What is hydroponic? The basic hydroponic methods
Growing plants in solution (hydroponic) is a technique of growing non-soil crops and planting them directly into a nutrient medium or medium and not the soil.
The secret of this technique is to provide enough and timely for the plant the essential mineral elements. Providing adequate nutrition, ensuring adequate light, CO2 for photosynthesis, O2 for respiration, plants can grow healthy according to the wishes of the growers.
Not only that, because planting does not require land, it is possible to divide the space into multiple layers to expand the area.
Not all vegetables can be grown using hydroponic methods, which depends on many factors and techniques of caregivers.
With hydroponic method, you have created an ideal habitat for plants, eliminating fungi and pests, helping plants grow well and increase productivity.
The biggest disadvantage of hydroponic vegetable growing method is that the initial investment cost is higher than that of the soil. Moreover, if the pumping system fails, it may cause the entire plant on the hydroponic platform to wither.
Three basic and easy hydroponic methods
Wick Systems
This is a long-standing method, true to its name, this system works on the same principle as the wick of a kerosene lamp. It is also known as passive hydroponic, which means you do not need any air pump or water pump to use it.
Nutrients and water are transferred to the root zone via a wick. The wick absorbs the nutrient provided below and moves to the upper media. This method requires a good substrate such as coconut fiber or earthenware.
This method is suitable for beginners because it is easy to implement and low cost. However, they are only suitable for small trees.
Deep Water Culture
In a stationary hydroponic system, you use a storage tank to store the nutrient solution. Your roots are suspended in that solution so they are constantly supplied with water, oxygen and nutrients.
But there is a problem in this method that newbies often have is lack of oxygen. Due to the amount of static solution in the tank, there is no oxygen provided, so you must put an aerator to pump oxygen into the tank.
Plants are usually placed in small pots on foam sheets floating on the water surface so that the roots can easily rise and fall according to the water level.
This method is also appreciated for its ease of implementation and low cost. However, it is only suitable for short-term plants.
Drip system
This is a very common system in hydroponic gardens for commercial production. Because this method is simple to operate and the investment cost is not too high. This system has a nutrient pump directly to the base of the plant through trickle nozzles. The excess nutrients will be absorbed through the roots and media and returned to the tank for reuse.
Above are the three basic hydroponic methods and easy to implement without spending too much effort to have a clean vegetable garden as desired.
