What is hydroponics?
Hydroponics is simply the growing of plants without soil. Plants don’t need soil, but they do need the vitamins and minerals that soil can provide for them. Plants also need light, water, carbon dioxide, and oxygen at the root zone.
In hydroponics, plants are grown in an inert medium such as clay pebbles, net pots, or coco coir fiber, and they are fed a solution containing a perfect mix of primary, secondary, and micro-nutrients. Almost any kind of plant can be grown hydroponically, including veggies, herbs, fruits, and flowers.
Usage
Hydroponics is widely used by farmers and growers throughout the world. You might have noticed hydroponic tomatoes or ‘living’ lettuce in the refrigerated section at your grocery store. You might also have seen hydroponic roses and other cut flowers at the florist.
Hydroponics provides an advantage over soil growing for several reasons. Plants can be grown year-round since climate conditions can be controlled in a greenhouse. Because their roots do not need to reach for nutrients, the plants can be grown closer together.
The plants grown are significantly larger because of so many available nutrients and not having to waste time growing extensive root systems.
This makes the yields bigger. The nutrient solution also keeps the same amount of nutrients available all the time, whereas soil tends to “wear out” as the nutrients are taken up. The combination of all these things makes hydroponics more productive than soil growing.
Many farmers around the world are beginning to switch over to hydroponics for all of these reasons. The concern about water use is also a BIG reason hydroponics is becoming more popular - it significantly conserves water over the usual growing methods.
Why grow with hydroponics?
Hydroponic gardening is an easy and environmentally sound way to grow a wide variety of healthy plants. With hydroponics, gardening is possible in areas where it would normally be impossible. In poor soil for example, or in rocky areas, balconies and rooftops.
With the use of artificial lighting, it is even possible to successfully garden in a spare room or garage. Hydroponics will produce a much higher yield than growing in soil, so if you want to maximize the production of your garden, hydroponics is a great way to do it! Hydroponics is also great because:
Plants grow up to 50% faster than in soil because they have easy access to food and water
Hydroponic produce often has many times more nutrition than conventionally grown produce
Hydroponically grown fruit and veggies have increased flavor and texture
Plants start out in a sterile medium, are fast-growing, and resistant to pests and diseases
Smaller containers can be used because the roots can grow without being root bound
Plants do not need to compete for nutrients, thus more can be grown in a smaller area
The increased control over growing conditions makes it easier to provide the best possible environment for plants, leading to better quality produce and higher yields
Less labor is required than growing in soil because no digging or weeding is required
How to Grow using Hydroponics
With all the great advantages of hydroponics, you might think that it is difficult or complicated to try growing plants with it. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. Anyone can try growing with hydroponics. All you need are some basic tools and a little bit of knowledge. There is a bit of a learning curve, but that is part of the fun! You should become familiar with the following:
Growing Medium
An inert growing medium is used in pots to support plants and protect roots from the sunlight. It gives the roots something to hold on to. These pots usually sit in a tray or a channel of some sort.
Plants' roots need air just as much as they need water, and the key element to a successful grow medium is its ability to hold an abundant amount of oxygen. A growing medium must drain well and provide good conduction of nutrients and moisture to the root zone. Common materials are expanded clay, rockwool, and coconut fiber (coco-coir), but gravel or a mixture of perlite and vermiculite can be used as well.
Light
Light is not an issue for outdoor plants, but in order for sun-loving plants to thrive indoors, artificial light of the correct spectrum and intensity must be supplied. This is accomplished with grow lights known as High Intensity Discharge (HID) Lights. There are two types of HID lights, Metal Halides (MH) and High Pressure Sodium (HPS), each covering part of the light spectrum. MH lights reproduce the blue end of the spectrum and are used for plants in the vegetative state as well as for leafy green vegetables such as lettuce or spinach. HPS lights are used to produce fruits or flowers, such as tomatoes, roses or melons.
Nutrients
The proper nutrient formulation is essential to hydroponics. All minerals that the plants need are dissolved in water which is then circulated through the system to the plants. The nutrient solution should be monitored to keep levels at optimum strength.
There are numerous hydroponic nutrient solutions that are available on the market today. We carry 1 part, 2 part, and 3 part solutions as well as organic solutions. We also carry a wide variety of supplements to help with the vigor, flavor, and yield of your plants.
pH
The pH of a solution is a measurement of how acidic or basic it is. The pH level controls what nutrients will be readily absorbed by a plant’s root system. The pH of your solution should be adjusted according to what plants are being grown.
