Hydroponics was known to people in Babylon. Now it has become incredibly popular all over the world. This area of agricultural technology not only allows you to harvest organic vegetables and berries on an industrial scale, but is also available to those who like to grow crops on a windowsill or loggia.
Hydroponics at home is an opportunity to grow greens, vegetables and berries to the table in the shortest possible time without traditional work with the soil, as well as the fight against diseases and pests. When using this technology, the plant receives all the nutrients it needs for development in the right proportions from the solution.
How hydroponics works
Many of us grow green onions on our windowsill. In winter and spring, it is an excellent source of nutrients, so necessary for the human body. The technology is simple: the bulbs must be placed in jars filled with water. This is the most primitive way, but it is also based on the principleshydroponics. What is it, on the example of a bow is clear to everyone.
In the language of scientists, this is the creation of conditions for the growth of plants in a soilless environment by regulating the amount of water in which oxygen and mineral s alts are dissolved. Hydroponic cultivation of vegetables and herbs at home is becoming increasingly important every year. Now every family can provide itself with the necessary amount of natural vitamins.
Let's take a look at how hydroponics works. We have already mentioned above that with this technology there is no need to use earthen soil. It turns out that plants can develop perfectly in water, but for this it must be specially prepared, that is, be “alive”.
For the normal growth of any plants in soil or water, they need nutrients for life, which they absorb in the form of ions in oxygen.
The gardener only has to make sure that the amount of water, nutrients and oxygen is always in the optimal amount, meets the needs of the green pet, and also observe the necessary temperature, humidity and illumination of the room.
Dignity of the hydroponic method
Today, few people will dispute the fact that traditional farming is gradually losing ground to hydroponics. It is easy to grow any crop at home without using the usual earthen soil.
This method has many advantages over conventional gardening methods. We list some of them:
- The use of hydroponics at home when growing various crops allows you to avoid labor-intensive processes such as loosening the soil, removing weeds, controlling various pests, and more.
- Large areas are not required for harvesting. For example, to cultivate vegetables using a loggia, you do not need large containers of soil.
- For growing vegetables and herbs at home, hydroponics is the best way to harvest several times more yield in small areas due to the formation of a powerful upper part, not roots.
What substrates are needed
When growing plants using the hydroponic method, it is necessary to use materials that have the following characteristics: friability and the ability to absorb moisture well. The most commonly used granular materials as suitable formulations are:
- Expanded clay.
- Perlite.
- Granite crushed stone.
- Gravel.
- Peat.
- Coarse sand.
- Moss.
- Slag and others.
Before using the substrate, it must be cleaned of impurities and disinfected with a solution of potassium permanganate. This will get rid of the presence of various pathogens. Also, the substrate can be calcined in the oven.
Nutritious solutions
Using the technology of hydroponics at home to grow various plants, you can use bothready-made concentrated mixtures (nutrient solutions), and do it yourself. To do this, in stores that sell goods for the garden and garden, you need to purchase all the necessary components.
The rules for storing such products require that all of them be in tightly closed glass containers. To prepare a nutrient liquid, tap water must be well filtered. In extreme cases, you can use the settled for two days.
It is very important to adjust the pH of the solution prepared at home. The value should not be lower than 5.5 and higher than 6.5. In addition, you will have to measure the electrical conductivity with a special EC meter. There is no exact figure for this indicator. The fruits should be tasted and the electrical conductivity should be the one that gives the best flavor characteristics.
To prepare the solution, mineral fertilizers must be added to the water. Each plant has its own norms for the content of s altpeter, potassium, calcium, zinc and other elements. You can get acquainted with the norms by studying the characteristics of the planted variety. In order not to complicate your life, you can buy ready-made preparations, for example, a mixture of Knopp or Ellis. They are versatile and can be used on any crop.
About 2 times a week, the solution needs to be changed.
Making equipment with your own hands
To start growing plants without soil, you must have the appropriate equipment for the hydroponics method. For the home, you can useimprovised materials to build a simple installation. To do this, it is enough to have:
- Styrofoam sheet.
