THE BASICS OF HYDROPONICS.

An Introduction To Indoor Plant Grow Lights.

There are basically three types of grow lights used in horticulture. These are:

• High Intensity Discharge Lights. (HID)

These come in two types, the Metal Halide Grow Light(MH) and the High Pressure Sodium Grow Light (HPS)

Metal Halide.
Metal halide bulbs are designed for plants during their growing cycle. That is, for non-fruiting or non-blooming plants. Metal halide lighting is therefore the best HID choice for the plant’s growing phase.

High Pressure Sodium Lights.
The HPS grow light is used primarily for plants that are in their blooming or fruiting phase. Modern high pressure sodium lighting can, however, be bought, which is enhanced for blue spectrum (for vegetative growth) and for red spectrum (for flowering growth). This means that they can be used throughout the entire growing process for most types of plant.

Tip! One vital consideration in hydroponic gardening is the nutrient solution. The solution must maintain a pH level of 5 to 6 after it is diluted.

Dual light Systems.
For optimal performance, switchable systems (400 watt and 1000 watt) and dual light systems (250 watt MH + 250 watt HPS giving 500 watt output, 400 watt MH + 400 watt HPS giving 800 watt output and 400 watt MH + 600 watt HPS giving 1000 watt output) are available. This type of grow light system gives the best all round lighting choice.

• Mercury Vapour Lamps.
  Phosphorous coated to promote both blue and red spectrums these lamps are suitable for both the growing and blooming stages of plant growth. They give off more blue light that red and are a cheap way to get started, however the lamp wants replacing every nine months as it can become volatile. Mercury vapour lights cost more to run and maintain compared to HPS, MH or fluorescents.
  Tip! The aeroponic system is probably the most high-tech type of hydroponic gardening. The growing medium is primarily air.

• Fluorescent Grow Lights.
  These lights emit less light than high intensity discharge lights and although they can be used throughout the plant cycle their lack of brightness will produce small yields. The light produced tends to be softer and less damaging to tender young plants. For this reason, the fluorescent grow light is popular for seedlings and cuttings, an excellent way to establish young plants.

• Ballasts.
  All of the above types of lights use some kind of a ballast system. The one most people are familiar with is the fluorescent light. This has, a small, built in, ballast. It allows the fluorescent tube to build up enough energy to strike, and excite the molecules within the tube, causing light to be given off.
  Tip! One vital consideration in hydroponic gardening is the nutrient solution. The solution must maintain a pH level of 5 to 6 after it is diluted.

  Metal Halide and HPS grow lights are usually run from remote ballasts. These are external boxes containing the electronics to pre-heat and run the lamp. The ballast is connected to the lamp holder and to the mains power supply. Each ballast used is rated for the lamp wattage and so it is necessary to have different ballasts available for each of the different values of lamp to be used. HID bulbs should be replaced after 12 to 18 months of use. Although HID lamps will continue to light beyond 18 months of use, they will have lost up to 30 percent or more of their lumen output while consuming the same amount of electricity.

  Tip! if you are contemplating an indoor hydroponic garden think about installing a humidifier in the room.

  Mercury Vapour Lights.
  Most of these lamps, up to a value of 500 watts, require no additional ballast. You just screw them into the lamp holder supplied with your equipment.

  N.B.

  Here is a word of warning about lighting.

  There are an awful lot of companies out there selling lights for the hydroponics enthusiast. As in all walks of life, there are good and bad suppliers and manufacturers of lighting equipment. Always look for equipment made by a reputable company and backed by an official testing scheme. (For example the C E mark in Europe means that the article is up to European standards of safety and quality).

  Cheap, nasty, home made, dangerous lights have dogged the hydroponics market for some years. There are these kinds of light and there are well built, professional grade, horticultural lights on today’s market. The first are often death traps, being cobbled together from the cheapest, obsolete, end of the line components that are usually mismatched and wrongly configured.

  Tip! Actually, six basic types of hydroponic systems make up the basis of all hydroponic gardening. Wick Water Culture Ebb and Flow (or Flood & Drain) Drip Nutrient Film Technique (N.

