Thursday, June 16, 2022
6-month Spring soil growth Re-vamp : with a highdroponic introduction [Experiment]
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
The 5 Popular Systems of Hydroponics
There are 5 Popular Systems for growing an array of plants hydroponically.What defines them is the chosen method to apply the nutrients, air and water.
What hydroponics does is deliver the nutrients directly to the roots this contact makes the nutrients immediately available. This can be achieved actively or passively.
Passive: This transports water and nutrients through capillary action and through means of gravity or manual application.Absorbent growing mediums such as; vermiculite,sawdust,peat moss,etcetera. Are ideal for Passive systems as they retain water and remain wet. NOTE Soggy substrates hold less air and deprive the roots the necessary oxygen for nutrient uptake. The substrate or growing material is very important when choosing or modifying an existing system.
The Dutch have perfected and thus maximized their yield from these otherwise low yielding systems. They are appealing for the fact they wont malfunction and have low initial cost and maintenance !!! DIY Example Here !!!
Dutch gardeners use the Wick System
Line the floor of a room with heavy plastic or pond liner. They fill 3 gallon pots with an absorbent mixture of soil less materials that hold lots of air.
Then they flood the garden with 2 - 3 inches of nutrient solution. The roots absorb this water in 2 - 5 days. Nothing is drained it is all absorbed in this time. This is perfect for people whom want to have a garden but have to travel or just want to have little supervision in between watering.
Simply return and there are no worries just healthy happy plants!!
Active systems move the nutrient mix during delivery to the roots. Fast growing plants are well suited to these active hydroponic systems.
In these systems the nutrients and water are collected and reused , you want to reuse the solutions because there is still a lot of nutrients not absorbed by the plants right away. A majority of what they use is the water as they slowly feed on the nutrients in the water.
Recovering the solution makes it more complex but increases the amount of control and gives the plants a schedule that they will thrive on. These active recovery systems drain easily and hold lots of root friendly air.
Substrates include; expanded clay , pea gravel , pumice rock, crushed brick , coconut coir. These are ideal but you can use anything that is fairly light in water and holds oxygen in between.
Ebb and Flow
Ebb and Flow or Flood and Drain are popular with great track records as low maintenance easy to use systems. These systems can be constructed in so many different ways due to their simplicity. They are very efficient.
Individual plants set in pots or in rockwool cubes are set on a created table. The table is a water tight holding bed that can retain 1-4 inches of nutrient solution. Nutrient solution is pumped onto the water table. The rockwool blocks or pots are flooded from the bottom which pushes the oxygen poor air out.
Once the nutrient reaches a predetermined level an overflow pipe set a few inches from the bottom drains the excess water into the reservoir below the water table. When the pump switches off the medium drains and draws in new oxygen rich air into the root zone. The runoff is directed into the reservoir where it can be pumped up several times a day.
This system can be as simple as this / or as complex as this.
All dependent on your budget and specific needs.
Deep water culture is simple and productive. If growing outdoors a simple overflow drainage hole can be cut out of the side to prevent overflow.Seedlings and cuttings are held above by net pots filled with expanded clay pellets, rockwool or any other chose medium. The net pots are placed fittingly into holes in the lid above the reservoir.
The roots of the seedlings dangle down into the reservoir filled with nutrient solution. A submersed air pump lifts the solution with the air rising and it splashes onto the roots. Which cascades down splashing the roots and in turn carries more oxygen into the root zone. The roots can easily absorb these nutrients because of the oxygen rich environment . These systems are extremely simple by design and require nothing more than an air pump and a bucket with a lid; requiring no timer because the air pump runs 24/7 . This low maintenance garden is ideal for casual gardeners and enthusiasts alike. Here are some simple directions for a DIY.
& Here are some Complex instructions.
Top feeding hydroponic setups are also highly productive. They are easy to control, precise, and low maintenance. Here the nutrient solution is measured out into precise amounts and delivered via vinyl spaghetti tubing or some type of irrigation emitter placed at the base of the plant a.k.a the top of the containers holding the plants.
Aerated nutrient solution is pumped up and out the tube flowing into the growing medium and being absorbed by the roots. The runoff is directed back into the reservoir immediately after draining from the medium. Rockwool , coconut coir, gravel and expanded clay are the most common for this system. These systems are extremely versatile able to be modified into individual containers draining to the same reservoir or many containers being placed on a common bed and then leading into the reservoir.
Systems with several gallons of growing medium are best for growing larger plants and may need support because of how large and quickly they will grow. Smaller containers will work for smaller plants obviously. Roots = Growth and Yield .
There are self contained systems that consist of an internal pump inside the bottom of a container with the plant nestled on top of it. This makes it easy to tend to each individual plant and convenient for removing sick plants.These systems are also ideal for growing large mother plants for taking clones. The container can be transported quickly.
Some systems have a net pot suspended in a lid of a 5 gallon bucket. The roots hang down into it and an airs tone with air pump aerates the solution. While you can have a pump that draws the water onto the top of the container and trickles down; somewhat combining the two DWC and Top Feed Systems together.There are so many variations on this method that can be looked into further. Here is an Example of how to construct some of those: 1 & 2 & 3
Now Other Top Feeding Systems use more than one bucket with a single reservoir. A flexible draining hose is attached at the bottom of the bucket reservoir. Then the hose is connected to a draining manifold that leads the runoff of all the buckets back to the main solution reservoir.
Each reservoir below the growing container holds at least an inch of water. This needs to be cycled with a timer often so the water doesn’t sit for too long.
Top feed buckets can also be lined up on a drainage table. Square containers make the most use of space. Plants are fed with an irrigation hose attached to a manifold . Once it is delivered the water flows and percolates through the medium. Roots take in the aerated water and it drains back to the beginning container. This system is good for modifications and improvising because individual containers can be added or moved.
NFT systems are superior high performance gardens that perform great with fine tuning. This is one of the newer adaptations to the hydroponics concept. This provides aerated solution to the roots through gulleys. Seedlings or clones are placed in this system once a root structure that is strong has formed. They are placed on a capillary matting lining the bottom of the of gulley channel. This matting keeps some of the nutrient solution while providing a stronghold for the roots to take in. Constantly aerated solution ( aerated with an air pump) runs down the channel around the roots then leads back to the main reservoir.
The flow of water is constant 24/7. The roots will get plenty of O2 and this gives the roots the environment to maximize nutrient intake. The proper incline , volume and flow of the solution are the key factors in these systems. The gulleys are covered at the top to give the roots the darkness they need and to prevent algae while keeping the humidity high in the root zone.
The root hairs that are responsible for most water/nutrient intake cover the growing tips of newer forming roots. These new roots are engrossed with fast flowing solution while the plant root tops are intermittently in free humid air. The solution aerates itself as it flows down the channels.
This incline of the channels prevents water from sitting or building up ; a filter will be necessary for the pump to allow these channels to remain free of debris or nutrient salt buildup.
Directions for Making your own NFT system!!!
Note :
That though these systems don’t require a medium to buffer, in case of a failure these roots will dry up and die if not kept entirely moist from the flowing solution at all times. Even in a day the smaller capillary roots will dry up and damage the plant stunting the growth and ruining the yield. This system is very easy to clean up and re-use.
The Beauty of these systems is they can be constructed as hybrids mixing the top feed systems with the tubes delivering the running water to each individual plant. The more water delivering points the better the roots will develop and thus the plant will grow and develop.
You can even add spray misters inside of the gulleys to create an aeroponic environment and really watch your babies flourish. The problem with a hybrid system is it shouldn’t be attempted until you understand the prior 4 basic systems and how they work. Otherwise you might make mistakes that will cost time and money.