Hydroponics is a method of growing plants without soil, in which the plant receives from the solution all the necessary nutrients in the right quantities and exact proportions (which is almost impossible to do with soil cultivation). The word hydroponics came from the Greek. υδρα - water and πόνος - work, as a result we get a "working solution".
Hydroponics is not new. Its history begins with a deep antiquity. For example, Hanging Gardens, as the archaeological excavations of ancient Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the World tell us, were probably one of the first successful attempts to grow plants on artificial soils.
Floating gardens of the Aztecs in Central America - another good example of the application of hydroponics technology. On the shores of Lake Tenochitlan (Mexico), the nomadic tribes of the Indians were forced out of their fertile lands by warlike neighbors. And then the Aztecs invented rafts of long reed stalks, on which silt was laid from the bottom of the lake. These rafts they called "Champas". So a plentiful harvest of vegetables and fruits was grown, because even the trees grew beautifully and fruited.Roots making their way to the water delivered the plant moisture.
Hydroponic method
The method of hydroponics is based on the study of the root system of the plant, and specifically how the plant feeds. Scientists have worked for decades to understand what the root extracts from the soil. It was possible to find out this thanks to the experiments of growing plants in water. Certain nutrients (mineral salts) were dissolved in distilled water.
The plant was grown on this solution in an ordinary glass jar. And experiments have shown that the plant develops well if potassium, sulfur, iron, magnesium, calcium, nitrogen and phosphorus are present in the solution. Scientists have found out that if from the solution with nutrients to exclude elements such as potassium, plant growth stops. It turns out that without calcium, the root system can not develop. Elements of iron and magnesium are necessary for the plant to form chlorophyll. The proteins necessary for the formation of protoplasm and nucleus can not be formed without sulfur and phosphorus.
For a long time, scientists thought that only these elements are needed for the normal development of plants. But later the scientists found out that the plant also needs very small amounts of other elements, which are why they are called microelements.
Approximately at the same time in the nineteenth century the Russian scientist KA Timiriazev, and in Germany F. Knop developed a method of growing plants in aqueous solutions.
In 1936, in the USA, Gerikke tested growing vegetables in solutions, giving the name to this hydroponics method . In our country, the first successful experiments of growing vegetables on hydroponics were delivered in 1938-1939. At first, plants on hydroponics were grown exclusively in water, without a substrate. But when grown in water, the supply of roots with oxygen was low, the reaction of the solution is unstable, so individual roots and plants perished.
Therefore, the cultivation of plants in water has not found application, and other methods of hydroponics have been developed . The roots of the plant are placed in a relatively inert substrate, which is immersed in a solution of the necessary nutrients.
Depending on what substrate is used, various methods of hydroponics have appeared:
Agregatoponica - when the roots are placed in solid inert, inorganic substrates - expanded clay, gravel, sand, gravel, etc.
Hemoponics - moss, sawdust, peat moss and other low- dosage organic materials are used for plant nutrition;
Ionotoponics substrate from ion-exchange materials;
Aeroponics - there is no solid substrate, the roots hang in the air of a darkened chamber.
And so, when grown hydroponically, the roots of the plant, not in the soil, but in the substratum, a soil substitute that has no nutritional value, roughly speaking, the substrate simply creates support for the development of the root system.
In addition, in hydroponics, the absorption of nutrients is faster, and additional oxygen stimulates a more rapid development of the root system. After all, the plant does not need to spend energy on the search for nutrients, they are easily accessible form fed to the roots of the plant. Therefore, the plant uses the saved energy for development and growth. Also, when grown on hydroponics, water is used less. What is especially important in the industrial cultivation of agricultural products. Especially for countries with a lack of fresh water.
As a result, hydroponics allows you to regulate the conditions of growing plants - create a diet for the root system, which fully meet the needs of plants in nutrients.Using hydroponic technology in closed rooms, we can also regulate the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air, favorable for photosynthesis, regulate the humidity of the air, air temperature, and the duration and intensity of illumination.
Creation of ideal conditions for plant growth ensures maximum yields, better quality and for shorter periods.
Advantages of the hydroponic method of growing plants:
With the application of the present method, the yield of fruit plants is substantially increased.Intensive flowering of ornamental plants also proves the positive effect of hydroponics on their growth. This method helps to supply the plant with all the necessary nutrients. It grows strong and healthy, and much faster than in the soil.
The plant does not accumulate harmful elements that are harmful to the human body and which are contained in the soil. As a rule, these are toxic organic compounds, excess nitrates, radionuclides, heavy metals and others. This is especially true for fruit plants. After all, when using the hydroponics method, plants receive only useful substances.
