I don't know where in the forums to put this plant--I can't believe I couldn't find threads on it already.
I've been growing wasabi, mostly in aquaponics systems, for a couple years now, and decided to take it a bit more seriously this year. For me the principle obstacle has been heat (but they also don't like a freeze). I've managed to keep some growing in the greenhouse for a long time now, and it seems that cool water temperatures go a long ways toward mitigating high air temperatures. These plants are also, like many brassicaceae, highly susceptible to aphids.
I'll be up front in saying that I'm messing about with these, like I do so many other plants, for my own amusement. We'll see what comes out of my efforts in a couple more years, but I'm patient. That said, I run a wholesale plant nursery business, so I employ quarantine protocols, IPM, climate monitoring, mass production methodologies, and strict observation and record keeping, as in all of my plant projects.
Here are my latest trials, on extra deep water tables (~1" of water) with some plants each in coarse media, fine media, and classic peat-based propagation mix. I have Daruma, Mazuma, Green Thumb, and wild strains of wasabi plants, under two different artificial lighting protocols. For this first phase (~5 months) I will not be varying temperature between the groups, but I plan to do a split after that with cooler and warmer conditions. Temperatures in the current setup swing from 60F (~15C) at night to 77F (25C) during the day.
In six months the plan is to split the group, with one half moving out into warmer temperatures and less absolute control over conditions (shadehouse), and the other remaining indoors. At that time we'll also be evaluating transplanting protocols, but that will depend a bit on the observed growth. In all, the two year plan is quite involved, but there are many forks it could take based on observations, and those criteria are many. There are also many things I'd like to explore with these plants, including propagation and crosses, and the interplay between nutrients, temperature, light, and media.
I'm still making adjustments to the tables, but here's an early shot:
The plants in loose media have produced more young leaves, including side shoot leaves, since they were transplanted, while those in peat mix have better enlarged the fewer leaves that they have. I have my doubts about the peat mix, but plants using it and sunk into the aquaponic tables in the green house have been amazingly tough.
