Garden To Table

Hydroponic Lettuce Wall

Lettuce is a plant that has quite a small root system and is therefore particularly suited to being grown in water culture. Because of the small size of each plant, hydroponic cultivation of lettuce allows for a huge density of lettuce plants to be grown.

As you can see, lettuce can be packed very tightly. A particularly creative way to grow hydroponic lettuce is in PVC pipes or in gutters that are hung on walls in a zig-zag pattern. Nutrients are pumped up to the top pipe or gutter, from where it runs down the pipe to feed the plants, and when it reaches the end, is passed down to the next pipe, which is angled in the opposite direction. Since lettuce doesn’t grow very high, quite a lot of lettuce plants can be grown on a wall.

Heirloom Tomatoes

An heirloom tomato (also called heritage tomato in the UK) is an open-pollinated (non-hybrid) heirloom cultivar of tomato. Heirloom tomatoes have become increasingly popular and more readily available in recent years. According to tomato experts Craig LeHoullier and Carolyn Male, heirloom tomatoes can be classified into four categories: family heirlooms, commercial heirlooms, mystery heirlooms, and created heirlooms. They are grown for a variety of reasons, such as historical interest, access to wider varieties, and by people who wish to save seeds from year to year, as well as for their taste, which is widely perceived to be better than modern tomatoes.