Hydroponics All You Need to Know
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May 1, 2012
Hyrdroponics
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Hydroponics is regularly used by growers around the world to produce fast growing crops with a high yield. Although the name sounds quite high tech and
modern, soilless growing has been around for centuries, researchers as far back as the 18th century realised that soil itself was not essential to plant growth. In
plant growth soil is simply a medium or reservoir, something to hold the nutrients that the plants need to grow, hydroponics replaces the use of soil with other
mediums such as rockwool, coco scuff or pebbles. Replacing the soil with other mediums has many benefits as it allows the grower to be in total control of not
just what nutrients are available to the plants but when, in soil growing it takes a very experienced gardener with a keen eye to know just how much nutrient a
plant might need and how often, with hydro-systems the nutrient can be closely monitored using meters to measure the CF (salt minerals content) and the
PH(acidity) all which are vital to premium plant growth.
There are many different types of hydroponics systems used today, much research has been done to advance the science of hydroponics into a simple but
effective growing system that can grow pretty much any many plant to great success. With a little know how and some simple materials available at most DIY
stores it is possible to make a Hydro system but before we get into that lets have a brief look at the ready made systems available and how they work.
NFT
Nutrient Film Technique is amongst the most commonly used hydroponic systems.
To set up an NFT system you would need:
1. Purpose built trays or gulleys to sit the plants on.
2. Reservoir or tank to house the solution
3. Submersible pump and piping system for irrigation.
4. Spreader mat.
5. Growing Medium
So how does it work? Plants are suspended in a medium, most commercial growers use rockwool blocks for this but baskets of clay pebbles are also favoured. A
nutrient mix of specially formulated liquid fertilizers is mixed in the tank (A) because the solution is based in clean water there are a lot of basic enzymes missing
from the solution, these are added separately usually in liquid form, there are many different brands on the market and experienced growers tend to have their
own formula or mix, this is often a closely guarded secret as the correct solution mix with the correct enzyme additives can make a huge difference to the final
yield of the plant. The solution is circulated from the tank using the submersible pump(B), up to the growing tray and is pumped in at the top (C) the nutrient
solution then runs down the tray(which has a layer of spreader mat on top) creating a film of nutrient, this is known as nutrient film technique. As the film runs
down the trays the nutrients pass over the roots of the plants (D), the solution then falls back into the tank (E) to be re circulated back to the plants. Some
growers use the same system but only pass the nutrient solution over the plants once; this is known as Run to waste NFT.
Flood and Drain
To set up a Flood and Drain hydroponics system you will need:
1. Purpose built trays or gulleys to sit the plants on.
2. Reservoir or tank to house the solution
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