Why Chose Hydroponics Over Dirt.

So you might ask yourself, why would I ever stray away from the conventional, proven technique of growing plants.

Well, we figured we would continue from  an older post, and go more in depth this time from the older post found here. That blog was just a general overview of Hydroponics.

Why would you want to go the way of what seems to be a very complex way of growing plants?

Well here are some of the benefits to growing Hydroponically:

• Just as enjoyable as traditional gardening is, and can become so much more satisfying. 
• You will no longer have to take time to pull out weeds, use weed killers, pesticides, etc. 
• No tilling dirt, plowing dirt, pouring manure, and sometimes no animals to keep out. 
• You are controlling even more of the process, how much oxygen hits the roots, how much nutrients the plant will receive, 
• No more soil born illnesses, 
• You can recirculate your water, which means you are conserving 90-98% more water over traditional gardening. 
• Usually you can get more per harvest compared with soil, but you get yields 20%+ faster than soil. Your plant will use it's energy towards growing above the roots in a Hydroponics setup since it does not have to waste energy making a giant root structure to get the adequate amount of nutrition. 
• You can automate you setup as much as you would like. You can place an arduino controller for PH testing / EC / and TDS. These three things test water PH levels, water quality, and nutrient levels to make sure that you are in the correct ranges. You could then even setup email alerts, or text message alerts for when they hit certain levels. This is only the tip of the iceberg of automation. 
• You can combine your traditional methods of pruning to get an even larger yield. 
• Building your own system, automating it, and getting more crops out of less space is extremely gratifying. 
• Great project for adults, and kids. You will both learn a large amount of information. Even if it does not work out, you may learn how to become better at growing in soil from this knowledge. 
• Every time you buy soil, whether it be cheap soil, or super expensive soil you are potentially introducing new pests, mites, etc into your environment. 

You will want to remember, the above list seems like it makes perfect sense, and lets go get started on your Hydroponic garden right now! Let's take into account some of the disadvantages: 

• Cost, upfront it will be much larger. You will have to purchase equipment. Some equipment you can scrounge, or barter/bargain for such as buckets. Other equipment you will more than likely have to buy, such as a water pump. 
• When your system goes south, your plants go south with it, super fast. Depending on your system you may have hours, or minutes to fix your issues and get your setup back up and running. Otherwise, your crops will be gone in that time frame. 
• Your crops can be tasteless, and bland, if you do not give them the proper nutrition. If you skimp on the nutrients, your plants will be lacking. Do remember that if you over do it though, your plants roots may get "burnt" by the nutrients. 
• You may end up putting in more time for gardening. You will more than likely put in more time upfront at least. But on the counter, we did find it more enjoyable, and you learn so much more than with dirt. 

Dutch Buckets

http://trudat.info/2014/02/yield-tons-of-tomatoes-grow-bags-or-dutch-buckets/

I wanted to add a link to this website. It is very informative. He gives great ideas, and how to's on dutch bucket systems. This is one of the cheapest, and effective systems I have come across so far!

Check it out!

Thanks!

Aquaponics / Fishponics

Aquaponics / Fishponics - Hydroponics

Aquaponics (AKA Fishponics) is one of the few  more "organic" versions of Hydroponics. You can integrate Aquaponics into almost any Hydroponics system. The difference between regular Hydroponics and Aquaponics is the introduction of fish into the nutrient solution reservoir. Instead of using a nutrients bought from the store, the fish in the reservoir are what produce the nutrients needed for the plants. This can make Hydroponics cheaper, and more organic at the same time. This is a great learning experience for children as well as adults. This method is by far my favorite. You are building your own ecosystem. You take care of the fish, the fish take care of the plants, and your plants take care of you!

Aquaponics is typically accomplished using Tilapia fish as they give very good results for proper amounts of nutrients for the plants. This can be accomplished with other fish, however make sure you do your research prior to thinking any old fish will do. This could become costly to you. By using Aquaponics, this does not mean you will be 100% organic. You may still have to add nutrients every now and again. You can make compost tea however, if your goal is to stay 100% organic, instead of using store bought synthetic nutrients. 

