Why Hydroponics?

Hydroponics is often defined as “the cultivation of plants in water.” Hydroponics is however a technique for growing plants without using soil. Utilizing this  technology, the roots absorb a balanced nutrient solution dissolved in water that meets all the  plants developmental requirements.

Research has determined that many different aggregates or media can support plant growth,  therefore, the definition of hydroponics has been broadened to: “the cultivation of plants without soil.”

ADVANTAGES OF HYDROPONICS

As demonstrated by through research activities, including field trials, hydroponics is a far more economical and profitable technique than traditional agricultural cultivation.

Some of the advantages noted:

1.     The possibility of obtaining more products in less time than using traditional agriculture:

2.     The possibility of growing plants more densely

3.     Possibility of growing the same plant species repeatedly because there is no soil depletion

4.     Plants have a balanced supply of air water and nutrients

5.     More product/surface unit is obtained

6.     Cleaner and fresher products can be reaped

7.     Production can be timed more effectively to satisfy market demand

8.     Healthier products can be produced

9.     Products are more resistant to diseases

10.                        Natural or Biological control can be employed

11.                        Soil borne pests (fungi) and diseases can be eliminated

12.                        Troublesome weeds and stray seedlings which the result in the need for herbicides  use and increase labour cost, canalso be eliminated.

13.                        Reduction of health risks associated with pest management and soil care.

14.                        Reduced turnaround time between planting as no soil preparation is required

15.                        Stable and significantly increased yields and shorter crop maturation cycle

16.                        Can be utilized by families with small or no yard space

17.                        When water is used as the substrate:

a.     no soil is needed

b.     the water stays in the system and can be reused - thus, lower water costs

c.      It is possible to control the nutrition levels in their entirety - thus, lower nutrition costs

d.     No nutrition pollution is released into the environment because of the controlled system

18.                        Pests and disease are easier to get rid of because of container mobility

DISADVANTAGES OF HYDROPONICS

1.     Commercial Scale requires technical knowledge as well as a good grasp of the principles.

2.     On a commercial scale the initial investment is relatively high.

3.     Great care and attention to detail is required, particularly in the preparation of formulas and plant health control.

4.     A constant supply of water is required

Crop (No. of harvests a year using hydroponics)	Yield using soil (tons per hectare at harvest time)	Yield using hydroponics (tons per hectare at harvest time)
Lettuce (10)	52	300-330
Tomato (2)	80-100	350-400
Cucumber (3)	10-30	700-800
Carrot (1)	15-20	55-75
Potato(1)	20-40	120
Peppers(3)	20-30	85-105
Cabbage(3)	20-40	180-190

PRODUCTION SYSTEM

Hydroponics can be classified as:

-  Open system; or

-  Closed system

OPEN SYSTEM:

In the open system of hydroponics, the nutrient solution is mixed and applied to the plant as  required, instead of being re-cycled. Examples of some open system are:

-  growing beds

-  columns made out of tubular plastics or vertical and horizontal PVC pipes

-  individual containers e.g. pots, plastic sacks and old tires

CLOSED SYSTEM:

In this system the nutrient solution is circulated continuously, providing the nutrients that the  plant requires. Examples of closed systems include:

-  Floating roots

-  Nutrient Film Technique (NFT)

-  PVC or bamboo channels

-  Plastic or polystyrene pots set up in columns

MAJOR REQUIREMENTS THAT A HYDROPONICS SYSTEM MUST SATISFY

-  Provide roots with a fresh, balanced supply of water and nutrients

-  Maintain a high level of gas exchange between nutrient solution and roots

-  Protect against root dehydration and immediate crop failure in the event of a pump failure or power outage.

LOCATING A HYDROPONIC GARDEN

1.     Avoid heavily shaded, windy and extremely sunny places.

2.     Keep the garden protected from domestic animals and pets.

3.     The planting space must receive a minimum of six hours sunlight.

4.     Must be close to a source of water and the place where the nutrients are kept.

5.     It must be kept far from contaminated water.

6.     It must be kept far from trees and other plants that are affected by pests and diseases.

SIZE OF THE HYYDRONNICS GARDEN

1.     Space is not an important factor in hydroponic gardening.

2.     A   garden   can   be   set   up   in   spaces   as   small   as   1m².  Most   of   hydroponic   gardens   are   any   size between 10 to 20m², but some families are able to keep gardens as big as 200m².

3.     Within as small space, one may produce enough vegetables that will be nourishing and free of pollutants.

Hydroponics Vs Soil

With hydroponics currently at new heights in the gardening world, the question facing gardeners today is Hydroponics or Soil? This question is also becoming an age old debate of battling sides fighting to prove the other wrong. I won’t be taking a stance on the issue. Instead I’ll explain the key differences among hydroponic and soil gardening as well as advantages and disadvantages for both techniques.

