I got freaked out with my indeterminate local cherry tomato for nothing. All I had to do to control them was to take off their suckers, so each plant may have up to 4 stems. I also zipped tied two 10ft fence post on my fence pegs, so there is lot of room for them to grow.
In this Kratky experiment, I drilled a hole at about 1/2 an inch above the bottom of a 5 inch net cup and refilled it daily until the hydroponic solution came out the hole. I notice that the roots stop growing and are near the surface level. In comparison to when I let the solution level drop 3 inches below the 5 inch net cup, the roots got longer and went all the way to the bottom of the bucket.
In conclusion I will drill a hole 3 inches below the net cup and use a plug to bring the water level up for the plant introductory phase. I'll take the plug out after the solution level drops to the level of the hole and start the refill cycle. I will do this on my new food grade buckets. However, If I use a reservoir and float valve and string multiple buckets together, just the end bucket would need a rain over fill hole.
The plants are flowering and setting fruit with the high solution level, so I will leave it as is......................
In this Kratky experiment, I drilled a hole at about 1/2 an inch above the bottom of a 5 inch net cup and refilled it daily until the hydroponic solution came out the hole. I notice that the roots stop growing and are near the surface level. In comparison to when I let the solution level drop 3 inches below the 5 inch net cup, the roots got longer and went all the way to the bottom of the bucket.
In conclusion I will drill a hole 3 inches below the net cup and use a plug to bring the water level up for the plant introductory phase. I'll take the plug out after the solution level drops to the level of the hole and start the refill cycle. I will do this on my new food grade buckets. However, If I use a reservoir and float valve and string multiple buckets together, just the end bucket would need a rain over fill hole.
The plants are flowering and setting fruit with the high solution level, so I will leave it as is......................
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