Hydroponics Introduction!
© a.k.a. MBR
Hydroponics Introduction!
Hydroponics is the water-based growth of plants, usually directly in water or in soil-less mix, although there are many variations. Because of the ability to have control over water and nutrient solution management as well as increasing oxygen levels in the root zone, crop productivity can be increased significantly when compared to regular outdoor growing methods.
Many people immediately picture some high-tech apparatus used only by NASA Engineers or University students when they hear the word Hydroponics, but the truth is that Hydroponics culture methods have been successfully used to grow ornamental and edible crops for millennia.
One of the first documented Hydroponic gardens was the famed Hanging Gardens of Babylon in Iraq http://pharos.bu.edu/Egypt/Wonders/garde... . Mother Nature has also been busy using Hydroponics anywhere that plants grow in sand, gravel, etc..
Hydroponics methods are now widely employed around the world, especially in Temperate regions where greenhouses can be operated year round without the need for supplemental heating. Many different crops are grown including Strawberries, Cucumbers, Lettuce, Tomatoes and Orchids. Virtually any plant can be grown Hydroponically as long as the specific water and nutrient consumption rates of that plant are taken into account.
There are a myriad of different techniques used, with the Wick, Nutrient Film Technique(NFT), Floating Raft, Drip, and Ebb & Flow methods being the most prevalent. Aeroponics is a new twist which is basically a method of feeding the plants by misting the roots with nutrient solution. An excellent link for the Floating Raft method is http://www.cals.cornell.edu/dept/flori/l... which is the CEA hydroponics site at Cornell University.
The Wick method consists of having pots or a tray full of media with plants in it above a reservoir of fertilizer solution with wicks transferring the solution to the plants through capillary action. This is the most basic system, but works well.
The NFT system works by having troughs or pipes which the plants are kept in with a steady stream of nutrient solution pumped through. The solution level is kept at a thin film to maximize the oxygen available to the plants roots.
The Floating Raft technique consists of growing the plants on floating Styrofoam rafts on an aerated nutrient solution. This system is best suited to growing lettuce and other small leafy plants that don't require much support.
The Drip method works be having the plants in pots or trays and the solution is supplied by pipes and dripped onto the roots.
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