THE BASICS OF HYDROPONICS. The Success or Failure of Your Plants Depends On Their

EnvironmentThe environment, or climate, in which your plants are grown is one of

the most important factors affecting your end results. The temperature

and humidity have to be right for the type of crop you are raising, the

lighting has to be of sufficient intensity and duration for the stage

your crop has reached. These and many other factors have to be

considered before you can hope to grow a healthy and productive crop. Let? look briefly at the various factors involved. Growing plants

indoors means that you have to create similar conditions to those

outside. This may seem obvious at first glance, but is it true? Ask

yourself what the advantages of Hydroponics gardening are. The outside

climate is very varied and does not always work to the plant's advantage.

For example a bad storm or a late frost can damage or kill tender young

plants. One of the major advantages of hydroponics gardening is that you can

control the climate within the grow room. This means that you can

supply your plants with the ideal conditions for their healthy growth,

throughout their lives. This ensures a good healthy yeild and a bigger

profit margin. So what do you need?Having decided upon which type of hydroponics system to use, you now need

to promote the right growing conditions. All healthy plants require a

good supply of water and balanced nutrients. They need the right kind of

light, for the right period of time, each day. Your plants will need some

kind of support for their structure, especially as they mature and grow

heavy with harvestable produce. Like outdoor plants they also need the

temperature to be within a certain range. Too cold and your plants will

not thrive, but remain poor stunted things. Too hot and they may well dry

out, then their leaves will wither and the plants die. The addition of Carbon Dioxide gas (CO2) may be advisable to promote

Photosynthesis within the green leaves of your plants. Finally some form

of clean fresh air circulation is needed to ensure that your crop can

breathe. Like you, your plants need Oxygen for life. They breathe it in

through their tissues and like you, can become sick if it is dirty or

contaminated. So, taking these factors one at a time, how can we create

the optimum conditions for our plants?Firstly water and a good supply of balanced nutrients are essential. Which

nutrient to buy and how to use it? This again is a major question to some

people. My advice to you would be to go with a nutrient that you can

understand and are comfortable using. As you gain experience and confidence

you can experiment with other methods and suppliers at will. Lighting is another key area that seems to cause newcomers a problem. The

type of light and the number of daylight hours are determined by the species

of plants you are cultivating and their stage of development. Young

seedlings and cuttings, for example, need much softer light than do plants

about to flower. Equitorial plants will generally need a higher light

intensity for a longer period than will plants from the regions where

days and growing seasons are short. Ask your hydroponics supplier for help

in any of the areas you are unsure of. He will be pleased to assist you. When looking at lighting you also need to take into account the area to be

covered and whether the lights are to be static or moving. A Brief Word Of Warning. Poor quality lighting systems can be very dangerous and accidents are more

likely to occur if the person who sets up the equipment is not particular

about safety. Always buy quality assured electrical equipment that carries

the safety mark for your country. Do not risk your life or the lives of

those you love just to save a few pounds or dollars. IF IN DOUBT CONSULT A PROFESSIONAL ELECTRICIANPlants can be supported in a variety of ways, by using frames and tying the

plant stems to them at regular intervals using plastic ties. Automatic reels

can be bought which makes the job a lot easier. They consist of a spring

loaded reel of cord with a hook arrangement that fixes to the ceiling, or a

top runner, and a hook or loop to tie to the top area of the plant stem. As

the plant grows so the slack in the cord is taken up by the reel. Depending

on your growing system the roots will either be supported or not. If no

support is used, for example in a water culture system, then the plant should

be supported at or near the base of the stem, to stop it lifting if reel

supports are used. And so to the temperature control in your artificial climate. The optimum

temperature for your plants will again vary with both genus and species. Ask

your supplier what this should be. Now you will need devise a system to

maintain the temperature within the optimum top and bottom limits. This can

be achieved by either a series of fans and/or heaters together with various

other pieces of equipment such as timers, controllers, monitors and CO2 dosers,

or by a commercially produced environmental control system. These ready made

systems come in a variety of price options designed to suit almost every pocket.

In general, the more you are prepared to spend, the more sophisticated

the systems that are available to you. Fresh air requirements for your grow room are normally provided using a fan

assisted ducting system . This introduces clean air from the outside, via a

filter to remove impurities. An Ozone generator is often used to improve the

supply of oxygen and neutralize any noxious odours. Another similar ducting

system then extracts the dirty air back to the outside, again via a filter to

remove impurities and cut down on unwelcome odours. Humidifiers can be used,

if needed, to increase the amount of airborne water vapour. Copyright (C) 2004, 2005 - John R Haughton.

--- All Rights Reserved ---A partner in a thriving retail hydroponics supply business,

Rickie Haughton is the owner of hydroponics-gardening-information. com

which aims to cater for all levels of expertise in the field of hydroponics gardening. The website is packed with good content about all aspects off hydroponics gardening and offers a free hydroponics Club membership to all subscribers.

Author:
John R. Haughton