. i was not careful while removing the seedlings from the germinating tray, and as a result a lot of the roots here snapped. but i transplanted it anyways to see if it will survive
i plugged all the 12 holes with the seedlings & if you notice, at the bottom left, i transplanted a tomato seedling just for kicks!the above photos were taken on march 5, 2009
just a day later, on march 6, 2009, i noticed, the roots slowly begining to look a lot healthier & the plants looking a lot stronger
i aerate the water everyday , twice with my hands & the bubbles thus formed help the roots get oxygen. it also eliminates mosquitoes from breeding as they prefer stagnant water, not daily aerated water.
the above pic was clicked on march 5, 2009, just 2 days after i transplanted. if one compares the photos, it is very clear, there has been rapid increase in length of the leaves and the plants look a lot greener.i will post newer photos after a few weeks & see the development of my lettuce floating bed
all photos n data by Pritham dsouza
