It Doesn't Get Much Fresher
Hydroponic lettuce offers fresh
alternative.
Imagine buying fresh
produce harvested at the point of purchase-and you don't have to go to the
farm to get it. That's the idea behind hydroponic lettuce-fresh leaf lettuce
grown in float beds.
Tobacco producers often have greenhouses and float beds
for bedding plants that represent large capital investments. But those structures
sit idle much of the year. Researchers at the Plateau and Knoxville Experiment
Stations are looking at crops to make money during that down time. Most
promising so far is lettuce.
Leaf lettuce was grown last summer in float bed trays and
on styrofoam sheets with a cotton ball medium. Trays and foam were removed
from the beds and taken directly to the Knoxville Farmers' Market. The lettuce
was harvested as customers chose it, on-site and in completely fresh condition.
The idea brought rave reviews from consumers who purchased it. 
- by Lisa Byerley Gary
Dr. Allen Straw of the Plateau Experiment Station
demonstrated hydroponic lettuce at UT's Vegetable Field Day last summer. |