Remember that just because you use compost tea, and Aquaponics, that does not mean you are growing organic produce. Just make sure that if you want to grow "organically" via some forum of Hydroponics to read every stipulation on what "organic" is defined as in your state, and federally. 

Aquaponics Advantages: 

• Great learning experience. 
• You will use far less nutrients overall, which will save money in the long run.
• Self sufficient. If the fish are happy, the plants should be happy. 

Aquaponics Disadvantages:

• Large learning curve.
• Must have knowledge on keeping fish (Tilapia) alive. 
• More costly upfront. You may need lights for the fish, and your plants. Most people buy Tilapia, which is a cost, plus the fish tank to hold them. (Depending on how much ingenuity you have, or how worried you are about looks.) 

N.F.T. (Nutrient Film Technique)

N.F.T. (Nutrient Film Technique) - Hydroponics

NFT is another form of Hydroponics. This form is quite popular in the commercial Hydroponics industry. NFT is simply a gravity fed nutrient solution system. You setup rails with holes in the top for the plants, that is at a slight grade. Then you will want to have a very shallow nutrient solution moving down across all of the roots of the plants. This is simple, and requires very little to get started. You will only need minimal pumps for a system such as this since it is gravity fed from the top, to the bottom of the rail. The water runs down the slope across all of the root systems.

NFT Advantages:

• This system is relatively cheap to make. Made from readily available supplies from any hardware store. You can use gutters for rails, or outdoor railing. 
• No stagnant water. 
• Easy to clean. 
• Easily expanded. 
• You can use any grow media, or combinations of media. 
• Reusing the nutrient solution

NFT Disadvantages: 

• Pump failures kill the plants very quickly 
• You may need a chiller for your nutrient solution.
• You will need plants with long enough roots for the system, so you will want to use clones, or plants that already have a good set of roots since they have to touch the bottom of the rails to get the nutrients. 
• If plants get any diseases, especially the closer to the top, the rest of the plants will get that disease as well. 

Deep Water Culture

Deep Water Culture - Hydroponics

Traditional Deep Water Culture is a simple method, and easy to setup. This one is cost effective, as it is more than likely one of the cheapest. Typically Deep Water Culture or DWC is effective with larger, more hearty plants. These are usually made from five gallon buckets that have been painted black. The reason for the black paint is to keep light away from the roots. Next, the five gallon bucket will need to have a lid. The lid will have a cutout for a net pot. This is where you would place your plant. The bucket will also have an aerator in the bottom. You will need a pump for the aerator, or air stone. Once you have your plant in the net pot you will then need to fill the bucket up with the nutrient solution.

This is a basic system. You can easily make these at home. You would just need to buy a net pot, five gallon bucket with lid (plant size dependent), net pot, clay, air stone, and nutrient solution. You would need to paint the bucket black as well, so you may need black paint. Also, you will need to have liquid nutrients, and pH adjusters. Those would help.

Once your plant is ready to bloom, or fruit you would then lower the liquid nutrient levels in the bucket to allow for even more air to reach the roots.

DWC Advantages:

• Higher amounts of oxygen in comparison to other forums of growing plants. 
• Lower maintenance 
• Quicker plant growth
• Cheaper option
• Uses less fertilizer than other systems

DWC Disadvantages: 

• Difficult to maintenance water/roots temperature. A lot of the time when growing using a growing light, the black buckets absorb the light, and increase in temperature. You want the roots to be less than 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Most growers use water chillers to lower the temperature of the liquid solution for the roots. 
• Plants die quickly if something goes wrong with the air stone. If the air stone fails you have a very limited time for figure that out, and replace/fix that air stone. Otherwise, you are drowning your plants. 
• It is also difficult to check the plants roots, pH, and nutrient strength. You have to take the lid off to check all of these things. If you have a giant tomato plant for example, that has tomatoes on it, it can be pretty rough lifting up the bucket lid by yourself. 