Usually, the pH should be between 5.8 and 6.5. pH levels can be easily and inexpensively checked with a shaker tester which allows you to check pH via watercolor. The levels can be adjusted by using pH Up or pH Down.
Ventilation and Carbon Dioxide
The current of air that circulates around plants is as important in a grow space as light, water, or nutrients. Proper ventilation removes excess heat and humid air while providing plants with healthy supplies of CO2, which plants need to thrive.
A growing area should at least include a fan that moves air gently past your plants. We are experts in CO2 enrichment and can offer you the information and tools you need to further increase plant health, vigor, and yield.
Temperature & Humidity
Plants are heat and cold and moisture-sensitive just like people. Most indoor grow rooms get plenty of heat from the lamps, although greenhouses often need heating in the winter. In most situations, proper venting can keep temperatures or humidity from getting too high, although some grow rooms (especially those using CO2 enrichment) need an air conditioner to lower heat and humidity. No matter what your growing level, it is important to learn the environmental requirements for the plant you are trying to grow.
Getting Started
If you are ready to try your hand at hydroponics, you will need several basic tools:
Net pots to hold the plants and some sort of growing media.
A tray to catch the nutrient and return it to the main reservoir if you are using a recirculating system. The main nutrient reservoir has a pump in it that circulates the nutrient and water to the plants.
It is not necessary to use a pump and nutrient reservoir to grow hydroponically. You can still water by hand if you choose. The trick is not to let things dry out. We are big fans of using coco coir fiber as a growing medium for hand watering.
Coco Coir is an amazing product (that happens to be organic) and it only needs to be watered once per day. There are naturally occurring enzymes in the coconut fiber which promote rapid fuzzy root growth as you’ve never seen with soil.
You will need hydroponic nutrients, a pH tester, and optimally, a nutrient level tester. There are numerous inexpensive kits that provide all of this in one package - these are great if you want to grow just a few plants. If you are interested in growing on a larger scale, we offer package systems that we have put together, or you can piece your own together using our catalog and the local hardware store.
What Type of Hydroponic System?
There are five main types of hydroponic systems: Ebb & Flow (also known as flood and drain), NFT (Nutrient Film Technique), Deep Water Culture, Drip Systems and Aeroponic systems. No matter what kind of system you choose, the goal is the same: to provide an optimum environment in which plants will thrive, growing faster and healthier than you’ve ever seen before.
Ebb & Flow Systems
The plants are usually grown in pots with a growing medium. The pots sit in a plastic tray that sits above a reservoir filled with nutrient solution. Since the system relies on gravity to do the work, the growing tray must be higher than the reservoir. A pump in the reservoir is connected to the bottom of the tray. When the pump turns on, the tray fills with water, temporarily submerging roots. When the pump turns off, the water runs back down through the pump into the reservoir.
Nutrient Film Technique
Nutrient Film Technique, NFT, is mostly used in large commercial applications. A basic NFT setup involves a thin layer of nutrients flowing over the roots of the plants in the system. NFT is really only suitable for small, fast-growing plants like lettuce.
Deep Water Culture
Deepwater culture systems are some of the least expensive and easiest systems to start up. They are usually made up of a bucket filled up 1/3 of the way with water and a net-pot-bucket-lid, filled with HydroCorn (Grow Rocks) that sits on top of the bucket allowing the roots to grow through the net pot and then into the water.
The water is continuously being bubbled with air from an air pump/air stone combination. The water solution is filled with nutrients and pH’d to the proper levels. Voila!
Drip Systems
Drip systems are the most widely used hydroponic systems in the world. They’re commonly used in commercial facilities for growing long-term crops like tomatoes and peppers. Similar to your backyard irrigation system, the nutrient solution is literally ‘dripped’ onto plant roots before being recycled through the system’s reservoir. These systems are great for budget-minded beginners.
Aeroponic Systems
Plant roots are suspended in the air and misted by high-pressure sprayers which break nutrients into small particles and saturate the roots. The roots are grown in a misty, humid environment, with minimal grow media. Due to the water’s constant circulation and the action of a high-pressure pump, the levels of oxygen in the water are kept high.
What are the advantages of hydroponics over soil?
Hydroponically grown plants maintain optimum nutrient and moisture levels, so they grow faster and healthier. No soil means no weeds and no soil-borne pests or diseases.
Another advantage is root systems stay smaller on hydroponically grown plants, allowing the plant to focus its growth energy on producing plant mass rather than roots. This means you can have more plants per square foot of growing space, and more yield! Lastly, Hydroponics is a water-wise way to grow.
What kind of plants can I grow with hydroponics?
