Hydroponic Gardening on a Gradient!

When it comes to designing larger indoor or outdoor hydroponics gardens where relatively small water reserves are preferred or required for monitoring purposes or to reduce mass, one option is to use drip emitters to directly target plants being grown in trays on a gradient.

Comparatively small amounts of fertilizer solution can be used in this manner to supply very large quantities of plants. Large plastic trays, or wooden trays lined with plastic can be laid out and adjusted to a level so as to drain the solution back towards the nutrient container with or without the aid of tubes and hoses.

The nutrient supply chain is usually comprised of a water pump which expels the fertilizer solution into a series of pipes and fittings which are directed towards the bases of the stems of the plants where they gently deliver their load of nutritious fertilizer ions to the plants. Professional drip emitters, osmotically permeable membranous tubes, and soaker-hoses are available for reasonable prices at most hardware stores, but a system of improvised drippers made from thin poly. tubing or pipes with small holes drilled in them can easily be fashioned accordingly using a little ingenuity.

Most any substrate can be used to harbor and support the plants' roots in the trays, and I highly recommend perlite and/or vermiculite due to their characteristic chemical neutrality and excellent moisture and air holding capabilities as well as their economical cost effectiveness and the fact that they are readily available in most areas of the world.

When using this technique to grow plants, it is good practice to regularly flush the media with fresh, clean water to clear out any excess fertilizer salts which could build up to toxic levels if left unchecked.

This method conserves water well and is generally easy to run and maintain.

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