The fundamental difference between hydroponic and soil gardening is the growing medium. In a soil-based garden, that medium is the soil itself. In hydroponics, the medium is a nutrient-enriched liquid solution. Each method has advantages and disadvantages. For either to produce healthy plants, the basic nutrients must be made available to the plant roots.

Hydroponics commercially efficient and time-saving, is not practical for the amateur. There are too many risky factors involved- most importantly, it is easy to have an unbalanced nutrient solution, which will stunt the growth of the plants. Our nutrient solution lacked enough of the important nutrients nitrogen and potassium, as we could tell by the appearance of our plants. The nitrogen deficiency caused the plants to have abnormally light-colored leaves and stunted growth. The fact that our hydroponics plants did not grow very much is explained here. 

The potassium deficiency caused our plants to have stunted growth and slightly withered leaves. Although the hydroponics clearly fared worse than the soil plants, the soil plants still were not productive in this experiment. This was probably caused by the fact that the fluorescent gro-light was not as close to the plants as to simulate sunlight, and therefore the plants did not grow as fast as we had hoped. However, the soil plants did grow steadily if slowly, and were more healthy than the hydroponics plants in the end.

Advantage of Hydroponics

An advantage hydroponics gardening compared to soil gardening is the control the gardener has over the quantity and content of the nutrients. The solutions may be tailored to specific plant needs and plants needn't compete with other plants or weeds for nutrients as happens in soil gardening. The risk of damage or disease from soil-borne pests is greatly reduced, due to the lessened exposure to these pests.

Advantage of Soil

Soil has the advantage of the organic factor. Although all nutrients need to be in an inert form for roots to access and process, the nutrients may be in organic form when added to soil. In hydroponics, the nutrients must already be inert and immediately soluble, and so are synthetic. The organic nature of soil gardening encourages the development of ecosystems that include bacteria, fungi, worms, insects and birds, all of which contribute to the natural renewal of nutrients in soil. The soil gardener need only assist in nutrient renewal, rather than control it. No such sustaining ecosystem exists within hydroponic gardening methods.

Reference: http://www.ehow.com/
                 http://hubpages.com/

HYDROPONIC SEEDS Getting Your Garden Growing

STARTING SEEDS & PLANTS

Okay, you bought all the stuff. You sawed and glued and drilled and cussed. Three trips to Home Depot. But you did it! Your beautiful shiny new hydroponics unit is ready to start growing!


                     


Now what? How do you get some good healthy plants for your setup? First, we'll tell you the cheapest and best way to start plants for your new garden (hydroponic seeds). Then, at the bottom of the page, we give you a short-cut, an easy way to start quickly (nursery plants). [But there are drawbacks to doing this, as you will see].

We advocate starting from seed. Why? Much more variety, NO bugs or viruses brought in with the plants, and the pride factor and skills learned by starting from scratch. We recommend that you at least try the seed route first. Don't just skip this part. If you try it and find it is too much work, then at least you tried... and learned.
 

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Hydroponic seeds

                  


Hydroponic seeds

Most vegetables do best sprouted in tiny starter pots or flats prior to transplanting to the planting bed. This is especially true for hydroponics, because you cannot plant little bitty seeds directly in place into the coarse hydro planting media. Hydroponic seeds get lost, wash away with the nutrient solution, or they fail to get enough moisture to sprout.

WHICH SEEDLING POTS?
Hydroponic seeds

With hydroponics, it is best to start your seeds in cubes of inorganic material, not soil. When they are ready, you just place the entire plug into the hydroponic media bed. The roots grow right on through.
 

         

We recommend that you choose one of these three starter plugs, which can be ordered from any hydroponics supplier or use our links:

• Rapid Rooter Starter Plugs (see above)
• "Perfect Starts" 36-pack for larger seedlings, or 100-pack for herbs & lettuces
• Grodan Rockwool starter cubes  (below)
   

             

Other plugs you could use:
"Oasis Horticubes" are small 1" x 1" cubes for starting lettuce or herbs.


*Don't use peat pellets, jiffy pots or potting soil in a hydroponic system, as they break down and clog the pump.
 

HOW TO START SEEDLINGS

Hydroponic seeds

You will want to create a little "seed nursery" in a warm, brightly lit spot. A bright kitchen window or warm space under an inexpensive fluorescent gro-light would be good. But you don't want to bake them in direct sunlight or hot lamps. Seeds will not sprout unless it's at least 65 degrees (70-80 is ideal).

***You MUST provide bright light close to the flat, or the babies will grow long and spindly and flop over. Don't skip past this bit of advice! Bright light creates thick, short, stocky, healthy seedlings.



