Hydroponics at Gateway Technical College and Beyond

The Basic Idea

• Nutrients added to water in reservoir/tank

• Water pumped to container holding plant roots

• Water flows back to tank by gravity

• Air stone adds oxygen needed by plants for respiration and to keep water from becoming stagnant

Rockwool

• Seeds are started in rockwool and transplanted into various systems

• Rockwool is an inert material holding plants up in nutrient solution

• No bio activity to plug lines or foul water.

• No nutrient charge

Seed Starting in Rockwool

• Rockwool needs to be soaked for several hours to lower pH

• Add pH buffer to bucket of water and adjust to pH5.5

• Add weak nutrients solution to 660ppm or .5-1 EC

• Soak cubes for 30 min -2 hrs

• Place rockwool cubes in web tray and seed. Don’t squeeze rockwool

• Light and 70-80 deg

Nutrients

• Plants need 16 nutrients to grow

• Nitrogen – Phosphorous – Potassium = macronutrients

• Micronutrients – very small amounts needed

• Nitrogen vegetative – ‘green’ growth leaves, stems, chlorophyll

• Phophorous – rooting and flower initiation

• Potassium – stress resistance, cell strength, quality

Nutrients and Fertilizers

• Amount and timing vary according to crops grown

• Leafy greens/herbs vs fruiting crops - tomato, cuke, medicinals

• Change ratio at flowering or lower fertilizer level

Fertilizer Formulations - liquid

• Premixed stock solution.

• Convenient – use directly from bottle, no pre-mixing

• Dilute – paying to ship a lot of water

• Expensive for large systems

9-7-37

9% nitrogen

7% phosphorous

37% potassium

Complete micronutrients and gel technology to coat bare roots in solution

For product information sheet click here

Gateway has examples of 4 major systems

1. Dutch Bucket or ‘bato bucket’

2. Nutrient Film technology or NFT

2. Ebb and Flow or Raft System

3. ZipGrow Vertical System – wall and upright

4. Aeroponics Tower Garden

1. Dutch Buckets, bato Buckets

Crops

• Larger fruiting crops • Tomato

• Pepper

• Basil

• Cucumber

• Medicinals – Cannabis, Ginseng, Goldenseal and others, Tobacco for producing vaccines

Trellising Tomatoes

Pruning

One main stem only

Side shoots and suckers

should be removed weekly

EZ to lag behind.

Fruit production down 50%

Aeroponics – Tower Garden

• Warm season or cool season?

Crops

2 different uses:

1. Homeowner or restaurant system with lights

2. Commercial indoor with or without lights (energy $)• Leafy greens – lettuce, kale, spinach

• Leafy herbs – basil, parsley, chives, cilantro, marjoram

• Baby bok choi, mustard, kale

• Warm or cool season?

Nurient Film Technology - NFT

Crops

• Leafy greens• Lettuce – head

• Herbs – basil

• Animal fodder – gas fed cows in winter, chickens

Ebb and Flow or Raft system

Ebb and Flow Raft System

Ebb and Flow Microgreens

ZipGrow Vertical

Zip Grow Wall

Crops

• Leafy greens

• Leafy herbs

• Herbs – basil, rosemary, cilantro

• Strawberries

• Cool or warm season?

• Daylength – day neutral

Aquaponics

Growing Power

Nelson and Pade