Just about anything, although some plants are more delicate or require more space than others. Here some of the veggies we suggest: tomatoes, sweet peppers, cucumbers, squash, snow peas, beans, spinach, lettuce, chard, hot chilies, and broccoli. Also, you can grow all kinds of herbs, leafy greens, flowers, and house plants.
Can hydroponic plants be organic?
Growing organically and hydroponically can be done but it can be a bit of a challenge. Hydroponics is based on immediate and 100% availability of nutrients. Organic fertilizers typically break down over a period of time via bacterial action in the soil.
Organic hydroponic nutrients are available, however, because the nutrients are in a more raw form, your plants may grow a bit slower. Beneficial microbes have come a long way in the last 3-5 years. Now, with a proper balance of microbes you can break down all organic materials and feed them to the plant quickly and directly, thus speeding up growth to even faster levels than that of mineral-based nutrition alone.
Organic nutrients also tend to clog drippers and small tubing. Many growers still use standard hydroponic nutrients and supplement them with organic additives such as humic and fulvic.
How does the flavor compare to veggies from my outdoor garden?
Don’t be surprised if your hydroponic vegetables taste better than the ones from your garden. Because hydroponically grown plants get everything they need when they need it and without stress, they are able to grow much healthier than their organic cousins.
Remember with soil, important micronutrients are often “locked away” where your plants cannot take full advantage of them. That’s why hydroponics is so great! You have complete control over the type and quantity of minerals your plants are feeding on.
This advantage often produces fruits and vegetables that are far superior to organic produce in taste, color, size and even, nutritional value.
Source: https://www.gchydro.com/
Hydroponics = More Control
Hydroponics offers several advantages over traditional ways of growing crops. It can help you produce bigger harvests of better quality fruit and vegetables, and a consistent year-round yield that you cannot equal using soil or by growing outdoors or in greenhouses using only natural light.
In a hydroponic garden that uses sterile root zone media and has a clean environment, crops aren’t exposed to pathogens and diseases that live in soil. Hydroponic gardening eliminates weeds and other soil-borne problems.
Hydroponics gardening can be done more intensively than traditional gardening, with more crop cycles, using controlled environments that maximize growth potential. By growing indoors under artificial light or in greenhouses with manipulation of sunlight, temperature controls, and environmental controls, growers can harvest year round in small spaces and still get profitable yields.
Growers can totally control the content and timing of nutrient delivery, which allows them to manipulate crops to achieve more product and higher quality.
Old But Modern?
Hydroponics gardening is the most modern method of producing quality vegetables, fruits, flowers and other agricultural crops, but if you think hydroponics is a new concept, you may be surprised by the long history of hydroponics.
Humans have been growing plants in hydroponics gardens for at least 2600 years, perhaps beginning with the legendary Hanging Gardens of Babylon. The Greek scientists Theophrastus and Dioscorides studied hydroponics 2000 years ago. In the 11th century, the Aztec Nation (which was later totally destroyed by genocide perpetrated by European invaders) created floating gardens in Lake Tenochtitlan in the central valley of what is now called Mexico.
Aztecs built rafts from shore vegetation, placed soil on top of the rafts, and floated them in the lake with plants growing on the soil. These rafts were called “Chinampas.” Plants growing on them sent roots through the soil and rafts; the roots fed off the nutrient-rich water of the lake.
This may have been a first use of a hydroponics process now called aeroponics, in which plants are fed by water rather than soil. Some Chinampas were linked together into co-joined gardens big enough to be classified as islands- so big that people could walk on them!
Early European scientists also explored the idea of using water as a primary medium for plant roots and did other research to figure out how plants grew.
In 1600, Jan van Helmont planted a one-pound willow shoot in a pipe containing 200 pounds of dried soil in Belgium. Five years later, the willow shoot weighed 160 pounds, but there was still 200 pounds of soil in the pipe. Van Helmont could not figure out how the willow got so big, because scientists were not yet aware that plants absorb nutrients through water and air.
A century later, Englishman John Woodward mixed water and soil as a root media. He’s credited with being one of the first people to figure out that plants absorb nutrients from soil and water, and some assert that his water-soil combination qualifies as the first hydroponic plant food.
Soon thereafter, other Europeans discovered the function of roots, transpiration, nutrient uptake, carbon dioxide absorption from the air through leaves, and absorption of oxygen through roots.
English researcher Joseph Priestly is the creator of the first CO2 enhancement chamber. He found that plants in a chamber filled with carbon dioxide gradually transform carbon dioxide into oxygen. He also discovered that sunlight rapidly increased this transformation, which was an early indication of what was later called photosynthesis.
