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Hi Scott, Have just discovered your great site, and am beginning to investigate hydroponics - always thought it was a huge amount of effort, etc, but it seems maybe not. I've been an organic gardener for years - am really interested in finding out more about what you've said about vegetables absorbing bacteria from animal manures - where can I find some facts and details of research on this ? do you know any sites? Many thanks. Siobhan

http://aem.asm.org/cgi/content/abstract/68/1/397

 the full content is at http://aem.asm.org/cgi/content/full/68/1/397

If any other sites come up I would like to hear about them at scott@hydrocentre.com.au 

Dear Sir, I am in grade 8 and I have always been interested in growing of vegetables etc. I am doing a energy saving experiment at school and I have selected hydroponics. I need to build a simple experiment that shows the energy saved. Can you suggest a basic idea that will appeal to students and parents. Regards Lindsay Scott

The Advantages of Hydroponics include Less weeding, bending, digging, machinery used. Less use of tractors and polluting farm machinery. More efficient use of water resulting in 80 litres per 1kilo of produce produced in soil and 3 litres of water used per 1 kilo in Hydroponics. Energy saved is fairly difficult to identify. Physical energy is reduced compared with normal gardening. Would something along those lines be suitable?

Scott

We live in Darwin where it is hot and humid for 4 months of the year. Can we still grow vegetables in this climate. Do you know of any web sites that specifically discuss hydroponics in the tropics? I appreciate your assistance. Jill

I know what you mean. One commercial grower grows commercial lettuce up there under shade cloth. That's not really done down here except by hobbyists. So I believe that like Asian and other tropical growers you need to consider your situation. If above 25 degrees, choose a system that keeps water readily available. If above 30 degrees, then use some light shade to cool it down. If there is still heat you can put more shade cloth layers to protect during hottest times, e.g. maybe the north side during summer, and also ensure venting of heat, and catching any breezes. The humidity may provoke mould and fungus if above 60% in a warm climate, so use some microkill or other beneficial bacterial spray (prefer microkill) or a fungicide like fongarid to protect the plants. If you want to go technical and use fans to vent and circulate air, this can be lots more fun and very productive.

As for websites, I wish there was. Let me know if you find them, as I am way too busy on this website and could do with the help answering questions. ~smile~

Scott

I believe it has been going for a while. My Parents lived there around 14 years ago and we saw hydroponics there then. Practical Hydroponics did a story on Singapore I believe. Try www.hydroponics.com.au If you need a date you could contact the relevant dept of the government in Singapore. 

Scott

This is a link to some of the research written on Mannose. Hope it helps Scott http://www.glycoscience.com/glycoscience/summary_display.wm?SECTION=MAIN&CRITERIA=mannose

is hydro or aero better?why is it better???i m from singapore here...i really need it for a project asap...plz

Hydroponics is the group of techniques for growing plants without soil - Aeroponics is one of those.

As for if its the best, it depends.

Good points:

• High growth rate
• Fairly low root rot risk
• easy to use
• Fairly low running costs
• Small tanks required

Bad points

• Can't grow root crops
• Can't grow bulbs usually
• difficult root support setup - usually means a small basket with balls, which eliminates direct seed sowing
• plants have little anchor against wind
• root zone can become over heated or cold quickly. Avoid very hot sun or very cold climates unless heating/cooling put into designs. Note that its still easier than NFT to adjust temperature.
• Startup cost can be higher (depending on size of droplet) than some systems (Our 6 plant kit at AUD$145 is moderately expensive for a hobbyist but competitors set up elaborate systems over AUD$500 to achieve the same growth rate.)
• Large root zone depth required uses up height and puts plants higher than normal.

Is it better??? Depends on what you need. Sorry - Aeroponics exists because it suits some situations. Very few commercial installations succeed. Israel run these systems. Asians run a lot of Deep flow beds, where roots float on water as many systems can't keep the root zone temperature down enough. Australia uses a lot of (gravel / scoria / coal ash / sawdust / or Perlite) drip systems and NFT channel systems. Americans try anything. Europe uses a lot of Rockwool slabs and occasionally NFT. This proves that some systems suit different environments and you should never get into a basic assumption like one is better than another.

Scott

Does growing plants hydroponically save water? Is it more efficient, cost effective and water smart during droughts?

Against typical field agriculture and horticultural techniques yes.