  To think that these poorly built, badly wired, misconfigured lights are being fitted in damp, humid and sometimes even wet, grow rooms is a very scary thought indeed. The installation of these poor quality, dangerous, lights in your home, where your family lives and plays, is always a very grave risk. All this in the name of a bargain!

  So don’t risk your own life or the lives of those who live with you. Buy from a reputable source! Lighting is possibly the most important decision for indoor horticulture, cheap normally represents a health risk. For the sake of saving a relatively small amount of money, is it really worth it?

  Tip! You can do hydroponic gardening indoors and plants do respond well and thrive with this type of system.
  You have been warned!

  Copyright (C) 2004, 2005
  J R Haughton.
  — All Rights Reserved —

  A partner in a thriving retail hydroponics supply business, Rickie Haughton is the owner of hydroponics-gardening-information.com which aims to cater for all levels of expertise in the field of hydroponics gardening. The website is packed with good content about all aspects off hydroponics gardening and offers a free newsletter to all subscribers.

  Bookmark to:
  
  

THE BASICS OF HYDROPONICS.

What Do Your Plants Need?

All plants need the correct conditions in order to grow to their full potential. Plants grown using hydroponics systems are no exception to this basic rule. Like their soil grown cousins they need sufficient light of the correct wavelengths, a suitable temperature, an adequate water supply, enough oxygen, mineral nutrients and support for their structures.

• Sufficient light of the correct wavelengths, used by the plant at the growth stage it has reached, is essential for its survival. Plants use lots of light, at least 8 to 12 hours each day, in order to make carbohydrates from CO2 and water. Chlorophyll, the green colour in plants, absorbs the sunlight and uses its energy to synthesise these carbohydrates. This process is known as photosynthesis and is the basis for sustaining life in all plants. Because animals and humans get their food by eating plants, it can also be said to be the source of our life.
  Tip! Just like regular plants, those grown hydroponically need to get enough light. The amount of light, of course, depends on the plants but natural light is best.

  Artificial lighting is generally a poor substitute for sunshine, because most indoor lights provide insufficient intensity to produce a mature crop. High intensity lamps such as high-pressure sodium lamps can provide more than 1,000 foot-candles of light. The hydroponic gardener can use these lamps very successfully in areas where sunlight is inadequate. The fixtures and lamps, however, are usually too expensive to be viable for a small commercial operation.

  It is important to allow adequate spacing between plants as this will ensure that each plant receives sufficient light in the grow-room. For example, tomato plants, pruned to a single stem, should be planted so as to give 4 square feet per plant, while European seedless cucumbers should be allowed 7 to 9 square feet and seeded cucumbers about 7 square feet. Lettuce plants need to be spaced 7 to 9 inches apart within the row and 9 inches between rows. Most other vegetables and flowers should be grown at the same spacing as recommended for a conventional garden.

Tip! One vital consideration in hydroponic gardening is the nutrient solution. The solution must maintain a pH level of 5 to 6 after it is diluted.
• A suitable temperature is required for the plant to grow normally. Temperatures that are too high or too low will give rise to abnormal development and reduced production. Summer vegetables and most flowers grow best between 60° and 80° F, while winter vegetables like spinach and lettuce prefer temperatures of between 50° and 70° F.
• An adequate water supply is not normally a problem when using a hydroponics system, since the basis of hydroponics is the supply of water containing nutrients in solution. Having said this however, there are some systems which can give rise to inadequate watering, with the consequent detrimental results to your plants. Ebb and flow systems which are not checked on a regular enough basis, can run short of nutrient in their supply tanks, as can continuous flow systems. Most, if not all, automated hydroponics systems can have disasters if they are not monitored closely. A blocked or burst pipe, or a pump failing can result in lack of nutrient flow, which, coupled with the intense lighting and the correct ambient temperature in the grow-room, will result in dry roots and severe damage to, or even the death of, your plants.
Tip! You can do hydroponic gardening indoors and plants do respond well and thrive with this type of system.
• Oxygen is a basic requirement of most living things. Plants need oxygen for respiration, so that they can take up water and nutrient. In soil systems enough oxygen is usually available, but plant roots growing in water will quickly use up the supply of dissolved oxygen. This can damage or even kill the plant unless additional air is provided. A common method of aerating the nutrient is to bubble air through the solution. Continuous flow and aeroponic systems do not usually need supplementary oxygen.
• Mineral Nutrients are needed by most green plants. They must absorb certain minerals through their roots in order to survive. In conventional horticulture these minerals are supplied by the soil and by the addition of fertilizers such as manure and compost. Nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sulphur are needed in large quantities, whilst the micro-nutrients, iron, manganese, boron, zinc, copper, molybdenum, and chlorine are also needed, but only in very small amounts.
Tip! Hydroponic gardening, however, uses no soil. A soil substitute is used to hold the roots and the nutrients are carried by the water.
• Support is normally provided by the soil that surrounds the growing plant. A plant grown using hydroponics however needs to be artificially supported. This is usually done with string or stakes. It is possible to buy inexpensive automatic string reels to support your plants as they grow. This cuts out the tedious task of having to keep re-adjusting the strings on fast growing plants.

