A hydroponic nutrient solution is not just a mix of fertilizer salts and water. There are a number of organisms and compounds commonly found in our hydro systems that we need to be aware of. One of the most important of these is dissolved oxygen (DO), which is vital for the health and strength of the root system as well as being necessary for nutrient uptake. Plants breath just like all organisms via respiration. Oxygen is an essential plant nutrient – plant root systems require oxygen for aerobic respiration, an essential plant process that releases energy for root growth and nutrient uptake.
In many water-based hydroponic systems,the oxygen supplied for plant root uptake is provided mostly as dissolved oxygen (DO) in the nutrient solution as well as a zone of aeration provided by a gap from the surface to the reservoir water level.
Having your own organically, home grown fruits and vegetables has always been great but it's times like these that it could be life-changing. With our kits you can grow food from seed, seedlings, soil plants or even the leftover food parts you normally discard. For example, the white root portion of a green onion can be planted and will regrow in about a week! Avacados, lettuce, celery, carrots and cabbage are other plants that can be regrown by the part of the plant that you don't eat! Watch our video for more information and how-to.
Oxygen is Key! Our Venturi Aeration Kit is the best on the market....
With hydroponic gardening, while it is the easist way to grow organically, there are a few things to look out for. The most important is Oxygen! Oxygen is critical in the development and growth of edible crops grown in hydroponic systems. In our 2.0 Series VENTURI BUBBLER Hydroponic Kits, we have installed water pumps with a Venturi attachment to add oxygen to the nutrient solution reservoir.
The water pump simply adds oxygen and circulation into the reservoir to circulate the water in the reservoir. As the pumps operate they draw in air through a ¼-inch emitter, which provides the benefit of moving around the solution while the air being drawn in increases the level of dissolved oxygen. This allows freshly oxygenated water to be delivered quickly to the roots. In conventional hydroponic NFT systems the flow rate is about ½ liter per minute. In our hydroponic systems, we aim for about 1-3 liters per minute. We use the same Aeration process as the large scale, experienced hydroponic farmers but in a smaller, easy-to-care and operate system.
WHAT MAKES OUR SYSTEMS SO POPULAR?
Most of the water uptake in plants is passive but there is a stage where the plants use energy to actively pull up water through the roots and this requires oxygen. If there isn’t any oxygen in the root zone, no water or nutrients will make it up through the roots to the top of the plant. Low oxygen in the root zone can appear as wilting at the top of the plants. This can seem counterintuitive in a hydroponic system because the roots are sitting in water, but the tops of the plants look like their wilting if there isn’t any oxygen in that water.
Hydroponic gardening is simply growing plants in water. It is easier than growing in soil in several ways.
With hydroponic gardening, the plants grow in water instead of soil. Nutrients can be tailored to the specific plants being grown. The nutrients are added directly to the water in the system and the plants easily uptake those nutrients through their roots. The result is saved energy which translates into increased growth, yield and higher quality fruits or flowers. The growth rate on a hydroponic plant is 30-50 percent faster than a soil plant, grown under the same conditions.
Pests and Disease:
Hydroponic plants have fewer problems with bug infestations, fungus and disease. Due to lack of necessity, fewer or no pesticides are used on hydroponic crops. Since this type of system uses no topsoil, topsoil erosion isn’t even an issue either. With fewer growing challenges it is easier to keep female plants from becoming hermaphrodites.
Easier to control temperature:
With water as the growing media it is easier to control marijuana plants temperature. This allows for up to 24 hour lighting during the vegetative growth cycle while protecting the root zone from overheating. Lighting is typically switched to 12 hours to trigger the flowering stage of many cannabis plants. The water in our hydro system, again maintains ideal temperature for the growing plants.
Uses less Water:
Hydroponic gardening offers benefits to the environment as it uses less water than soil gardening. Also, the water flushed from the system is still nutrient rich and great for your outdoor gardens. This is especially important for states like California where a drought may cause water usage restrictions. The use of an air pump and air stone to a standard deep water culture system provides oxygen to the plants roots. This is similar to how aeroponics systems work. This oxygenated water allows the plants to uptake the nutrient solutions more effectively.
Plants are typically started in a Rockwool cube and then transferred into a net cup that is filled with clay pebbles. The clay pebbles offer some support along with the net cup itself. Additionally, the clay pebbles help to maintain moisture and block out light that could harm the roots. It is a far better grow medium than due to its cleanliness, ease of use and lack of harmful pests and weeds.
In general, plants grown using hydroponics are healthier and happier. They are also easier to maintain. In most cases, the people enjoying those hydroponic plants are themselves healthier and happier.
So, have you planted a seed today?
"Great looking product, really looks like a solid system, and the owners of this business are super helpful and nice. 5 stars all around! Thank you!!"
"These are awesome for small hydroponic gardens. They do all the hard work putting these together and you just add the water and air pump and voila!...."
"I ordered my items during the Covid-19 crisis. They let me know promptly that there would be a delay in sending out the order and offered to cancel the order if I was not pleased with the delay. They were super polite and friendly in their email. I decided to keep my order and wait a little longer. I'm very satisfied with the product so far."