From pyager@rocler.qc.caTue Nov  7 20:16:53 1995
Date: Tue, 7 Nov 1995 20:09:16 -0500
From: Yager Patti <pyager@rocler.qc.ca>
Reply to: hydro@Hawg.Stanford.EDU
To: hydro@Hawg.Stanford.EDU
Subject: Re: produce/area/time??


>Is plant raising also staggered in the hydro community? I think
>as well as a continuous crop to harvest, an added benefit
>of staggered and sectioned growth might be less risk of losing
>the entire crop to unforseen circumstances.

The jury is still out at our place. We have had reports on interesting
production rates using a plant-in/crop-out rotation, yet we have not
acheived results much superior to our original method of plant-in/trim with
the same plants over periods of up to ten months.

The benefits of the plant-in/crop-out system are:
1) Low skill croppers.
2) Plants are gone before insects/disease can get a good foothold.
3) Easier planning and implementation.

Disadvantages:
1) High materials cost (seeds, substrate, gro-tube)
2) Much planting, seeding, cleaning every week.
3) Low grower satisfaction (Just when they start to really look good, bingo
they're gone!)

Benefits of plant-in/trim:
1) Low materials cost.
2) Less labor requirements.

Disadvantages:
1) Cropping becomes an art form (bonzai basil, anyone?). Long learning curve
until croppers become proficient.
2) Insect and disease can gain foothold in crop.
3) Basil roots become very dense, and can cause circulation and flooding
problems.
4) Man, can those plants get BIG!