Be Part of the Movement By the early 20th century, scientists had precisely analyzed minerals and other materials necessary for plant growth; they’d also devised liquid nutrient formulas that substituted for soil nutrients.
Before 1924, hydroponics was called nutriculture, chemiculture and aquaculture. In 1924, Dr. William F. Gericke of the University of California (often referred to as “the father of modern hydroponics”) created the word hydroponics to describe growing crops in non-soil media and nutrient-enriched water indoors and outdoors.
The green-thumbed professor grew hydroponic fruits, veggies, root crops, ornamentals and flowers. His tomato plants attained heights of 25 feet, producing tomatoes the size of grapefruits!
During World War II, the US and British militaries used hydroponics to grow hundreds of thousands of tons of food for soldiers in remote locations where conventional farming was impossible. After World War II, the military continued to use hydroponics. For example, the American army grew eight million pounds of fresh hydroponic produce in 1952, most of it in Japan.
By the 1960s, hydroponics agriculture had become a major industry worldwide, especially in parts of the US such as Florida, California, Hawaii, and Arizona, and in Russia, France, South Africa, the Middle East, Holland, Japan, Australia, and Germany. A recent Australian government report estimates that 65,000 acres of high-intensity legal hydroponic production exist worldwide, with a value of six billion to eight billion US dollars per year.
Analysts cited in the Aussie report say global warming, desertification, water shortages, oil shortages, and globalization are making hydroponics increasingly important. The report notes that the industry has achieved phenomenal financial and technological success in a relatively short time, and that its value has a faster doubling time than almost any other category of the world agricultural economy.
A small country like the Netherlands achieved a formidable status as 2nd largest exporter of hydroponically grown tomatoes. In addition to the commercial use of hydroponics, many amateur or small-scale growers are using hydroponic systems in gardens, on windowsills, in basements, greenhouses and spare rooms.
The US Navy grows hydroponic vegetables on submarines, and NASA has long attempted to perfect hydroponic systems that could provide oxygen and food for people on long space flights.
Hydroponics Techniques and Methods
There are several ways to grow hydroponically, and some growers are fortunate to be able to experiment with these different methods to see the advantages, disadvantages and production results of each. Most people choose one of the following methods of hydroponics growing:
The Ebb and Flow system features plant pots filled with sterile grow medium inundated with nutrient-rich water for a fe
w minutes every hour. Often, the pots sit in an upper reservoir that drains into a lower reservoir. The most commonly used grow medium for Ebb and Flow gardens are rockwool, perlite, vermiculite, and lava rock.
Drip systems use an irrigation approach that relies on drip emitters suspended just above the root zone. These emitters come in varying shapes, sizes and spray patterns, so growers can use the emitters to regulate the amount of moisture reaching root media, and how the moisture is distributed spatially. Drip systems can be fine-tuned in conjunction with temperature and humidity to create a near-continuous feed cycle that pours lots of nutrients and water into plants to produce growth.
One very technical system of growing is known as the Nutrient Film Technique (NFT). In this method, plants are placed in narrow grow channels that sometimes resemble a long pipe cut in half horizontally. A “film” of nutrients in contained in water in the bottom of the channel where roots are dangling.
In NFT, an abundance of oxygen is drawn in through the top of the roots and through the irrigation solution as it passes by the lower parts of the roots. The irrigation sprayer is activated much of the time by necessity because the plant roots are hanging in the bottom of the channel with no media around them to keep them moist.
NFT is high maintenance, temperamental, but the extremely productive method of hydroponics growing. The easiest type of hydroponics garden to set up is a passive system in which plants sit in their pots or in an apparatus that allows their roots to hang in a weak reservoir of nutrients.
This system has no moving parts, pumps, emitters or other complications, but it often has a problem with low amounts of oxygenation in the reservoir, which can slow plant growth. It is the least flexible of any of the four systems mentioned here because it is virtually impossible to micro-adjust feed rate and concentration.
A more difficult form of gardening, but one which is very high-tech and efficient, is the aeroponics garden. This type of garden is somewhat similar to the NFT method. Many gardeners put their plants in trays or pots that are filled with a dense water-holding substance like rockwool, sphagnum moss, or coco coir.
Nutrition-rich water is supplied to the root zone media, which holds plants firmly in place while retaining a storehouse of nutrients for uptake by roots.
The aeroponics method bathes plant roots in an aerosol spray of nutrition and water. Roots hang in the spray area and the plants are supported by rubber gaskets. The system provides a huge amount of oxygen to roots and also negates the need for lots of root space because the delivery of nutrients is so efficient.
Source: https://www.greengoldfarms.net
