Hydroponics Zonimetrical Gardening!
© a.k.a. MBR
A radical new next-generation style of hydroponics gardening in "zones" may prove to be one of the most groundbreaking and optimally efficient systems ever developed.
The technique involves using trough-style growing bed trays stacked and aligned in such a manner as to allow for gravity-fed moisturization of the crops. See the minimalist illustrations.
We recommend using cheap gutters or hand-built wooden canals lined with appropriate polymer membranes. The trays can then be mounted using hangers (brackets) attached to metal, polymer, or wooden support structures.
The system's plumbing can consist of polymer through-hull fittings, pipes, tubing, hoses, clamps, washers, grommets, and usually an efficient and reliable water pump.
Perlite (Pearlite) and/or Vermiculite, Coir, Dolomitic (Horticultural Grade) Limestone, and many other media may be used as the substrate for the plants' roots. Many people prefer using the Nutrient Film Technique ("NFT") to eliminate the necessity for using substrate media at all where the fertilizer nutrient solution mixture is fed through the trays at such a rate that a film of the liquid constantly circulates over the plants roots. This film must be kept thin to allow for maximal oxygen diffusion. The recommended values for thickness and flow rate are 0.4-1.9 liters/min. @ 0.5mm-1.2cm film thickness (1:35-1:45 grade slope) with each run before fresh nutrient addition being ~<=20 feet.
The "A-Frame" technique has also been adapted very successfully using Aeroponics growth principles by having the frame support a "skin" with holes in it for supporting plants which are misted from inside and the nutrient solution is recirculated.
The "growth-plane" can be sculpted and manipulated to allow for maximisation of light absorption capabilities. Light photon intensity uniformity is usually sought after for productivity potential optimisation.
This technique has been proven to be most effective and productive for growing short plants like lettuce or spinach in places such as greenhouses where ample diffuse lighting is available. Artificial lights can be hung where artificial lighting is the predominant source available for photosynthesis necessitating the use of supplemental lighting.
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