Aeroponics

Aeroponics - Hydroponics

Aeroponics is a specific style in which the nutrients/water is applied to your garden. There is not one cut and dry way to grow your hydroponic garden. You have many different options for growing your indoor garden. One of these options is Aeroponics.

Aeroponics is essentially where the roots will typically be suspended, and you have a device that spritzes the roots with a fine liquid solution that consists of a pH balanced water, nutrient combination. A benefit of Aeroponics that typically goes unspoken is that it is one of the few that allows the roots to grow openly and freely into the air. This is a natural purifier for plants, as they no longer have as much susceptibility to disease when grown in this fashion. You can also introduce CO2 to the roots of the plants to assist in photosynthesis. You can do this over top of the plants in many other forms of Hydroponics, however, this is one of the few that you can add CO2 to the roots, and not just the top of the plant.

Aeroponics also limits disease to occur since the plants should be far enough apart that their roots never touch. Also, the pH balanced water/nutrient combination is not touching several plants prior to going back to the reservoir. This makes a world of difference with disease.

Aeroponics advantages are as follows:

• The plants grown typically grow faster. This is because more O2, and CO2 to the roots assist in the plants growing faster. Also, the nutrients are easier for the plants to absorb.
•  You use less nutrients and water in an Aeroponics setup, since you are misting the plants, and not diluting them in the solution. 
• Not very much space is needed, if the Aeroponics setup is completed correctly. 
• Great learning experience. This method has a lot of things that help you learn more about Hydroponics in general. 
• This is semi-mobile. Depending on how it is built, it could be very mobile, if you move you growing space around. (Maybe your wife likes to change the look of you basement a lot.) 

Aeroponics Disadvantages are as follows: 

• Dependency on all of the parts working 100% of the time. If anything fails such as a pump, sprinkler, timer, or gets clogged, your plants will suffer, and fast. 
• Regular cleaning and sanitation is required. You have a dark, moist, air prevalent environment, what do you think will happen? Bacterial growth! You must also note, that you have to make sure that your sprinklers are going to need regular cleaning so they do not build up with mineral deposits, and stop  working properly. 
• High introductory cost. You can cut down on costs by building it completely yourself, but it still costs a nice chunk of change to get started. This can lead to another downfall, time consumption if you build it yourself.  

Fogponics

Fogponics - Hydoponics

Fogponics is a form of Aeroponics. It is basically the same concept, except you are using vaporized nutrient solution in the 5-30µm particle size range. This form of Hydroponics is not as popular as Aeroponics, but that is only because this is a relatively newer form of Hydroponics. These systems are typically made up of an ultrasonic fogger, a pump, water, and the system to hold the roots above the fog. One thing to note is your plants do not actually have to have their roots touching the fog you see since it is actually sucking it up. There are a lot of people who have messed up perfectly good systems by adding a fan because the roots were not touching the fog.

Fogponics Advantages:

• The plants grown typically grow faster. This is because more O2, and CO2 to the roots assist in the plants growing faster. Also, the nutrients are easier for the plants to absorb.
• You use less nutrients and water in an Fogponics setup, since you are misting the plants, and not diluting them in the solution. 
• Not very much space is needed, if the Fogponics setup is completed correctly. 
• Great learning experience. This method has a lot of things that help you learn more about Hydroponics in general. 
• This is semi-mobile. Depending on how it is built, it could be very mobile, if you move you growing space around. (Maybe your wife likes to change the look of you basement a lot.) 
• Fairly cheap to build.
• Depending on setup, disease is cut down from other forms of Hydroponics. 
• Saves a significant amount of resources such as water/nutrients. 

Fogponics Disadvantages:

• Dependency on all of the parts working 100% of the time. If anything fails such as a pump, sprinkler, timer, or gets clogged, your plants will suffer, and fast. 
• Regular cleaning and sanitation is required. You have a dark, moist, air prevalent environment, what do you think will happen? Bacterial growth! You must also note, that you have to make sure that your sprinklers are going to need regular cleaning so they do not build up with mineral deposits, and stop  working properly. 
• High maintenance. These systems need almost constant attention. If a fogger fails, well you have mere, few hours to get something in place to resolve the issue.  Plants die very quickly when something wrong happens in a Fogponics system. 
• This system needs to be cleaned often. Since the foggers are creating such sized nutrient solution vapors, you have to make sure that the foggers are clean. Salt buildup is common, and it can stop a system from functioning properly. 
• Roots develop over time smaller, thinner, and weaker than Aeroponics. 