A partner in a thriving retail hydroponics supply business, Rickie Haughton is the owner of http://www.hydroponics-gardening-information.com Your First Choice For Hydroponics Gardening Information, the Hydroponics-Gardening-Information website is packed with good content about all aspects of hydroponics gardening and offers a free Hydroponics Gardening Information Club membership to all subscribers.

Copyright (C) 2004, 2005, 2006, John R Haughton - All Rights Reserved

The Basics of Hydroponics Gardening.

What is hydroponics gardening?

Derived from the Latin Hydro, meaning water and Geoponics, meaning the study of agriculture, hydroponics is the science of growing plants using a solution of suitable nutrients instead of soil. Most types of plant can be grown very successfully using hydroponics.

In conventional gardening the plants are grown in soil and take their nourishment from the chemical compounds contained within that soil. The hydroponic gardener replaces the soil with a balanced, nutrient rich, solution that the plant can absorb with ease. Because the plant does not have to work so hard to absorb the available nutrients it saves energy which can then be utilised for stronger growth.

Because of this energy saving, plants grown using hydroponic methods outperform conventionally produced plants in both growth and fruit production. Due to the consistent results and good profit margins, more and more commercial growers are turning to hydroponic production. Totally organic production is possible using specially designed organic nutrients, giving excellent, inexpensive, vegetables and herbs.

There are several different types of hydroponic system, but all share the same basic principle of supplying the plants with nutrients and water. The most common systems are:

Water Culture, Aquaculture, or Nutriculture.
This is a Hydroponics system in which the plant roots are immersed in water containing a complex mixture of dissolved nutrients. A simple example of water culture is the Hyacinth bulb growing in a wine goblet shaped glass, its roots growing down into the hollow goblet stem.

Aggregate Culture.
In this system a material such as sand, gravel, or marbles supports the plant roots. It is important to note that the support material, unlike soil, does not absorb nutrient. It merely traps it in the spaces between the grains or stones allowing the plant roots to freely take up the liquid.

Continuous Flow Hydroponics Systems.
In these types of system the nutrient solution flows constantly over the plant roots. This is the most commonly used system for commercial production.

Aeroponics.
This system is one in which the plant roots hang in the air and are misted regularly with a nutrient solution.

There are a number of pre-packaged hydroponics systems available for both the commercial grower and hobbyist. Individuals, who lack building skills, or are inexperienced plant growers, should consider one of these kits as an introduction to hydroponics, a fascinating and challenging hobby. Similar systems can be built at lower cost, however, by those of you who have the expertise.

The requirements for healthy, strong, disease-free plants are covered in my next article entitled - - What do your plants need?

Copyright (C) 2004, 2005, John R Haughton - All Rights Reserved

A partner in a thriving retail hydroponics supply business, Rickie Haughton is the owner of http://www.hydroponics-gardening-information.com Your First Choice For Hydroponics Gardening Information, the Hydroponics-Gardening-Information website is packed with good content about all aspects of hydroponics gardening and offers a free Hydroponics Gardening Information Club membership to all subscribers.

Copyright (C) 2004, 2005, 2006, John R Haughton - All Rights Reserved

THE BASICS OF HYDROPONICS.

The Success or Failure of Your Plants Depends On Their
Environment

The environment, or climate, in which your plants are grown is one of
the most important factors affecting your end results. The temperature
and humidity have to be right for the type of crop you are raising, the
lighting has to be of sufficient intensity and duration for the stage
your crop has reached. These and many other factors have to be
considered before you can hope to grow a healthy and productive crop.

