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Back 2 Basics Part V!

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The hydroponics method normally referred to as the "Nutrient Film Technique" or "N.F.T." is a somewhat popular technique in which specified plants are grown in troughs or trays or gullies. These structures are aligned in such a manner as to allow for ionic fertilizer nutrient solution to be pumped in to one end of the system and subsequently flow over the plants' roots in a thin film. This film constantly circulates over the plants roots providing them with the required nutrients for growth. The film thickness is optimally very thin (0.5mm-1.2cm) in order to increase the ease with which oxygen can penetrate to the plants' roots via osmosis.

Certain people have a preference for using N.F.T. over other methods in order to do away with the usual requirement for using media to support the plants' roots.

The nutrient solution flow rate, slope, and distance before re-circulation and injection of "fresh" fertilizer nutrient solution of the trays must also be monitored and adjusted. This is to allow for proper nutrient and oxygen uptake by the plants. The recommended values are 0.4-1.9 liters/min flowing over a 1:35-1:45 grade slope with each run before fresh nutrient addition being ~<=20 feet according to industry resources.

Please take a look at the accompanying diagram that illustrates the basic building blocks of a simple N.F.T. system.

People typically use flat-bottomed trays to increase the ease of achieving uniform thickness in the nutrient film.

The beneficial aspects of the N.F.T. system are, as mentioned earlier, the elimination of the necessity of using growth media, as well as the supposed increase in oxygen availability to the plants' roots. Without proper planning and monitoring these advantageous properties can be voided by fluctuations in the system parameters. Exact flow rates and film thickness can be very complex, intricate, and thorny aspects to control.

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