Build a Hydroponic Culture System Horticulture and the
Science
of Plants |
|
BACKGROUND
What is hydroponics? Hydroponics means "water culture". Hydroponics is growing plants with their roots submerged in aerated water, periodically flooded with water, or sprayed with water. Plant roots need both air and water to survive. The roots are growing in water, so a lack of water is never a problem. However, supplying air to the roots takes special care. How is air supplied to the roots? There are several ways to achieve sufficient aeration: 1) submerge the roots in water and bubble air through the water with an air pump; 2) place the roots in a trough and run a very thin layer or film of water over the roots so they are barely submerged; 3) the plant roots grow in a solid substrate, such as sand, gravel, beads, hard clay balls, rock wool, peat, and the nutrient solution is dripped through the substrate or the container is flooded with water then drained, or 4) roots can even be suspend in air and sprayed or misted them with a nutrient solution. Types of Hydroponic Systems There are many kinds of hydroponic systems. Some are pictured below. Aerated Hydroponic System
The plants are suspended from a floating platform, and the roots hang down into an aerated nutrient solution. The class will build a system similar to this.  From: www.simplyhydro.com/free2.htm Hydroponic Trough
System (often called Nutrient Film Technique)
The plants
are placed in a trough, and a thin film of water flows over the roots
and
back into some type of reservoir. The system pictured
below is a combination of
an aquaculture fish tank and a hydroponic trough growing system.
The
bioreactor removes toxic levels of ammonia. Instead of pumping
water
directly out of the fish tank into the bioreactor, the water in
collected
in sump tank (a holding tank with a water pump), then pumped into the
bioreactor;
this facilitates settling and removal of solid fish waste. The
water
from the bioreactor can be diverted to drain back into the fish tank or
to the hydroponic troughs. In 2004, the class used this system.
Solid Substrate
Hydroponic System
In this system the plant roots are growing in a solid substrate, such as sand, gravel, glass beads, rockwool, or even peat moss. The substrate does not hold nutrients very well, so every time the substrate gets dry a nutrient solution is dripped through the substrate. This type system is very common in commercial production. Plants absorb virtually all of the essential elements through their roots. Essential elements are also called nutrients or fertilizers. The nutrients or fertilizers are dissolved in the water to supply the plants with all the nutrients they need. Plants need 17 essential elements, which are: 3 supplied naturally by air and water - comprise the bulk of the plant C, H, 0 6 macronutrients - required at 0.1 to 6% of the dry weight of plants N, P, K, S, Ca, Mg 8 micronutrients - required at 1 to 300 ppm of the dry weight of plants Fe, Zn, Cu, Mo, B, Mn, Cl, Ni Hydroponic Nutrient Solutions The 14 macronutrients and micronutrients must be added to the hydroponic solution. There are very complex recipes for making the hydroponic nutrient solution. One of the most common and widely used recipes is Hoagland's Nutrient Solution. The following table gives all the chemicals needed to make Hoagland's nutrient solution. Pretty complicated, isn't it! If you do not want to make your own nutrient solution, you can Google "hydroponic supplies" and you will find many web sites where you can order hydroponic nutrients that you just dissolve in water. In class, we will actually conduct an experiment where we will test if one can simply use soluble fertilizers that you can purchase in any garden center.
TAKE HOME LESSONS MATERIALS NEEDED PROCEDURES Experimental Treatments Objective Assemble
the Hydroponic Trays Preparing the Nutrient Solutions Inserting Plants into Hydroponic Trays Daily Measurement of Water
Quality We will
write down the measurements on a Log of
Water Quality data sheet and calculate the averages. We will compare the measurements over time to make
sure the the nitrate, pH and EC salts do not change.
Daily Measurement of Plant Growth
We will write down the measurements on a
Log of Plant Growth data sheet
and calculate the averages. Analyze
Data
RESULTSAfter the last measurements are made, all the data will be averaged. The class will observe the plants on the final day, evaluate the data, and determine the best treatment(s). At the end of the experiment, the class will write a summary of the results, and supply data for the following links: Final Data Plant Plant 1 and Final Data Plant 2, Final Data Water Quality, and Final Pictures. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| We will post final
pictures of the Hydroponic
Experiment - Testing Fertilizers The pictures below are from a previous YAP program. |
|||
| Control
Treatment |
Hoagland's
Solution |
Scott's
15-16-17 |
Peters
20-10-20 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Back to Home