Plants do not need daily watering. And the water flow during hydroponics is much easier to control.Each plant requires an exceptionally individual approach. Depending on the growing system and the capacity of the tank, it is necessary to systematically add water to one plant every three days, once a month.
In soil cultivation, plants often suffer from drying out and lack of oxygen, in case of overmoistening.With the use of the method of hydroponics, this is absolutely impossible.
The procedure for transplanting perennials with the use of hydroponics technology is greatly facilitated. After all, when they are transplanted into the soil, the roots are in any case traumatized, to one degree or another.
Thanks to hydroponics, it is possible to avoid problems such as pests and all kinds of fungi and diseases that occur in plants growing in the soil. The question of the use of pesticides by itself disappears.
No need to use new soil, which significantly reduces the cost of the process of growing indoor plants.
From a practical point of view, it is easier to take care of such plants, there is no dirt from the ground, there are no extraneous odors, there are no pests that can start in the soil, and then spread to the premises.
The disadvantages of applying hydroponics technology:
Initially, the cost of such a solution will be significantly higher than the acquisition of ordinary soil.
It is necessary to invest a little labor in order to assemble the system on its own. It takes a lot of time and effort. And if you already buy a ready system, then you will have to pay a certain amount.Plus, the initial costs of both time and money will pay off with interest, as the plant will grow several times faster and take care of it will be much easier.
Stereotypes and public opinion give their own. Many such plant growing methods are associated with an artificial method using chemical fertilizers - that is, pesticides that adversely affect health.However, such judgments arise solely from ignorance of what hydroponics is.
Floating gardens of the Aztecs in Central America - another good example of the application of hydroponics technology. On the shores of Lake Tenochitlan (Mexico), the nomadic tribes of the Indians were forced out of their fertile lands by warlike neighbors. And then the Aztecs invented rafts of long reed stalks, on which silt was laid from the bottom of the lake. These rafts they called "Champas". So a plentiful harvest of vegetables and fruits was grown, because even the trees grew beautifully and fruited.Roots making their way to the water delivered the plant moisture.
Hydroponic method
The method of hydroponics is based on the study of the root system of the plant, and specifically how the plant feeds. Scientists have worked for decades to understand what the root extracts from the soil. It was possible to find out this thanks to the experiments of growing plants in water. Certain nutrients (mineral salts) were dissolved in distilled water.
The plant was grown on this solution in an ordinary glass jar. And experiments have shown that the plant develops well if potassium, sulfur, iron, magnesium, calcium, nitrogen and phosphorus are present in the solution. Scientists have found out that if from the solution with nutrients to exclude elements such as potassium, plant growth stops. It turns out that without calcium, the root system can not develop. Elements of iron and magnesium are necessary for the plant to form chlorophyll. The proteins necessary for the formation of protoplasm and nucleus can not be formed without sulfur and phosphorus.
For a long time, scientists thought that only these elements are needed for the normal development of plants. But later the scientists found out that the plant also needs very small amounts of other elements, which are why they are called microelements.
Approximately at the same time in the nineteenth century the Russian scientist KA Timiriazev, and in Germany F. Knop developed a method of growing plants in aqueous solutions.
In 1936, in the USA, Gerikke tested growing vegetables in solutions, giving the name to this hydroponics method . In our country, the first successful experiments of growing vegetables on hydroponics were delivered in 1938-1939. At first, plants on hydroponics were grown exclusively in water, without a substrate. But when grown in water, the supply of roots with oxygen was low, the reaction of the solution is unstable, so individual roots and plants perished.Therefore, the cultivation of plants in water has not found application, and other methods of hydroponics have been developed . The roots of the plant are placed in a relatively inert substrate, which is immersed in a solution of the necessary nutrients.
Depending on what substrate is used, various methods of hydroponics have appeared:
Agregatoponica - when the roots are placed in solid inert, inorganic substrates - expanded clay, gravel, sand, gravel, etc.
Hemoponics - moss, sawdust, peat moss and other low- dosage organic materials are used for plant nutrition;
Ionotoponics substrate from ion-exchange materials;
Aeroponics - there is no solid substrate, the roots hang in the air of a darkened chamber.
And so, when grown hydroponically, the roots of the plant, not in the soil, but in the substratum, a soil substitute that has no nutritional value, roughly speaking, the substrate simply creates support for the development of the root system.
