Hydroponic farming: 5 Basic things to know
Overview of hydroponic farming
Hydroponic farming simply referred to as “hydroponics” is an aspect of crop production that specialises in the cultivation of crops and plants alike within a substrate-like medium rather than the traditional land soil. Traditionally, we all know that if you must plant crops, you need to either plant the seeding or crop itself into the earth (soil) for the crop to germinate. But nowadays, we are now witnessing plants being grown in water and fertilizer solutions with no apparent soil in sight. This is all thanks to hydroponic farming techniques which have made it possible to cultivate crops without the need for mechanical support from the soil.
In various countries of the world with harsh climatic and soil conditions that wouldn’t support traditional agricultural activities, hydroponic farming has been strongly encouraged within these parts particularly within specialized buildings, abandoned warehouses, laid out factories and other settlement forms. Most notably, the United States has been at the forefront as regards commercial hydroponic farming, bearing a larger percentage of the global planting hydroponics system in terms of technological output, funding and the biggest land user.
What is Hydroponic farming?
Hydroponic farming simply referred to as “hydroponics” is an aspect of crop production that specialises in the cultivation of crops and plants alike within a substrate-like medium rather than the traditional land soil. This process usually ensures that the plant’s root system is being consistently kept in a well-prepared nutrient substrate that contains vital nutrients and water within the right amounts as required by the plant for proper growth and nourishment.
Other names that people might refer to hydroponic farming with might include; soilless farming, aquaculture, nutriculture, tank farming amongst others.
Requirements for Hydroponic farming
As we know, there is no soil to firmly hold the plant root in place, hence there might be some difficulty in keeping the plants firmly upright within the substrate solution for it to develop properly. Hence one needs to be familiar with various substrates that can be used for hydroponics, some of which include fused shale, granite chips, perlite, rice husks ,vermiculite, clay pellets, rock wool, coconut coir, or even gravel and sand culture can be used to provide mechanical support to supplement the watertight plant beds.
In some cases fertilizer solutions and even organic manure from fish or poultry excreta can be periodically added to the substrate to foster improved plant growth. One should note that the frequency of fertilizer application within proper concentrations however should be dependent on the type of plant being grown and should complement other important germination conditions of ambient sunlight and suitable temperature. Major nutrients that hydroponic plants need for good growth and development include; phosphoric acid, potassium, nitrate, trace elements like iron, copper, zinc, magnesium etc.
Another important factor to strongly consider under hydroponic farming is the humid nature of the hydroponic culture, as a high humidity will encourage a rather high and excessive precipitation rate. This will cause the plant’s root system to be lacking in oxygen, decrease its metabolism and ultimately cause most of the plants to wilt away.
Types of Hydroponic farming
Nutrient film technique (NFT): In this type of hydroponic farming system, plants are bred in nutrient solutions in such a way that the solution is able to continuously flow over the plant roots without any hindrance. Strawberries, lettuce and some herbs are common examples of plants that can be grown with this technique.
In the NFT system, the root of plants are immersed in plastic pipes, trough or any suitable container that is angularly placed at about 0.12-0.25 inch per square foot. Aeration conditions are not much of a concern in the NFT system as the solutions are usually made to be shallow to expose the plant roots as much as possible to air supply, allowing for oxygen to easily diffuse into the plant roots.
Challenges that might be experienced over time with this system include constant checks for leaks and clogs, plants wilting immediately due to lack of aeration pumps once the dripline is clogged.
Deep water culture systems (DWC) : for this set-up, plants are usually grown inside floating panels or rafts with a supporting structure providing mechanical support. A common misconception might arise from the name ‘deep-water’ which might seem misleading as the water depth of the substrate only needs to be a bit deeper than the roots usually following a uniform measurement of between 4-12 inches.
Most plants grown with the DWC system include leafy vegetables and herbs with supporting structures like plastic nets to help the plant maintain an upright position. Also necessary for proper plant growth is aeration pumps for the DWC system which supplies additional oxygen to the plant roots to prevent it from wilting.
For most farmers, the DWC setup is the most economical with its easy affordability to establish, but one should note that over time it consumes a lot more water and fertilizers when compared to other hydroponic systems. Also note that it is costlier to adjust necessary plant conditions of temperature, oxygen level, pH level within a DWC setup when compared to other hydroponic systems.
Aeroponics system: This method is more suitable for leafy greens and herbs that require minimal aeration and watering conditions hence this aeroponics system requires less water than both the NFT and the DWC hydroponic farming systems.
This aeroponic system basically involves suspending plant roots in the air and providing them constant nutrient solutions via specialized nozzles or microsprinklers. To prevent plants from wilting they need to be provided nutrients solutions continuously on a periodic basis.
When setting up an aeroponic system, it’s best to optimally build it vertically to improve plant spacing and system efficiency.
Challenges to the aeroponic system includes the need for specialized pressurized irrigation channels, constant checks and monitoring for clogs and blocks within the sprinklers or nozzles. This is because once the water solution pump clogs or it fails the plant will wilt off immediately.
Dutch bucket system: this setup is perfect for vining crops like tomatoes, cucumbers amongst others. It involves keeping a plant within a growing substrate that is supported with an external structure. This most commonly used supporting structure is the trellis system that is used to bear the weight of the plant, with the average trellis wire system bearing as much as 20 pounds per foot wire.
In this unique hydroponic setup, nutrient solutions are delivered to each containing vessel via the drop irrigation system which allows the solution to pass through its channel and drain excess back into the solution reservoir. It is important to note that the growing substrate used when growing plant will determine the frequency of irrigation and type of nutrient solutions being utilized within the system.
Growing substrate that contains organic matter will however require more intensive management techniques, as the nutrient solutions being used on that plants might interact with their own organic matter content, which might fatally induce the pH level of the plant root system.
Other types of hydroponic farming systems include;
Grow-bags system
Aquaponics system
Ebbs and flow system
Benefits of hydroponic farming
Listed below are some of the benefits that can be enjoyed by using the hydroponic farming system. This might just push you to invest in this efficient farming practice.
1. It produces a higher yield due to access to nutrients-enriched solutions and water
2. It require just little land space usage to start
3. It does not promote the indiscriminate use of chemical farming i.e. pesticides and herbicides
4. The use of protected farm environment mitigates the risks of pest attacks, harsh climatic conditions and the likes
5. It promotes water conservation as nutrient water solutions can be reused again and again
6. It promotes efficiency as farmers have total control over the whole crop production process
7. It promotes all year crop production even for crops with seasonal availability
8. People can now grow organic vegetables anywhere with the aid of hydroponic farming
Conclusion
As we know from this article that controlled environment agriculture in the form of modern hydroponic farming techniques can assuredly help to produce fruits and vegetables across all seasons for which traditional field cultivation might seem highly impossible. So well managed hydroponic systems will help to meet up with the global demand for fresh farm produce ,while helping to facilitate the demand for specific crops and fruits produce. One should know that when considering hydroponic farming systems, one should carefully evaluate the specifics of available equipment, crop health monitoring patterns, plant type and nutritional supply before venturing into hydroponic farming.
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