      


If you want to get fancy and indulge your new hydro habit, they sell little domed starter systems and warming "seed mats". Convenient and fun, but not absolutely necessary; a tupperware tray would suffice. They are not very expensive, here they are if you want to investigate:Domed propagation trays & warming seedling mats.

START THOSE SEEDS:

Hydroponic seeds

1. Moisten the starter cubes with water.
    
2. Insert seeds into the cube holes. For tomato, peppers, cukes, eggplants, basil, broccoli and cabbage, use 2 seeds per cube; for herbs, 6-8 seeds per cube. Start a couple more cubes of each type of crop than you intend to keep, so you can select the best.
    
3. Place in the nursery tray and keep warm (70-80 degrees). Water every day or two by adding "seedling solution" to the pan, not the cubes. [Use 1/2 strength nutrient solution mix. If you use GH Flora Nutrients, mix up a batch of "seedling solution" in a one-gallon milk jug; using 1/4 tsp. of each of the three solution mixes (micro, gro and bloom) to one gallon of water.]
    
4. Voila! They will start sprouting in a couple days. Once up and running, cut off the extras and leave only the best seedling in each cube. (Thin out the weaker/spindly/slow-growers).
    
5. When to transplant? When the plant is a 2-3 inches tall, with 4 leaves, and roots start to show thru the sides of the cubes. This usually takes 1-3 weeks. Peppers and tomatoes can take up to 4 weeks.

TRANSPLANT INTO THE HYDRO UNIT:
Hydroponic seeds

Once your babies are ready to graduate to the big hydroponic unit, it helps to gradually get them used to the new climate. "Harden them off" if they are going outside or to a greenhouse, to stronger light and cooler temps. If you want to "keep it simple", just skip this step, your plants should still survive.

But if you are transplanting to an indoor hydro setup, you must break them in to the warmer temp and new intense light system or you will burn them up. Start by keeping the lamps way up high at first, then every few days you can lower it 'til you are about 18-24" above the crops. If you start the tender babies directly under the hot lights, they will shrivel up and die. I know cause I've done it.

Transplant the cubes directly into the ponics unit. You do not remove from the starter plugs. Just dig a little hole in the hydro medium and plug in the cube. It's great, you don't disturb the roots, they grow right on through. When you first transplant to the hydro unit, top water them daily the first week with nutrient solution. This guarantees they won't dry out before the roots get a chance to reach down toward the juice. A turkey baster works great for this.
 

                         


 A SHORT CUT

Hydroponic seeds

Now, for the really easy, keep-it-simple, jump-start method for planting your hydro garden!

It's happened to me... there you are, walking through the garden section of Home Depot. Lookin' for seed packets... what a variety... Then it happens... you glance over at the vegetable seedlings. Nice fat, juicy plump seedlings...

                       

Hard to pass by, right? You can actually start your hydroponics garden from store-bought seedlings, however, there are the disadvantages to going this route:

• Much more expensive. If you are looking to make your hydro garden cost-effective, this is not the way to go.
   
• All the textbooks tell you to never use store-bought seedlings with hydroponics. Must be a reason.
   
• Limited varieties. Hydroponic seeds open up a vast world of interesting and tasty cultivars. Seedlings, you are limited to what they got on the shelf that day.
   
• Danger of diseases or pest infestation. Aphids run rampant in plant nurseries, and they are really hard to see, so you bring them home without even knowing it. There are also viruses and soil-borne diseases which you could infect your entire garden with. Some which may be difficult to eradicate.
   
• Some plants do not "rough transplant" well. They don't survive the root rinsing necessary for this method. Plants which do well for this: Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower.
   
• Plants which do not take kindly to their roots being rinsed off: Beans, peas, lettuce, herbs, squash, melons. These should be started from hydroponic seeds.

Still determined to buy store-bought seedlings? Then take these precautions:

Buy a spray bottle each of: Safer Insecticidal Soap and Houseplant and Garden Spray (or any brand of Pyrethrin or Rotenone). These are the safest of insecticides.     

Before you ever even take them into the grow room, put the seedlings in the kitchen sink and literally saturate the plants in each spray, letting them dry between the sprays. Make sure to reach the upper and lower sides of all the leaves, stems, everything. Hopefully by now you have de-loused them!

Ready to transplant? Break off the peat pots or carefully pull the seedlings from the plastic beds. Do this one at a time so the roots don't dry out.

Carefully remove most of the soil from the root ball, trying to keep as much root intact as possible.

Hold roots under warm running water and rinse away almost ALL of the soil. You can leave a little blob of it, but not much, or it will drain into your vat of nutrients. You don't want mud in there.

Dig a little hole in the hydro pot medium, insert the root ball and shore up the plant with medium. Might take a little propping til they "take root". 

Source of Article: http://www.hydroponics-simplified.com