Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

No need to assume anything re a poster's gender, Stuart, since gender or couple status is indicated using internationally recognised symbols in the left hand column under the poster's avatar.
What does it say about me that it is the first thing I look at in a new post!

I haven't needed a welder either, Gunagulla, but my understanding is that when pipe sizes are larger than 2" the cost of fittings jumps significantly. They are expensive enough in standard 2" sizes, to the extent that if one's project needed many of them then it would be worthwhile considering the use of a welder.

That's true PLJ, I had to buy some 63mm fittings for my pumped stored hydro power project, and they were hideously expensive. Not as expensive as a plastic welder though!

My system has mainly LDPE, very cheep and plenty strong enough for the low pressures.

HDPE is rated from PN4 - 40m head to PN16 - 160m head (water)

LDPE is rated at 300 kpa or 30m of head.

so if lettuce is no longer 'living' when the roots are cut off... am I no longer 'living' if I cut my legs off? What's defines a 'living' lettuce anyhow?

I just remembered another reason for using HDPE. Even the drainage range is pressure rated unlike DWV.

You don't have to use a welder for many sizes but it is a lot cheaper if you have a lot of plumbing. For me the largest size is 500mm but there is also a fair bit of 315mm and welding is the only practical option.

tom77, no need to cut off your legs to prove your theory. If you can take a piece of the lettuce leaf and grow it in an agar solution, or whatever they use in tissue culture, then that has got to be alive as far as I am concerned. Plant cutting material, similarly, must be alive by definition or otherwise it couldn't grow roots and develop into a complete plant.

So...can a lettuce cutting grow roots?

Called my supplier of LDPE and asked about the presence of plasticisers in their product. They don't.

Of course. That is the whole idea of in vitro cloning or plant tissue culture. From an article called 'Propagation of lettuce (Lactuca sativa) breeding material by tissue culture', by D. A. C. PINK, PHILIPPA J. CARTER:

"The cultures were successfully rooted after 3–4 wk ... Rooted cultures were established in compost with a 90–95% success rate and the regenerated plants flowered c. 18 wk after the cultures were initiated."

The main difference is that a lettuce 'cutting' is a tiny piece of leaf or leaf bud instead of a section of stem or rhizome.

great!... so 'living' it is

Here tom 77
Foods You Can Grow From Kitchen Scraps

These plants can be propagated as many times as you wish and all you need to get started is some left over kitchen scraps.
- See more at: http://reclaimgrowsustain.com/content/f ... a18nD.dpuf

I'w tryed it for fun sticking it (the weggies scrap) directly in soil in a tyre next to my compst bins and it actually works

cheers

PLJ & Tom,
Living lettuce it's a produce that does not get harvested (the action of severing part of the plants/fruit)..and that ultimately mean you can just go home and plant in soil to keep going until fully consumed.
In other words any parts that goes under sectioning it becomes PERISHABLE! (removing buds, removing pods, removing fruit, removing edible part and so on...)
Q: what would happen to your leg if not frozen?

As you can see in the BAMBOO-PONICS plants have roots attached and they keep thriving, I feel guilty every time I kill a trout, at least I'm sparing lettuces life!

PS: in the ZIPGROW system plants get to markets still live, but to sell it off....they still need picking......hence harvested!
and yes it will still be live for a few day, but that produce become PERISHABLE!

Soltun, It won't surpise me if they start growing kitchen craps!

I fail to see the difference between a living lettuce rooted in a bamboo tube... or in ziptower media...

If you pick from either... or pull the entire lettuce... what's the difference...

And in the past... I've taken short runs of nft channels to market... pumping solution through them... and returned unsold product back to the farm...

Sorry... but I really don't think you can claim anything novel Bioaqua...

No bioaqua, plj is on the money.

You fail to see many thing jhon, nothing new to me!
Did you sell it with roots attached?
Can you back up your claim? any photos or proof?..... or just your words.......?