Let’s look briefly at the various factors involved. Growing plants
indoors means that you have to create similar conditions to those
outside. This may seem obvious at first glance, but is it true? Ask
yourself what the advantages of Hydroponics gardening are. The outside
climate is very varied and does not always work to the plant’s advantage.
For example a bad storm or a late frost can damage or kill tender young
plants.

One of the major advantages of hydroponics gardening is that you can
control the climate within the grow room. This means that you can
supply your plants with the ideal conditions for their healthy growth,
throughout their lives. This ensures a good healthy yeild and a bigger
profit margin.

So what do you need?

Having decided upon which type of hydroponics system to use, you now need
to promote the right growing conditions. All healthy plants require a
good supply of water and balanced nutrients. They need the right kind of
light, for the right period of time, each day. Your plants will need some
kind of support for their structure, especially as they mature and grow
heavy with harvestable produce. Like outdoor plants they also need the
temperature to be within a certain range. Too cold and your plants will
not thrive, but remain poor stunted things. Too hot and they may well dry
out, then their leaves will wither and the plants die.

The addition of Carbon Dioxide gas (CO2) may be advisable to promote
Photosynthesis within the green leaves of your plants. Finally some form
of clean fresh air circulation is needed to ensure that your crop can
breathe. Like you, your plants need Oxygen for life. They breathe it in
through their tissues and like you, can become sick if it is dirty or
contaminated. So, taking these factors one at a time, how can we create
the optimum conditions for our plants?

Firstly water and a good supply of balanced nutrients are essential. Which
nutrient to buy and how to use it? This again is a major question to some
people. My advice to you would be to go with a nutrient that you can
understand and are comfortable using. As you gain experience and confidence
you can experiment with other methods and suppliers at will.

Lighting is another key area that seems to cause newcomers a problem. The
type of light and the number of daylight hours are determined by the species
of plants you are cultivating and their stage of development. Young
seedlings and cuttings, for example, need much softer light than do plants
about to flower. Equitorial plants will generally need a higher light
intensity for a longer period than will plants from the regions where
days and growing seasons are short. Ask your hydroponics supplier for help
in any of the areas you are unsure of. He will be pleased to assist you.

When looking at lighting you also need to take into account the area to be
covered and whether the lights are to be static or moving.

A Brief Word Of Warning.

Poor quality lighting systems can be very dangerous and accidents are more
likely to occur if the person who sets up the equipment is not particular
about safety. Always buy quality assured electrical equipment that carries
the safety mark for your country. Do not risk your life or the lives of
those you love just to save a few pounds or dollars.

IF IN DOUBT CONSULT A PROFESSIONAL ELECTRICIAN

Plants can be supported in a variety of ways, by using frames and tying the
plant stems to them at regular intervals using plastic ties. Automatic reels
can be bought which makes the job a lot easier. They consist of a spring
loaded reel of cord with a hook arrangement that fixes to the ceiling, or a
top runner, and a hook or loop to tie to the top area of the plant stem. As
the plant grows so the slack in the cord is taken up by the reel. Depending
on your growing system the roots will either be supported or not. If no
support is used, for example in a water culture system, then the plant should
be supported at or near the base of the stem, to stop it lifting if reel
supports are used.

And so to the temperature control in your artificial climate. The optimum
temperature for your plants will again vary with both genus and species. Ask
your supplier what this should be. Now you will need devise a system to
maintain the temperature within the optimum top and bottom limits. This can
be achieved by either a series of fans and/or heaters together with various
other pieces of equipment such as timers, controllers, monitors and CO2 dosers,
or by a commercially produced environmental control system. These ready made
systems come in a variety of price options designed to suit almost every pocket.
In general, the more you are prepared to spend, the more sophisticated
the systems that are available to you.

Fresh air requirements for your grow room are normally provided using a fan
assisted ducting system . This introduces clean air from the outside, via a
filter to remove impurities. An Ozone generator is often used to improve the
supply of oxygen and neutralize any noxious odours. Another similar ducting
system then extracts the dirty air back to the outside, again via a filter to
remove impurities and cut down on unwelcome odours. Humidifiers can be used,
if needed, to increase the amount of airborne water vapour.