In addition, in hydroponics, the absorption of nutrients is faster, and additional oxygen stimulates a more rapid development of the root system. After all, the plant does not need to spend energy on the search for nutrients, they are easily accessible form fed to the roots of the plant. Therefore, the plant uses the saved energy for development and growth. Also, when grown on hydroponics, water is used less. What is especially important in the industrial cultivation of agricultural products. Especially for countries with a lack of fresh water.As a result, hydroponics allows you to regulate the conditions of growing plants - create a diet for the root system, which fully meet the needs of plants in nutrients.Using hydroponic technology in closed rooms, we can also regulate the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air, favorable for photosynthesis, regulate the humidity of the air, air temperature, and the duration and intensity of illumination.
Creation of ideal conditions for plant growth ensures maximum yields, better quality and for shorter periods.
Advantages of the hydroponic method of growing plants:
With the application of the present method, the yield of fruit plants is substantially increased.Intensive flowering of ornamental plants also proves the positive effect of hydroponics on their growth. This method helps to supply the plant with all the necessary nutrients. It grows strong and healthy, and much faster than in the soil.
The plant does not accumulate harmful elements that are harmful to the human body and which are contained in the soil. As a rule, these are toxic organic compounds, excess nitrates, radionuclides, heavy metals and others. This is especially true for fruit plants. After all, when using the hydroponics method, plants receive only useful substances.
Plants do not need daily watering. And the water flow during hydroponics is much easier to control.Each plant requires an exceptionally individual approach. Depending on the growing system and the capacity of the tank, it is necessary to systematically add water to one plant every three days, once a month.
In soil cultivation, plants often suffer from drying out and lack of oxygen, in case of overmoistening.With the use of the method of hydroponics, this is absolutely impossible.
The procedure for transplanting perennials with the use of hydroponics technology is greatly facilitated. After all, when they are transplanted into the soil, the roots are in any case traumatized, to one degree or another.
Thanks to hydroponics, it is possible to avoid problems such as pests and all kinds of fungi and diseases that occur in plants growing in the soil. The question of the use of pesticides by itself disappears.
No need to use new soil, which significantly reduces the cost of the process of growing indoor plants.
From a practical point of view, it is easier to take care of such plants, there is no dirt from the ground, there are no extraneous odors, there are no pests that can start in the soil, and then spread to the premises.
The disadvantages of applying hydroponics technology:
Initially, the cost of such a solution will be significantly higher than the acquisition of ordinary soil.
It is necessary to invest a little labor in order to assemble the system on its own. It takes a lot of time and effort. And if you already buy a ready system, then you will have to pay a certain amount.Plus, the initial costs of both time and money will pay off with interest, as the plant will grow several times faster and take care of it will be much easier.
Stereotypes and public opinion give their own. Many such plant growing methods are associated with an artificial method using chemical fertilizers - that is, pesticides that adversely affect health.However, such judgments arise solely from ignorance of what hydroponics is.
The process of transplanting a plant from the ground into a hydroponics system
Place an earthen lump in the bucket with the root of the plant and soak for several hours with water at room temperature. At the end of this time, carefully separate the ground under the water and, using a light stream of water at room temperature, gently wash the roots.
After cleaning, spread the roots to the bottom and fill them with a substrate. In this case, it is not required that the plant directly touches the water layer directly with the roots. The solution rises up the capillaries of the substrate and reaches the roots. After a while, the plants will sprout to the required depth.
Pour the substrate on top of plain water. Then pour the water into the vessel to the required level and leave the plant to adapt for about a week.
Only after the expiration of this period, fertilizers can be added to the water.
The role of the method of hydroponics in modern agriculture.
Few people think about the fact that in a couple of decades the population in the villages will not be left at all. According to the results of research in 50 years almost all the inhabitants of our planet will live in cities. Who will grow food? Moreover, today most of the soil that is capable of yielding crops has already been used. Part of it is seriously damaged by the barbarous methods of agronomists. And what will future generations have?
It is necessary to solve this acute problem today. It is no less significant than the disappearance of minerals. The only solution is to transfer agriculture to the city. This will also solve the issue of transportation of crops. The main goal is to collect as many fruits as possible from the smallest area.Leading world architects such an idea - to create urban vertical farms skyscrapers has long been haunted. Not for nothing recently appear at first glance the bizarre projects of landscaping cities and the construction of urban farms.
Thanks to the application of the latest achievements in technology and science in the present field, hydroponics technology has been developing at an incredible rate in recent years. In ultramodern hydroponic systems, only plastics are used. Even the pumps are made with an epoxy coating. Due to the durability and harmlessness of such materials, their conscientious application with neutral substrates is a direct way to success. The use of plastics pushed to get rid of expensive and not easy-to-use metal structures of tanks and gutters.
With the development of suitable for use in the hydroponic system of pumps, plumbing fixtures, timers, solenoid valves and other equipment, hydroponics can now be fully automated, which will reduce the main and production costs.
