Appreciate the "heads-up" thanks. This year, my 3-4 year old Asian persimmon gave up 4 fruit - the size of a soft ball. I thought they would never ripen - but after a few cool nights, they turned a beautiful orange-pink. Even then, after I'd picked them, they needed a bit more ripening in my south-facing window. Finally, I tried one, and it was delicious. As luck would have it, because the leaves turned orange when the fruit did - I missed the last one - and it might have been the tastiest one of all, but it mushed when I picked it - so that's the breaks. I'll know what to expect next year, and hopefully, it has decided it likes it here. I promised myself that I would fertilize it come spring - honest. Bejay

My peppers from last year were started as EnF, then later converted to NFT. I never saw any indicators of root rot with them. I had to increase the slope from near flat to about 3.5" over 4 feet because the roots were backing up the NFT flow and it was leaking out where the nutrient came in. But after that adjustment, there was never a problem. With my first system, I intentionally created that 1.1/2" lip to hold the extra nutrient around the roots. My thinking, at the time, was the liquid would sustain the plant in case the pump failed. In retrospect, I see the errors in my thinking and have learned much since then. It seems if water is getting trapped behind the plants either your troughs are not sloped enough or your pots are sitting directly on the bottom with too much weight, thus causing an eddy, so to speak. In my system last year the bottom of the netpots was about 1/4" off the trough. I personally think any plant can be grown great in an EnF system as this system most accurately recreates a soil environement. Their downside is a lot of medium and thus a lot of weight, the lack of being able to see the roots well, and they seem more difficult to clean / recycle between crops. Oh and the need to flush the salt buildup off the medium sucks too. NFT, to me, is just a clean looking system. very mobile, less mess and fuss between crops, less electronics to deal with.(you need a good reliable pump, but really nothing else). DWC/Aero hybrids have been good to me, though most of my experience there is with tomatoes. and my current DWC system has been bountiful as well, though again only with tomatoes.

Greetings Tim: I've been doing business with American Hydroponics for over 15 years and they're one of the few hobby hydroponic companies that have been in business for over 20 years. Their specialty is moving folks from starter systems into systems that are a bit more substantial, with a heavy emphasis on realistic turn-key food production operations. You won't be disappointed. Harvestmaster

The tub is fine. American Standard products are very reliable. Enameled steel means just that, the product is fired enamel over steel - it is a very durable finish. However, how long will the little ones be little? Building long term structure to solve a temporary problem is just asking for another remodel in 10 years when none of the "little ones" will ever use the tub. For a temporary issue, come up with a temporary, not a permanent solution. Here is a link that might be useful: Choosing Bathroom Fixtures