Hydroponic growing the future of Agriculture

Hydroponic

*Hydroponics technology will improve Nigeria’s food security and driving growth

In this context, one of the most promising developments has been the rapid increase of investment in hydroponic agricultural activity across the globe in recent years. Hydroponic farming, which involves growing plants in nutrient-rich water instead of soil, has the potential to transform not only regional food security, but to generate a considerable amount of economic growth across the region.

The technology has a handful of key benefits compared to traditional farming. First, plants grown hydroponically use up to 90% less water, and second, because soil is not required, it is possible to set up a hydroponic farm effectively anywhere.

Hydroponic farming allows for great control over nearly every stage of the growing process, eliminating many of the inefficiencies involved with traditional agriculture. Consequently, according to Mr Gidado Abubakar, hydroponic crops can be grown up to 300 per cent faster than typical soil crops, allowing for as many as 14 harvests per year and 1000 per cent greater overall yields. Hydroponic farming requires significantly less labor than traditional agricultural practices, further boosting efficiency. “Hydroponics as an agricultural solution helps solve major agriculture problems,” Mr Gidado Abubakar told FoodFarmNews. “It saves water, enables the feeding of more people by growing crops in places where it was not possible to do so before and gives self-sufficiency to regions that previously depended on imports; it saves time and energy of farmer, and further creates huge harvest.”

In general, Hydroponics is a subset of hydroculture, which is the growing of plants in a soil less medium, or an aquatic based environment. Hydroponic growing uses mineral nutrient solutions to feed the plants in water, without soil means crop is not planted in soil, thus, no weeds or soil borne pests and diseases. 

Therefore, plants maintain optimum nutrient and moisture levels in hydroponic system, which offer several benefits: healthier plants, faster growing plants and ability to be more disease resistant as plants are not stressed by drought. The root systems stay smaller on hydroponically grown plants, so the plant can concentrate and uses its energy on producing plant mass, rather than roots. This allows the grower to have more plants per square meter of growing a space. Hydroponically grown plants never get root bound, so they do not need repotting. Hydroponic produce has a longer shelf life than soil-grown produce. Hydroponics is clean. In addition, plants grown in hydroponic system taste better than plants grown in the traditional method of using soil. 

Quite often this is the case because the plants grown utilizing hydroponics have all the essential nutrients readily available to the plant. In soil the important micro nutrients are often locked away in the soil where the plants cannot take full advantage of these minerals. That is why hydroponics is superior because the grower has complete control over what minerals the plants are feeding on and in what quantities. This advantage permits production of food crop that is far superior in taste, color, size, and nutritional value. 

The merits for hydroponic system are in-exhaustive; they include reduced water usage, marginal land use, and reduced growth time, reduced labor requirement, cost effective and completely natural. 

Despite these advantages, hydroponic system is not a perfect system; unfortunately there are few disadvantages in growing fodder in such a controlled, humid, moist environment. Some of the problems that affect the yield production are mould, bacteria and fungi. However, these problems are addressed through sterilizing the grains surface to eliminate any mould spores on the grain. In addition, the surfaces in the growing area can be sterilized with chlorine or iodine. 

Make provision for excellent shed ventilation as well as use of sufficient and the correct ratio balance of nutrients in the watering of the plants. No doubt, Hydroponics the science of growing plants in nutrient-rich solutions instead of soil has proven itself to be efficient both financially and environmentally. It is indeed the newest and fastest way to grow plants and vegetables, such as lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, celery, watercress eggplants, beans, parsley, wild radish, leeks, strawberries, melons, aromatic, medicinal plants and animal fresh feeds.

For those of us who love growing plants these are exciting times indeed. We are no longer limited by climate or by season in the pursuit of our harmless pleasures. We can now grow virtually any plant at virtually any time of the year the only limitation is our imagination. The simple, effective hydroponic systems now available, coupled with modern horticultural lighting, have transformed our hobby and freed us to grow our favorite plants where and when we choose.

When most people think of hydroponics, they think of plants grown with their roots suspended directly into water with no growing medium. This is just one type of hydroponic gardening known as N.F.T. (nutrient film technique). There are several variations of N.F.T. used around the world and it is a very popular method of growing hydroponically. What most people don't realize is that there are countless methods and variations of hydroponic gardening. In this section, we explain the most common, including the pros and cons of each along with an abundance of great, general information about hydroponics.

Wicks System
Seen as the most simplistic hydroponic system. The Wick system is described as a passive system, by which we mean there are no moving parts. From the bottom reservoir, your specific Growth Technology nutrient solution is drawn up through a number of wicks into the growing medium.  This system can use a variety of mediums, perlite, soil or coco.

Water Culture
This system is an active system with moving parts. As active hydroponic systems go, water culture is the simplest. The roots of the plant are totally immersed in the water which contains the specific Growth Technology nutrient solutions. An air pump with help oxygenate the water and allow the roots to breathe.
NOTE. Very few plants other than lettuce will do well in this type of system.

Ebb and Flow System (Flood and Drain)
This hydroponic system works by temporarily flooding the grow tray. The nutrient solution from a reservoir surrounds the roots before draining back. This action is usually automated with a water pump on a timer.

Drip System (recovery or non-recovery)
Dip systems are a widely used hydroponic method. A timer will control a water pump, which pumps water and the Growth Technology nutrient solutions through a network of elevated water jets. A recovery system will collect excess nutrient solution back into the reservoir. A non-recovery drip system will avoid this allowing the pH of the reservoir not to vary. If using a recovery system, be sure to check the pH level of the reservoir regularly and adjust using either pH UP or pH Down solutions on a more frequent basis.