Copyright (C) 2004, 2005 - John R Haughton.
— All Rights Reserved —

A partner in a thriving retail hydroponics supply business,
Rickie Haughton is the owner of hydroponics-gardening-information.com
which aims to cater for all levels of expertise in the field of hydroponics gardening. The website is packed with good content about all aspects off hydroponics gardening and offers a free hydroponics Club membership to all subscribers.

PLANT GROWTH & PHYSIOLOGY. (Part 5)

There are three classes of plants. Each of these classes metabolize in a different way. The first class are succulent plants called CAM. These plants like low light and high humidity levels and so thrive indoors, in bathrooms and kitchen areas.

The second class of plants is called C4. These plants grow in hot arid regions and are very efficient at using both Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and Sunlight. Most C4 plants are grasses.

The third and last class of plants are called C3. These plants join two 3-Carbon atoms together to produce sugar. The chemical formula for sugar is C6H12O6 which is 6 Carbon, 12 Hydrogen and 6 Oxygen atoms stuck together. Most of our favourite plants are to be found in this class.

HOW DOES A PLANT WORK?

Like all living things, plants breathe 24 hours a day. In order to make energy each plant cell respires (converts plant sugar to energy). The plant uses Oxygen (O2) and expires, or breathes out, Carbon Dioxide (CO2).

In the same way that energy moves around the human body, so water, nutrients and plant sugars are continually being transported around the plant body. The leaves create a circular flow with the roots. This circulation occurs when the leaves draw up, water from the roots, through their Xylem.

These are straw like cells found in the plant stem. The water continually evaporating from the leaves sucks up more water from the roots and creates the internal water pressure that keeps the plant rigid. Thus if the plant is deprived of water, as in a drought, it loses its rigidity and begins to wilt when the internal pressure drops.

The leaves return energy to the roots in the form of sugar solutions. These are transported from the leaves via the plants Phloem. These are also straw like cells found in the plant stem. In this way the leaves exchange sugars for water and nutrients, while the roots exchange water and nutrients for sugar solutions. This liquid circulation is constant and continuous throughout the life of the plant.

THE MAIN PLANT PARTS.

The 3 main parts of a plant are the Roots, the Stems and the Leaves. Each of these parts is of great importance and any problem that arises in any of them will be a major one. The most sensitive part is the roots, as well as being the most difficult to see should a problem occur.

The Roots:

The miracle of growth starts at the roots. As already mentioned, roots transport nutrients up to their leaves and plant sugars are returned by the leaves. The roots also act as storerooms for the excess sugars that are produced by the leaves. These sugars are stored in the form of starch. The size of the root ball and therefore the amount of starch that can be stored, determines the success of the plant in terms of growth and productivity.

The size of the root system is directly affected by the amount of moisture, the temperature, the available Oxygen and the supply of plant sugars being transported down from the leaves. According to Graham Reinders, in his book “How to Supercharge Your Garden”, a research Rye plant in a 12 inch pot was said to have had 14 billion root hairs. These hairs would have stretched 6200 miles (nearly 10,000 km) if placed end to end and covered an area of 180ft by 180ft (about 55m by 55m). The greater the root system is the more energy (starch) it will be able to store and so, the more nutrients it will be able to send up to nourish the leaves. The plant will then have the capability to grow stronger. The end result of this is that the leaves will be able to pass more plant sugars back down to the roots and so the cycle continues.

Another factor to be taken into account is the root medium. Plants take their nourishment from the medium surrounding their roots. It stands to reason that the less energy the plant has to expend in order to get that nourishment the more energy it will have available to use for growth and nutrient exchange with its leaves. Because a plant takes most of its water in via its roots, (the root hairs trapping the water molecules surrounding it) and transpires about 99% of that water out via its leaves, it will wilt and fall over if its roots cannot extract enough water out of its surrounding medium.

A plant growing in the ground will take its moisture from the surrounding soil. This moisture normally gets into the soil as rain and the plant absorbs that rain and the nutrients that have dissolved in it, via its root hairs. After the rain has stopped the topsoil quickly dries out as the water filters into the ground. Because of this drying out the plant has developed a means of absorbing Oxygen via its upper roots. The top third of the roots become specialized as “Air Roots” while the bottom third becomes specialized as “Water Roots”.

