Thursday 7 August 2014

Hydroponic Systems: Think Global Act Local

Hydroponic Systems were first developed in the early 1980s in Colombia. Hydroponics is the method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, in water, without soil. It is highly productive, conservative of water and land, and environmentally friendly. Yet for most of its employees, hydroponic culture requires only basic agriculture skills. Since regulating the aerial and root environment is a major concern in such agricultural systems, production takes place inside enclosures designed to control air and root temperatures, light, water, plant nutrition, and adverse climate. 

Hydroponic projects in Colombia have proved a great success. On average, a single garden made a profit of $90 in two to three months with the initial investment being $355.  Since 1984, projects have been implemented in 12 Latin American and African countries, mostly funded by the UNDP and the UN FAO. Advanced hydroponic systems can be intensive and expensive. But simplified hydroponics can be much simpler and cheaper with low operational and maintenance costs. There are six basic types of hydroponic systems.
  •  Wick
This system is the most simple of all hydroponics and does not have any moving parts. The nutrient solution is disseminated into the growing area (root system) from the reservoir with a wick. The wick system uses perlite, vermiculite, pro-mix and coconut fiber as types of growing medium. The unfortunate part of this system is that bigger plants draw large amounts of water from the reservoir, using up the nutrient solution faster than the wick or wicks can supply it.
  •  Water Culture
This system is made up of a platform that holds the plants, an air pump and an air stone that bubbles the nutrient solution and supplies oxygen to the roots of the plants. Water culture systems are inexpensive and good for education purposes. So saying, they are not suitable for long-term use.
  • Ebb and Flow
Ebb and flow or flood and drain systems work by temporarily flood the grow tray with nutrient solution and then draining the solution back into the reservoir. This system uses a pump that is connected to a timer and may be used for a variety of different plants. The growing medium in this type of system must be water retaining because in the instance of a pump malfunction the roots can dry out very easily.
  •  Drip
Drip systems are also known as recover and non-recovery systems where timer turns the pump on and nutrient solution is dripped onto the base of each plant by a small drip line. In a Recovery Drip System the excess nutrient solution that runs off is collected back in the reservoir for re-use. The Non-Recovery System does not collect the run off. The non-recovery system requires less maintenance due to the fact that the excess nutrient solution isn't recycled back into the reservoir. This is the most widely used hydroponic system.

  •  NFT Nutrient Film Technique
N.F.T. systems have a constant flow of nutrient solution so no timer required for the submersible pump. The nutrient solution is pumped into the growing tray (usually a tube) and flows over the roots of the plants, and then drains back into the reservoir. Like the ebb and flow system, the NFT system is susceptible to power outages and pump failures. 
  •  Aeroponic
The aeroponic system is probably the most advanced of hydroponic gardening. Like the N.F.T. system above the growing medium is primarily air. The roots hang in the air and are misted with nutrient solution. Misting is usually done every few minutes. Because the roots are exposed to the air like the N.F.T. system, the roots will dry out rapidly if the misting cycles are interrupted.

There are two main reasons for investing in hydroponic irrigation systems. One, it saves water and two it saves money. Byron Bay couple George and Sukhjt Singh report on the benefits they have seen from their hydroponic system. “Our nutrigation system has increased productivity by 40% and has paid for itself in just one year through labour savings,” says George Singh.  

If you think that a Hydroponic System in Adelaide could suit your needs, give Urban Grow Solutions a call on (08) 8322 0040 or visit their website http://www.urbangrow.com.au/.

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