People are often interested in how to provide themselves with fresh, vitamin plants in the winter? Growing various greens using hydroponics at home - you will provide your table with vitamins almost throughout the year. This technology is especially interesting for those plant lovers who do not have a familiar piece of land. This simple and fun activity will give you the opportunity to save money earmarked for buying greenery, and at the same time enjoy communicating with plants.
What is the hydroponic method of growing greenery
The word hydroponics means that this technology is based on water. With its help, green crops develop not in ordinary soil, but in water of a special composition, in which all the nutrients necessary for the life of plants are present. This method of growing allows you to forget about weeds, watering and digging beds, about various pests, who are trying to feast on our plants.
The solution used for growing plants contains all the necessary nutrients, which, in terms of their chemical composition, are the same as those found in the soil in the garden.
Where to start, installation diagram
First of all, you need to purchase the necessary equipment and plastic cups or pots, holes 3-5 cm in diameter are made in their bottom, they are necessary for sowing seeds.
The prepared container is placed in a high pallet, and a compressor from the aquarium is attached to it. It is necessary to saturate the water with air and constantly stir the nutrient mixture so that nutrients do not settle to the bottom, but move between the plant roots. Cups or pots must be installed in a slot of a suitable diameter in the foam sheet.
If this simple installation is assembled correctly, then after a short time you can cut the first fresh herbs.
In short, the sequence of growing greens in hydroponics:
- Choosing the right one for hydroponics culture;
- Assembling the installation and pour an inert filler into the cups - expanded clay, perlite, etc. (installation diagram is presented below);
- We plant seed;
- We select fertilizers to formulate a nutrient mixture, taking into account the needs of the selected culture;
- We attach to the installation compressor;
- Complete and sown pots immersed in a nutrient solution.
The installation is assembled, and the seeds are sown, it remains to control the level of the nutrient solution and cut the greens in time, this will accelerate the development of new leaves. For the rapid development of green crops, it is desirable organize backlighting using special phytolamps.
Due to the availability of nutrients, plants can concentrate their energies on development.
These factors make it possible to grow an adult plant in a short time, and since the nutritional composition is optimal, the products receive all the necessary elements that are often unavailable in ordinary soil. Besides, grown herbs are completely safe, after all, there are no parasites, pests and diseases in a specially formulated solution.
Ways to grow plants hydroponically at home
In addition to the nutrient composition, a special substrate is required - a structure made of porous material capable of serving as an accumulator of the nutrient composition.
But there are ways to grow plants in hydroponics, which do not require a substrate and an aqueous solution:
- First way. It consists in the fact that the pots where the plant roots are located are fixed above the nutrient solution so that the root is immersed only to a certain depth, the rest is located above the water surface. When the liquid evaporates, it is topped up with water to the desired level. This method is ideal for plants that require a lot of oxygen for the roots (with a branched root system).
- Second way. For him, double pots are used, a nutrient solution is poured into one of them, a larger one. The smaller of the pots, filled with substrate, contains the plant's root system. In the bottom and walls of the smaller pot, it is necessary to make holes through which the solution will penetrate. Make sure that the roots of the plant are not completely immersed in the liquid, but only 2/3 of their length.
- Third way. This method is called submersible hydroponics. It is convenient to use when growing greens in large volumes. A large container (tray) must be prepared and filled with nutrient solution. A foam platform floating on the surface is lowered into the solution. Holes are cut in the foam, into which the pots with the substrate and the herbs planted in it are lowered.
This hydroponic system works like this - a compressor aerator is mounted on the bottom of the bath - it is necessary for mixing the solution and saturating it with oxygen. It is necessary to change the nutrient solution periodically, since after 3-4 days the concentration of nutrients in it decreases, and part of the liquid evaporates.
Solution preparation
A nutrient solution is essential for any type of plant. Its task is to provide a growing crop with nutrients that are necessary for the formation of a crop. Now there are many different recipes for an aqueous solution for making a home with your own hands.
The easiest option is to purchase a ready-made solution at a flower shop. But remember that each garden and green crop needs its own solution with a certain nutrient content.
For this reason, consult an experienced person before buying! In addition, carefully read the instructions on the packaging, which will allow you to buy exactly the drug that is best suited for your culture.
Sowing seeds
Seeds must be sown in a pot or on a tray, on a special substrate; for rapid germination, you need to maintain a temperature of 22 degrees and the substrate in a moist state. To make it easier to transplant seedlings into a hydroponic plant in the future, you need to use a substrate that is easily washed off from the root system. A composition containing 25% of the volume of vermiculite and 78% of perlite is well suited for this purpose. This mixture allows you to maintain the moisture required for the seeds.
A substrate made from peat moss works well. You cannot use ordinary soil - it is very difficult to wash it off the roots. After that, you need to wait until the seedling has 2 true leaves. After that, the plant is carefully removed from the substrate. If you feel resistance, then the effort is not worth it, you need to take a simple spoon and carefully pick out the sprout with the substrate. After that, the roots are washed in a bucket or under running water until the substrate is completely removed. Then the seedling is transplanted into a hydroponic plant, making sure that the roots are dipped into the solution.
There are peat moss pellets or compressed coconut fibers on sale.
The hydroponic method of growing greens is a good alternative to the soil method of growing greens. It has many advantages, for example - lack of physical labor, the ability to get a crop in an ordinary apartment, the absence of pests.