First time lettuce in DWC setup problems/issues

13 years ago

Hi, as a first time hydroponic user i have ran into some problems w/ my lettuce i was growing. i was able to get about a month and a half of growth, actually harvested some of it. i have a pictures here of some of the problems(not sure how to upload multiple) i have been getting dryness on the tips of my lettuce and the lower/smaller leaves where getting some discolored yellowness & withering. I think i have some ideas as the roots where tangled and a bit brown, maybe some root rot. i had around 7 plants as one died early (was originally 8) alot of the plants seemed to close and a lot of cluster. i will defiantly not be putting in the full 8 again maybe just 4 since i have a 10 gallon tuberware usually put in 4-6 gallons @ beginning then lower to 3 after roots have grown. i followed using 1/4 the nute strength early on (lettuce seem good early stage) once i went to fuller strength seemed to be having some trouble if i recall i will have to look @ my notes but i dont think the ppm got higher then 700, not sure if thats a good range for a 10 gallon tub. otherwise i will try to get more pics up if i can find out how

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Comments (5)

ethnobotany
13 years ago
I see some patches of dying leaf matter towards the center of the leaves. Those patches look similar to what happens to my plant leaves from mites, which are a common pest. Inspect the bottom of the affected leaves very closely. What do you see? Are there are white/black/red dots? Any web looking structures?
bjanuszewski
Original Author
13 years ago
I actually recently cut them down for harvest as i figured the situation wasn't gonna get any better. during the beginning when they where getting their true leaves i had gnats which i eventually got rid of with yellow sticky pads/sleeves. from what i recall i didn't see any sort of bugs after that. heres a pic of the roots, pretty hideous :(
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cole_robbie
13 years ago
Leaf curl is a generic sign of stress. As for the source of the stress, it could be a lot of different things.

What was your temperature like? Lettuce doesn't like heat. I also see a lot of brown in your roots. That's pythium, aka root rot. It happens when the root zone water is either too warm or not aerated well enough.

I would try to add another air pump, or use a water pump to get better aeration. Also drop the temp if it's over 80 F. You might also try a beneficial bacteria supplement. If you colonize with good bacteria, it makes it harder for the pythium to take over.
bjanuszewski
Original Author
13 years ago
yea, i will be investing in a thermometer soon as i really wasnt aware that temperature mattered to much. While changing my rez i probably put in a different temperature from what it was previously. How would a water pump work in a DWC setup? or are you suggesting i use a different system? my current air pump has to outputs so i have two airstones in my rez one on each side for even distribution.
grizzman
13 years ago
Aeration is probably not the problem.
a water pump in DWC works in that you create a waterfall that aerates the water as the cascade falls back into the reservoir. to maximize aeration and circulation of the rez water, you want the input to the pump as far away from the waterfall as possible, though it'll work just fine(most likely) if the pump is directly below the waterfall.
I always found this solution intriguing:

Here is a link to the thread it appears in.