N.F.T System
The N.F.T system is at the forefront of people’s minds when hydroponics is mentioned. Nutrient Film Technique uses a constant flow of your Growth Technology nutrient solution (therefore no timer is required). The solution is pumped from a reservoir into the growing tray. The growing tray requires no growing medium. The roots draw up the nutrients from the flowing solution. The downward flow pours back into the reservoir to be recycled again. Pump and electric maintenance is essential to avoid system failures, where roots can dry out rapidly when the flow stops.

Aeroponic System
Aeroponic systems are seen to be a high tech method of hydroponic growing. Like the N.F.T system the growing medium is primarily air.

The roots hang in the air and are misted with nutrient solution. The misting of roots is usually done every few minutes. The roots will dry out rapidly if the misting cycles are interrupted.

A timer controls the nutrient pump much like other types of hydroponic systems, except the aeroponic system needs a short cycle timer that runs the pump for a few seconds every couple of minutes.

Why does Hydroponics work so well?

That's simple. If you give a plant exactly what it needs, when it needs it, in the amount that it needs, the plant will be as healthy as is genetically possible. With hydroponics this is an easy task; in soil it is far more difficult.

With hydroponics the plants are grown in an inert growing medium and a perfectly balanced, pH adjusted nutrient solution is delivered to the roots in a highly soluble form. This allows the plant to uptake its food with very little effort as opposed to soil where the roots must search out the nutrients and extract them.

 This is true even when using rich, organic soil and top of the line nutrients. The energy expended by the roots in this process is energy better spent on vegetative growth and fruit and flower production.

If you grow two genetically identical plants using soil for one and hydroponics for the other, you will almost immediately see the difference this factor makes. Faster, better growth and much greater yields are just some of the many reasons that hydroponics is being adapted around the world for commercial food production as well as a growing number of homes, hobby gardeners.

What is "growing medium"?

Growing medium is the material in which the roots of the plant are growing. This covers a vast variety of substances which include Rockwool, perlite, vermiculite, coconut fiber, gravel, sand and many more. The growing medium is an inert substance that doesn't supply any nutrition to the plants. All the nutrition comes from the nutrient solution (water and fertilizer combined). You can therefore, easily control everything the plants receive. The strength and pH of the nutrient solution is easy to adjust so that the plants receive just the right amount of food. The watering/feeding cycles can be controlled by an inexpensive timer so that the plants get watered on schedule, as needed.

What is the difference between hydroponic, organic and "regular" fertilizers?

Both hydroponic fertilizers and those intended for use in soil contain the three major nutrients, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The major difference in hydroponic fertilizers is that they contain the proper amounts of all the essential micro-nutrients which fertilizers intended for use with soil do not. The plants are expected to find these elements in the soil, assuming that the trace elements are in fact present. 

Problems can arise for the plants if any or all of the micro-nutrients are not present in the soil or are depleted by successive (or excessive) plantings. Hydroponic fertilizers are usually in a more refined form with fewer impurities making them both more stable and soluble for better absorption. Organic fertilizers, in most cases, are very different than either hydroponic or soil fertilizers both in composition and how they deliver the nutrient to the plants. Organic fertilizers rely on the synergistic action of bacteria and microbes to break down nutritional substances for easier uptake by the plants. Hydroponic and soil fertilizers provide nutrients in a ready-to-use form. While once, they were mutually exclusive, in recent years a number of outstanding organic fertilizers have hit the market in formulations refined enough for use in hydroponics.

Hydroponic or Organic-What's the Difference?

What are micro-nutrients?

The micro-nutrients, also known as trace elements that are required for healthy plant growth are calcium, magnesium, sulfur, boron, cobalt, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum and zinc. When deficient in any or all of these elements plants suffer stress, disease, become more susceptible to pest, fungus' and bacteria, and may have uptake issues with the N-P-K fertilizer they are being fed. At best, they will never live up to their genetic potential in growth and yield; at worst, they die. In the case of food crops, nutrient deficient plants lead to nutrient deficiencies in the people and animals who consume them. Due to years of over farming the same fields much of today's commercially produced food has a nutrient level barely exceeding waxed fruit. No surprise that more and more people are choosing to grow the food their families eat in their own gardens. When growing in soil remember to renew the dirt between plantings and when growing hydroponically know that it is absolutely essential to use a hydroponic fertilizer that provides all the trace elements.

How complicated is hydroponic gardening?

It can be but it doesn’t have to be. Hydroponics can be as incredibly simple as growing a single plant in a hand watered bucket or nursery pot, using any number of inert growing mediums. No automation, electricity or grow lights required.

Of course, the potential to go high tech is limited only by your imagination and budget. Virtually every aspect of garden management can be automated and should you so desire, monitored and controlled with your laptop or cell phone from the other side of the world. Dare to dream.

Most hobby oriented hydroponic systems are somewhere between the two extremes mentioned above. The average, home hydroponic system usually consists of a few basic parts: a growing tray, a reservoir, a submersible pump to water the plants, a simple timer and an air pump and air stone to oxygenate the nutrient solution. Of course, light (either natural or artificial) is also required.

Is pH important in hydroponics?

The control of pH is extremely important, not only in hydroponics but in soil as well. Plants lose the ability to absorb different nutrients when the pH varies. (This topic is answered in much greater detail in the "mini-class" on pH in Hydroponics). 

The ability to quickly and easily test and control pH in hydroponics is a major advantage over dirt gardening, where testing and adjusting the pH is much more complicated and time consuming.