Speaker 1, a workshop presenter, described how to grow lettuce, basil and Red Russian kale in a raft system and recommended seed sources and light schedules.

The guidance focused on practical steps home gardeners can use to start and maintain leafy crops in small raft systems, including how and when to harvest and how long to run grow lights.

Speaker 1 identified seeds and recommended sources, saying, "the loose seeds in the bags, the white ones, those are basil. The darker ones are cilantro." He also noted that many green leafy seeds are available "from the local libraries" as well as "from any garden center, from any anywhere you like." Speaker 1 advised that the small black seeds are kale and referred to the variety commonly called Red Russian kale.

On harvesting, Speaker 1 said, "The lettuce is typically 1 and done," explaining that gardeners typically harvest a whole head, remove its roots from the raft and replant. He contrasted that with herbs and some greens: "The basil, you can harvest for 6 months, longer," and said kale can be continually harvested as well. He gave a practical trimming tip for basil: trim "just above that node" so the plant continues to produce branches.

Speaker 1 recommended planting in a rotation so parts of a raft contain seedlings while other sections mature. "Most people, I find want to plant in a rotation," he said, adding that growers can stagger seedlings across a raft and harvest continuously. On light schedules he advised growers to run lights "anywhere between 8 and 18 hours a day. 12 hours is usually good." He noted longer light periods speed growth but larger plants can become "more susceptible to disease and decay." Speaker 2 made brief participant remarks about starting slowly to learn how much monitoring the system needs.

This discussion was instructional; there were no motions, votes or formal actions recorded during the session.