Suggestions for best use: Cloning. Fogponics is very cheap to build, plants grow very fast, they are getting vapors at almost the size of what they need to absorb them. This means that the plant has to work less. You can build a quick easy setup from a rubbermaid storage box, pump, and vaporizer from Ebay as a beginning DIY on the super cheap. 

Keep posted, we will be posting some of our DIY stuff soon. We will outline an entire Fogponics build. 

Different Styles of Hydroponics

There are many different styles of Hydroponics growing. Here are some of the most basic:

• Aquaponics - Aquaponics / Fishpoonics Overview
• DWC (Deep Water Culture) - Deep Water Culture Overview
• TFDWC(Top-fed Deep Water Culture) / Bubbleponics
• Static Solution Culture 
• Continuous-flow Solution Culture
• Aeroponics - Aeroponics Overview
• Passive Sub-Irrigation
• Ebb and Flow / Flood and Drain - Ebb and Flow Overview
• Run to Waste
• Fogponics - Fogponics Overview
• Rotary

As you can see from above, these are the foundation of how the water/nutrient solution is getting to the plants roots systems. There are many different ways to grow plants Hydroponically. There is not necessarily a cut and dry answer for what you should use for your scenario. You will more than likely want to choose a combination that fits what you are growing. 

For example Lettuce works well with almost all of the above styles, but there are some that are better than others. One solution may take up more space than another, or waste a lot of water in comparison to another. 

You will want to weigh the Pros, and Cons of each one prior to making your decision. There are some of these methods more for specific plants than others. For example, bubbleponics is really good for larger plants such as tomatoes, or lemon trees, where as Fogponics is really well suited for cloning purposes. 

Each one of these could have a book written on them separately. 

We will be reviewing each method in more depth here shortly.

Keep an eye out for our later posts explaining each one in more detail. 

Hydroponics, What is it?

First off, we should define what Hydroponics is:
Hydroponics is simply put, growing plants in some sort of  "medium" with added nutrients. A "medium" is just that. It can be clay, coconut coir, or Perilite. There are more mediums than this basic start, but these is the foundation to understanding Hydroponics.

The most well known "medium" is dirt.

Essentially what we are doing is removing dirt from the horticulture experience, then creating a liquid solution that has all of the nutrients that the plants need. Finally, you will be feeding those plants that solution via their roots.

What are the advantages of Hydroponics? Well that can be as simple, or complex as you want it to be. The basic advantage is you are saving on water and nutrients. Dirt absorbs water like a giant sponge. This in turn then only allows the plant to get a portion of that water.

Here is an example: You are watering a flower in a vase with holes in the bottom. You add water. The next thing you know you have water coming out of the bottom of the vase. Well, that water may be lost(depending on your vase). It may spill all over your sidewalk. Well with hydroponics, instead of pouring water on your plants ever so often you re-use the existing water over  and over again. You recirculate the water back through the plants which are grabbing nutrients out of it. If properly done, you really should not have to add water. You just make sure that the pH of the water is in touch, and you have the correct amount of nutrients in the water.

This is an introduction to the basics of Hydroponics. This term is more of an umbrella statement for many different styles of growing plants.

I will not overwhelm you in this post with all of the more specific forms of Hydroponics, that is for another post. :-)

Update: Here is the next post for more information on Hydroponics in a general sense versus dirt.

Welcome!

Welcome to my corner of the interwebs.

This blog will be dedicated to assisting in sustainable living. Mostly farming techniques both indoors and outside.

Hydroponics are commonly associated with indoor growing, in which is great, but this technique can be used outside, or in a green house just as easy.

We will review equipment, and put up plenty of DIY posts on how to get your feet wet.