It is vital to ensure that the Air Roots are not kept constantly wet as this will result in the plant drowning. The Water Roots however, may be kept wet all the time, providing that the water has sufficient Oxygen dissolved in it. Insufficient Oxygen will result in roots with brown, discoloured root tips and subsequent infections. Healthy roots are a crisp, white looking structure.

The plant is quite capable of healthy living with the roots exposed to light as long as they remain moist. However, light will encourage the growth of Algae which will cause odours. The Algae will also compete with the plant for Oxygen during the dark periods and nutrients in the light ones. This, of course will mean the plant has to work harder in order to produce sufficient sugars for its needs. The Oxygen produced during the dark periods is used to help the roots convert these sugars, from the leaves, into energy (Starch).

Copyright (C) 2004, 2005.
J R Haughton. ITEC MIPTI
— All Rights Reserved —

A partner in a thriving retail Hydroponics supply business, Rickie Haughton is the owner of hydroponics-gardening-information.com which aims to cater for all levels of expertise in the field of hydroponics gardening. The website is packed with good content about all aspects of Hydroponics Gardening, offers a free Club Membership to all subscribers and access to our Blog.

THE BASICS OF HYDROPONICS

The Advantages of The Autopot System - Even Outdoors in The United Kingdom.

The basic Autopot System consists of a plant pot on a membrane in a container.
This container has a SmartValve built into it which is fed from a nutrient tank.
As the plant in the pot uses nutrient the level of nutrient in the Autopot
container is maintained by the SmartValve. This means that the plant always has
the optimum level of nutrient at its disposal. As the plant grows and needs more
nourishment, the SmartValve opens more frequently to replenish the nutrient supply
from the tank. Because the plant pot is sat on a membrane, it will only take up
what it needs in the way of moisture.This system ensures that the plant does not
become too wet and drown or rot, neither can it dry out provided that the tank
is kept topped up.

In our climate in the United Kingdom, where rainfall is often quite high and
sunshine limited, I have found that the results obtained with the Autopot system
have far outstripped those of a coventional system of soil and a growbag.
These results have only been studied using tomatoes, however I have no doubt that
the same benefits would apply to virtually any type of plant.

I have grown a crop of tomatoes from seed this year and for the first time tried
the Autopot system against a growbag and against pots hand watered with nutrient
solution. The substrate used was washed coco. The seedlings were grown on to about
4″ in height using rockwool cubes and a small propagation tray. They were transplanted
into 8″ pots (3 plants per pot.) and the pots placed in either Autopot systems or into
containers about 2″ deep. Some were planted in soil in Growbags.

The Autopots were connected to a nutrient tank and the trayed pots were watered twice
daily using nutrient from the same tank. The plants in the Growbags were watered daily
and had plant food added to the water as directed on the container. It was found that
the Grobag plants did not grow as well as the others and fruited less abundantly.
The plants in pots and container trays fruited well, but during hot spells needed more
frequent watering as the coco does not retain moisture. By far the best results were
obtained from the Autopots. The plants grew quickly and were soon very well established.
The root balls soon became dense and well formed. Within a short time the plants became
sturdier than there less fortunate siblings and started to flower.

I had deliberately done no maintainance with any of the plants. they were planted, fed and
left to grow without interference. This meant that the crops would be smaller than if I had
pinched out the shoots, but there could be no discrepancy due to better maintainance. The
results were quite staggering. The trayed plants produced some 250% - 300% more fruit
than the Growbags and the Autopot had at least double the crop produced by the trayed plants.

The only drawback with the Autopot was that when it rained the water ran back into the nutrient
container causing it to overfill. This problem did not seem to be detrimental to the plant’s
growth or yield.

Copyright (C) 2004, 2005.
J R Haughton.
— All Rights Reserved —

A partner in a thriving retail hydroponics supply business,
Rickie Haughton is the owner of hydroponics-gardening-information.com which aims to cater for all levels of expertise in the field of
hydroponics gardening. The website is packed with good content about
all aspects off hydroponics gardening and offers a free hydroponics
Club membership to all subscribers.