Hydroponics, wheatgrass and gravel as a media?

[Pengyou]

Hi! I have read a number of the posts on this forum and am quite impressed! That is why I have decided to pester you with my questions :dance:

First of all, I am teaching and living in Taiwan now. Taiwan is (seems to be) much less polluted (air, water, land, noise) than the places that I lived in in mainland China but I am still concerned about the presence of chemicals on and in the fruits and veggies that I eat. That is one of the main reasons why I am seeking to use hydroponic gardening. Also, I am an apartment dweller and feel that hydroponics will be easier to manage than soil based farming...by using my balcony I can keep out insects that are/might be tainted with pesticides and who knows what else.

I would like to try growing wheat grass in a medium of very small gravel and water the grass from within the gravel, possibly 3 or 4 times a day instead of the usual 2. My purpose for this is to be able to add some nutrients to the water (kelp or whatever is useful) and to try to minimize mold problems. Do you think this would work? Should I also mist the tops periodically? Or install a fan to blow on the grass to help keep it dry above, thus minimizing the mold problem? I am interested in learning how to build the farm environment in such a way that it mitigates or eliminates problems. It is my intention to first tackle wheat grass...then sprouts...green leafy veggies...and so on, so the fewer problems that I have in each crop the easier my life will be. I am considering the use of grow lights to help keep things as regular as possible.

[DebB]

Pesky mold! I've tried soil free method and I didn't have much luck with it. I subscribe to Dorothy on YouTube and she grows WG soil-free, but still does get mold.

I've got the Hippocrates DVD by their head nurseryman and he said to simply cut above the mold, rinse well and call it good. That's what I always did. I've only grown one tray that had no mold. I do use a little fan - keep a good eye on your crop though, the fan really dries it out quicker, I live in the desert too, which affects moisture levels.

Best wishes!

(Bottom line for me - I didn't worry about the mold, I just accepted it, rinsed the WG well and carried on. I know - it's always disappointing to see that darn mold. Now though I sprout alfalfa seeds and use those instead of WG. So much easier to deal with the alfalfa than everything that goes with growing WG. I juice 2 cups alfalfa sprouts a day)

[The Sproutarian (Mr Raw)]

Now though I sprout alfalfa seeds and use those instead of WG.
Such a pity you are missing out on wheatgrass.

Some ways to help keep mould to a minimum is to have wheatgrass growing outside (if the climate is not too hot), but also to plant to seeds further apart so the air gets to them. l normally don't get mould on my wheatgrass, but l have been getting some mould in the last week or two, but l can easily get rid of it.

One of the most important things to prevent mould would be to soak seeds in Hydrogen Pyroxide (use a tea spoon) and spray every second day with the pyroxide in the water. Also, try soaking the whaet seeds only 10 hour and see what happens.