Equally important achievement in the field of hydroponics was the development of a balanced diet for plants. And although research in the realm is still ongoing, the developments have already been widely applied.
In the development of hydroponics technology, various countries of the world are actively participating.Such states as Australia and New Zealand, countries of South Africa, Italy and Spain, Israel and Scandinavian countries show their interest in this system. In Europe, many vegetables and berries are grown according to the hydroponics system. For example, strawberries grow faster and the harvesting of berries is greatly facilitated. The use of ultramodern nutrient solutions makes it possible to significantly increase crop yields and also to reduce the area under their sowing.
Hydroponic systems are becoming increasingly important today. Due to the increase in demand and the increase in the mass market, the production of structures is cheaper and the cost of hydroponics is reduced. Developments in the field of system design make it possible to grow plants not only compactly placed on one level, but also to fill the volume of premises involved in the process, thus saving the working area and significantly increasing the yield of finished products. At the same time, labor costs in servicing plants are significantly reduced.
Reduction of labor input using hydroponics technology for growing plants is achieved due to several significant factors.
From the growing process, the concept of "fertile soil" is completely excluded. After all, the soil in hydroponics is present only in the seedling state of the plant. It is worth noting that the seedlings of plants are grown in the traditional way, and then it is placed in a pot that is filled with some liquid permeable friable substrate. For example, perlite large sand, crushed claydite, small gravel and other. The main task of the substrate is to keep the root system of the plant. In this case, all the nutrients from the plant are absorbed from the special solution.
Absolutely eliminated such procedure, as "watering". After hydroponics involves a systematic irrigation with a nutrient solution of the root system of the plant. This solution has a practically stable composition. Thanks to him, the plant does not suffer from starvation or lack of moisture.And it develops rapidly and evenly in comparison with its soil relatives.
Minimized the possibility of the emergence of insects, larvae, weeds and competitors. Seedlings are planted almost in a sterilized soil, and then the ground is completely washed away. And in the solution, no seeds of weeds simply can not be.
When using hydroponics technology, there is no need for weeding, loosening and other types of soil treatment. And the system can be completely automated.
And if hydroponic technology is well established, the process of growing plants is directly in growing seedlings and harvesting. It is also necessary to systematically monitor the hydroponic plant and add the solution.
The hydroponic system turns the process of growing greenery, vegetables and spices into a very pleasant occupation.
What should be the soil?
Hydroponics does not use ordinary soil, but uses different types of substrate. Each of them has its own characteristics and is suitable for certain plants.
Gravel is characterized by low cost and minimal moisture retention properties, which is a plus in hydroponics.
Also a common substrate is expanded clay , which is relatively inexpensive, retains little moisture and gives good air access to the root system of plants.
Sphagnum moss is well suited for hydroponics, it is an environmentally friendly and safe substrate providing good hydration and aeration.
Coconut substrate is an excellent solution for hydroponic systems, satisfying the needs of plants in minerals, is characterized by a longer service life than moss.
Mineral cotton wool is similar to a coconut substrate, but is inorganic and will not give plants nutrients, which requires constant monitoring of the mineral fertilizer content in the solution.
A mixture of perlite and vermiculite in a ratio of 1: 1 is the best solution for the wicking type of hydroponic plants, since it retards the moisture and minerals necessary for plants.
In general, the choice of the substrate for hydroponics depends on the culture being grown, the type of hydroponic system and the material costs foreseen for these needs.
Hydroponic solution
When preparing the solution, it is necessary to take into account not only the plant itself, but also the water quality. First of all, you should pay attention to the acidity (pH) . For this, it is necessary to carry out water analysis (pH norm 5.5 ÷ 6.5).
If the pH is more or less, special drugs should be used to raise or lower the pH (eg pH Down or pH Up). After that you can add special fertilizers to the water (for example, the Flora Series fertilizer complex) according to the instructions.
It is recommended to use only special balanced fertilizers for hydroponics or fertilizers prepared by own hands, but strictly observing the recommended proportions.
An important factor is the temperature of the solution. The lower its temperature, the less air dissolves in it. The temperature of the solution should be about 18 ° -24 ° C.
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Can I transplant orchids during flowering? You will find the answer in our article.
Growing roses on hydroponics
To grow roses on hydroponics, it is worth applying the technology of nutrient layer or low-volume technology .
In the first technology, the solution flows along an inclined channel and thereby it ishes the roots of all plants. This method is ideal for growing roses.
In low-volume technology plants are planted in mineral blocks, and when roots appear, the blocks are installed on mats with drainage holes. Also used is drip irrigation and specially selected for roses fertilizer. It is worth mentioning that the nutrient solution should be prepared strictly taking into account the recommended concentrations.
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