Hydroponics can be used as a buzzword and describe a method. You've heard by using it, you can actually grow indoors, attain amazing yields in a short time, and lengthen the growing season. If you're environmentally minded, it's possible you have even heard about not needing pesticides or herbicides and about the efficiency of nutrient recycling. If you have heard the term thrown around but do not know the way it actually works, you might be interested in learning exactly what a hydroponic system really is.
The drip system, deep water culture, nutrient film technique and the ebb and flow system are all primary systems in hydroponics. The drip system is well-liked and easy to implement, and works well for large plants. The plants are put in a non-soil growing medium (gravel, rockwool, perlite, coconut coir, L.E.C.A, higromite or vermiculite) and then suspended in baskets. An uncomplicated plumbing set-up pumps a water and nutrient solution from a reservoir to the growing medium, and the solution "drips" through the medium. Drip systems can be set up without or with automated and timed pumps, and with or without a recirculation system that channels run-off solution back to the reservoir.
Another hydroponic system, the deep water culture or direct water culture, requires the immersion of plant roots in oxygen rich, nutrient dense water. The system typically utilizes a net pot to suspend the plant in water and will require an air pump. In order to secure the roots in a net pot scenario because they're immersed in the nutrient-filled water, many gardeners opt for lightweight expanded clay aggregate (L.E.C.A.) as the non-soil medium. To help keep the plant alive and healthy, this system requires that the water be properly oxygenated. The fact that nutrients are easily accessible at all times is the primary benefit of this kind of system.
Nutrient film technique or NFT is promoted as the system that has the best balance of oxygen, water and nutrients, although this technique is not recommended for beginners. In this system, a thin stream of nutrient packed water is constantly circulated and recirculated to the plants which are grown bare-rooted in watertight channels. The thinness of the stream is designed to make certain that top part of the root mat will always be exposed to oxygen, while the bottom has a continuously accessible supply of nutrients and water. Establishing ideal channel slope, channel length and flow rate are the challenges that come with the NFT system.
Ebb and flow is yet another simple system, utilizing a tray filled with a growing medium that that you pump a water-nutrient solution into regularly to flood the tray. With the holding tank underneath the tray, the solution can empty back out, by way of the same tube, by gravity. Although a number of hobbyists and gardeners love this particular system because of its simplicity, large commercial growers do not often enjoy this system. The tricks with ebb and flow are to be sure that the pH of the recirculating water remains at a level healthy for the plants, to make certain drainage is happening on a regular basis and thoroughly, and to make sure that your plants are not suffering from pathogens causing root rot.
All hydroponics systems can be utilized in greenhouses or used indoors with the help of full spectrum lights. Grow lights, reflectors and light movers should all be used correctly in order to achieve successful indoor development, extension of the growing season and produce high yields. Ask local providers about the proper system and set-up for you or your business.
