Commercial Hydroponic Growing, Systems and Supplies

Hydroponics has been practised for centuries. It is thought that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were a hydroponic system. In its modern form it was developed during the Second World War. US Airforce personnel used hydroponics to grow crops at military bases in the Middle East and Pacific.

With the advent of new plastic materials and new growing mediums hydroponics has become a practical proposition for the amateur. It is already widely used in commercial greenhouses.

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The advantage of hydroponics is that it allows the grower to control the nutrients that are fed to the plant with great exactitude. Nothing is wasted and plants get exactly the nutrients they need at each stage in their life cycle.

There are a number of methods that are suited to the amateur and can be set up in a domestic greenhouse. The most common is probably the flood and drain method but the thin nutrient film method is gaining in popularity. Both are ideally suited to the greenhouse.

An alternative method is deep water hydroponics. This is less suitable for the greenhouse. But it may have applications when used in conjunction with fish keeping. The waste excreted by the fish acts a source of nutrients for plants. This type of hydroponics or aquaculture is perhaps a little too specialized for most hobbyists but worth keeping in mind.

For most greenhouses a flood and drain system or a thin nutrient film method will work well and they are not difficult to build. The necessary supplies are available from specialist retailers most of whom have websites. They will be pleased to advise a novice about the best equipment for their greenhouse.

Many of the supplies that you will need can be sourced from your local hardware retailer. Square section rainwater guttering, plastic pipes and water tanks are easy enough to find. A great deal of a typical greenhouse Hydroponic System can be made by an amateur.

The food and drain system involves flooding water into a plant container and then letting it drain out again. It is as simple as that. Your greenhouse needs to be equipped with a reservoir for water, pipes to transport it and a pump to circulate the water around the system.

You need a tray or other container with an outlet for the water. The container should be filled with a growing medium such as perlite, coconut fibre, rockwool or clay pebbles. Rockwool is most commonly used in commercial greenhouses.

The thin nutrient flim works well in the greenhouse. It simply requires a water proof surface. Even a sheet of glass will do. A steady flow of water is run constantly over the roots.

Special hydroponic nutrients are available. They are designed for general use, for specific crops, or for particular stages of growth. These must be added to the reservoir in the quantity specified by the manufacturer. All the plants in your greenhouse can be fed from a common source through a system of pipes leading to and from the reservoir.

A simple hydroponic system might consist of a series of rainwater gutters running down either side of a rectangular greenhouse with a reservoir at one end. To make the most of the space in your greenhouse you can arrange the gutters in tiers. A larger greenhouse might have gutters arranged across the width of the greenhouse.

A more developed system in a large greenhouse could put the gutters on rollers so that they be moved. An efficient system of sowing at one end and harvesting at the other can be achieved using this system.

In a circular greenhouse a system of trays might be more efficient. If they all slope down to a central reservoir the need for piping will be minimised. The reservoir can be covered with decking so that you can stand on it tend the plants.

Hydroponic systems work best if the water is heated to about 55 degrees. This temperature is will be reached in most greenhouses during the summer. But in the winter you may need to heat the reservoir when you heat the rest of the greenhouse.

Hyrodoponic systems can be used out of doors, but they really come into their own in the greenhouse. The advantage of hydroponics in the greenhouse is that is allows you to exercise complete control over your greenhouse. Not only is the temperature, watering and atmosphere of the greenhouse under your hands but so is the exact level of nutrients fed to the plants.