How Do Hydroponic Gardening Systems Work?

by Natures Miracle Hydroponic Vegetables and Fruits Farming In India

With earthy pursuits such as farming, the field and scope of knowledge is deep and immersive. It never really ends. Away from the traditional farming scene is a fairly modern structure that’s becoming quite a trend these days—Hydroculture. This type of farming doesn’t involve soil and yields crops that are constantly charged with nutrients in a medium. Hydroponics farming can be a fitting hobby to a mainstream farming business that guarantees better yields with no soil borne diseases.

There are several methods applied to hydroponics farming. One of them is Deep water culture. The simplest of all hydroponic methods, this one has plants floating in a nutrient reservoir where the roots are relatively smaller and extract required nutrients with the help of air stone(it keeps the reservoir aerated.) With adequate suspension and pH balance of solution, herbs and plants such as cabbage and lettuce can easily flourish under this technique. If you’re a keen kitchen gardener with a knack for salads, this is the easiest way to begin with, in hydroponics farming.

Perhaps, one of the most innovative and recyclable forms of hydroponics, the ebb and flow technique allows higher oxygen levels, regularly transferred to plants in a reservoir filled with hydroponic substrate that contains the required nutrients. The nutrients are supplied in shorter intervals and are drained constantly to be recycled in the next batch. This form of hydroponics farming is best suited for plants such as tomatoes and cucumbers. Ebb and Flow is a resourceful method when it comes to responsible forms of farming, environmentally, and yields better results as well.

In order to grow exotic plants such as strawberries and pineberries, Nutrient Film Technique is highly favoured. Small containers of nutrient substrate are kept alongside the plants that supply the nutrients through spiraled PVC pipes. These pipes are aligned to the roots in a way that support regular supply of nutrients, water and oxygen.

For a sufficient flow of oxygen to hydroponics plants and vegetables, aeroponics

Is used as the ideal hydroponics technique. Here, the plants are suspended in an open container and the required nutrients are constantly sprayed onto the plant roots. All this allows for a faster plant growth due to exposed oxygen

In a Run to Waste system, which was invented in Bengal, containers with solid growing medium such as perlite or cocopeat are used and plants grow in such support system that supplies nutrient and water solution to the plants. The system is technologically controlled by PLCs and one can monitor nutrient delivery on computers. This method is used to yield larger supplies of hydroponic peppers and cucumbers.

If you’re wondering hydroponics doesn’t have a fancy spin to it, you’re wrong. In Rotary System, artificial lights are placed in the centre of a rotating circle that contains plants in it. The plants do a 24-hour rotation with assistance of a mechanized timer. The constant pull against gravity while rotating allows for a rapid growth in plants as they get periodic supply of nutrients. Faster yield is expected in this hydroponic method than traditional soil farming. The ability to function in smaller spaces makes this method a win-win for any beginner.

The culture of hydroponics is rapidly gaining the favour of many farmers and we don’t blame them if several acres of land are put together in a box for water-borne yields than waiting for the soil to take its own sweet time. In a world consumed in sci-fi fantasy, we will soon be experiencing hovering greenhouse by our balconies, pushing us to become our own food growers.