- Air compressor for aquarium.
- Ordinary plastic container.
Pour a nutrient solution into a plastic container, then cover it with a sheet of foam, in which we pre-cut holes to fit the size of the hydroponic pots with the culture being grown. For a container with a nutrient mixture, it is best to use a container made of dark opaque material. In this case, the solution will be protected from the penetration of light, which can cause algae to appear in it.
If you do not have such a container, you can use any container, after painting it with black paint on the outside. The video below details how to make your own hydroponic setup.
How to grow
After you have made the necessary equipment, you can start planting plants in pots. To do this, you need to fill the containers with a suitable substrate and place the seedlings there. Here, special attention should be paid to the roots of the plant, try to straighten them carefully to avoid any damage.
If you are planting seeds, you should be aware that they cannot be placed in gravel or perlite, as it is too large for them. Seeds are best poured on mineral wool or moss, before moistening them well. If you follow all these simple rules, then growing hydroponics at home is not at all difficult.
Suitable plants
A lot of plants can be grown using hydroponics. These are those for planting which seeds are used, and crops grown by cuttings.
But this method is best for greens, which include: dill, parsley, lettuce, mint, basil, sage and other similar crops.
In addition, eggplants, beans, broccoli, tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, garlic, strawberries, strawberries and even bananas are also perfectly grown using this unique technology.
The home hydroponic system is great for growing indoor ornamental plants as well. These include ivy, hoya, ficus, asparagus, philodendron, common ivy and many more.
All of the above plants are easily cultivated using the hydroponic method, not only at home, but also on an industrial scale.
Transfer Rules
If your green pet grew in an earthen environment, and you want to transplant it into a nutrient solution, then for this you need to follow some rules. Otherwise, the culture may not take root and die. Firstly, it concerns the cleansing of the soil of its root system.
The plant, taken out of the pot, is placed in a container of water at room temperature and kept for several hours. Then the earth is carefully removed from the roots and they are finally washed under a warm stream.
The next procedure is to place the plant in a base specially selected for it, where it will develop in the future. For this, the roots are straighteneddown and fall asleep with the substrate, holding the stem.
Then they begin to pour water over it, filling the container with liquid. An important nuance: the roots of the plant should not reach the liquid. She herself will climb the substrate and nourish the roots. In order for the plant to be able to adapt to its new environment, it is kept in water for about a week. Only after that it can be replaced with a solution, not earlier.
If you do everything right, following the above rules, then the plants grown by this method will bring a bountiful harvest.
Tomatoes in the room garden
Many people love tomatoes and dream of having them on their daily menu all year round. This culture is considered unpretentious. Even a person who is not quite experienced in gardening can grow it.
Although many would like to cultivate this tasty and he althy vegetable with their own hands, but not everyone has a garden plot for this purpose. Even if there is one, it will still not be possible to harvest it all year round.
Today, using the hydroponics method, everyone can grow tomatoes at home. In order for your work to be rewarded as it deserves, you must decide on the variety of tomatoes.
At first glance, it seems that any species of this crop is suitable for this purpose, but almost all experts say that preference should be given to those varieties that are bred specifically for growing in greenhouses, since they are self-pollinating. Also, for this purpose, it is best to choose early ripening tomatoes.
Strawberry
There are several ways to grow strawberries hydroponically at home, although the method used is the same. Let's look at the following three, the most famous:
1. A method in which drip irrigation is used. It implies that strawberry bushes planted in the substrate are watered with nutrient liquid using an ordinary dropper, which enters the area below the root system. The substrate is most often a mixture prepared on the basis of peat or mineral wool.
2. The basis of the second method of growing strawberries is the so-called nutritious N. F. T. layer. Here, the enriched liquid covers the bottom of the container with a thin layer. It is constantly supplied there using hoses attached to the solution tank.
3. Another method used in the hydroponic method of growing strawberries is called "water". This is the least used method, since strawberries are not a plant that requires large amounts of moisture.
When using this method, the growth of bushes will be the same as in the previous two, but the yield will be much lower.
