If cheap is the main factor, I would not do hydroponics. By the time you get done buying what you really need to be successful, you will be far past a few containers and dirt. For example, a ECC/PH meter, baskets, media, air hose, air pump, air stone, and nutrient solution. vs. Containers and dirt. If you just want to get started in hydro, then I would start off growing cheap, easy vegetables like lettuce, herbs and hot peppers. I say cheap because they are fairly easy to grow, and they do not use a lot of water and nutrients. Tomatoes are fun to grow, but use lots of space, water and nutrients. If you want super easy hydro, do a wick or static system where the lid of your Tupperware container becomes the "saucer" under the pot. Just take the Tupperware lid, flip it upside down, then put your Tupperware container on the lid. Fill the lid with water, and viola, static hydroponic system (you would need to put holes in the bottom of the container of course). For media you can use Perlite, and you would not need any baskets. Just fill the tub with Perlite, and your ready to grow. Also this way you can grow carrots, potatoes, green onions etc.

The photos suggest to me that your ph was off. In hydro, you would typically want to see near 5.5ph. If that is off, the plant can't accept any of the nutrients. I'd suggest getting a ph test kit, fairly cheap and available at any garden or pet store. For the lettuce I might suggest a T5 style light, l.e.d. tend to not offer enough brodcast for broadleaf vegetables

Hey gizzman - I thought I had posted a response back a few days ago but don't see it here. To answer a few of your questions - DI is deionized water. I don't think the issue is showing up on any of the new leaves but the heads it happened to appear to be permanently damaged. The center of the heads closed up and developed the same soft mushy texture from the leaves breaking down. The center leaves almost appear see through. The fungus in the one plant started to appear on one of the heads of romaine that had the worst tip burn. What is interesting is the white fuzz only appears inside the heads that close up. Maybe this closed off area is preventing air from getting in to dry out the area. Tip burn on the outer leaves just dried up and was easily removed as a dry edge. I cut all of this edge browning out recently and will be waiting to see how the plants perform. I am using a commercial style system that has 1" square holes punched into the top. I simply transplant 1" grodan starter cubes into this cutout. The browning really appears to happen anywhere in the system so it is hard to pinpoint. The one thing I can say with confidence is that the browning is on the older plants only at this point. I have newer growth coming up now so the next 2 weeks will certainly be revealing. I am crossing my fingers. Thanks for all the questions and suggestions. It is helping me look more closely at my system.

strawberries and blueberries (raspberries too) will require completely different setups. a blueberry bush is perenial and grows in size to sometimes 5ft diameter. strawberry bushes,while perenial, are generally replaced every 2-3 years. they are also much smaller. maybe 18" tall. for strawberries to set fruit, they must recieve a cold cycle. are you starting to see the difficulties with your questions. for a generic box that'll house strawberries either: a)use a 4"-6" dia. pvc pipe with holes drilled every 8"-12" or b) build a box using 3-6" cedar fence boards (4 if you want a top) line with plastic, fill this with water, then staple the plastic to the wood. you fill it with water so it'll create a nice fit against the wood. Next drill you drain holes and inset drain valves. make sure you put a silicon seal between the plastic and the valve so prevent leaks. box cost(approximately): 4 6' fence boars USD$3.00 bag of plastic $20.00 (this is enough to make 500 of these boxed though) drain valve/ vent $2.00 silicon sealant: $3.00 if you can get around buying a large roll of plastic, a box'll only run you about $10. but I say get the big roll. i did, about 10 years ago, and still have some and still find uses for it all the time.