One test they did grow a field of plants, and also a hydroponic system. The Hydroponic system out performed the soil system and would have used a fair bit of water, but produced more. Because the test was to see if it was water saving they weighed the produce against the amount of water used. To produce traditional crops in soil, it took 80 litres of water for 1 kg of vegetable matter. THe Hydroponic system used 3litres per kilo of vegetable matter. THats saving 97% in water usage. Pretty good huh!

Scott

Hi Scott 

Kim here from Grass Valley,CA. Retired chemical engineer now environmental activist interested in getting into supplying environmentally friendly agricultural products here locally in Northern CA.. 

Very familiar w/hydrogen peroxide and colloidal silver for human health....been using both for years w/great success for ourselves, family, and friends. Your Hydroshield product sounds awesome for plant health. What sort of levels of h2o2 and ppm silver does your concentrate contain? Also, what dilution ratio would you suggest as a general purpose foliar feeding spray? BTW, the combo of h2o2 & CS used in a nebullizer is dynamite for impored health. 

My first visit to your site...when time permits, will thoroughly peruse. Actually have a green house on our farm which is currently not in use....maybe I can get something going Hydroponically. I really like your site and your helpful attitude. Hope you can answer my question about the h2o2/cs use levels. Thanks so much . All the best, Kim Ireland PS Got a brother who lives in Mooloolaba...is that anywhere nearby? He wants me to come visit!!

Hello Nice to hear from you. Good on you for the fight to clean up these humans messing up this planet. We use 5.75% hydrogen peroxide and silver ions below 50 micron. Colloidal silver doesn't seem to help plants as much as the silver ions. We dilute that at 2ml per litre in the tank for a preventative, and dose every second day if there is a fungal infection. Foliar sprays at 2mls per litre shouldn't harm the plants if there is nothing to react with. The problem is if you have x amount of problem, you need x amount of Hydroshield. What is x? Excess h2o2 can damage tissue as there is nothing to react with, and too little has no effect. So 2ml per litre would be fine even if there was nothing to kill. If you had some bacteria, fungus, algae etc, more would be used and effective. So use as much as you feel might help. 

I used to use a lot of silver and h2o2 for health, but found something better in glyconutrition see http://www.glycoscience.com/glycoscience/section_viewer.wm?SECTION=NUTRITIONALS&MAIN=glyconutritionals  

Been amazing - cures cancer, AIDS, Downs Syndrome, any disease whatsoever will have a positive effect. I don't need silver and h2o2 anymore Let me know what you wish to achieve with the greenhouse. Maybe we can design a system that runs by itself. Mooloolaba is about an hour to and hour 20mins away. My parents live about 15 mins away in the hills at Malaney Hope to see you one day. Got to see this awesome country! Scott

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Do you have tests of your experiments when you compared hydroponics to normal soil growth?

Lettuce growers in soil produce 3-5 crops per year, and in Hydroponics they produce around 10-14 crops a year.

Tomato Growers in Soil get about 3 trusses of fruit in the same time the hydroponic grower has 5-7 trusses.

These come from farmers and general knowledge about crops.

If you want tests, go to the ABC of NFT and read Dr Coopers work, right down to sugar content in fruit and stuff like that.

Scott

can Perlite if drained into a Koi pond kill fish

Hello Fish will be fine if nutrient level is normal. It works in the same way as salt. High levels of salt will upset fish, low levels can be beneficial by keeping bacteria and fin rot down. If evaporation makes the pond much stronger fish could be sick. There is no advantage to using nutrients except to plants grown in the pond. Algae may grow more strongly.

Perlite itself is an abrasive mineral, and if allowed to be eaten by fish it could make them sick or hurt them. I would recommend a strainer such as shade cloth, fly screen mesh or similar to strain out any Perlite that comes through. Perlite is not poisonous.

Have fun

Scott

Hi Scott,

Four months ago I purchase hydroponic tomatoes from Safeway. Before we consumed all of these tomatoes my own organic crop kicked in, leaving one uneaten tomato. This tomato is still in the fruit bowl still not completely ripe and has a crisp stalk. We live in north east Victoria where temperatures through summer reach 45 degrees. This tomato has withstood extreme heat and no refrigeration. My question to you is why? Or how can a tomato stay in a holding pattern for this length of time?

Yes, I understand your question. What I understand about ripening should explain a few things.

We do know you need to pick tomatoes when ripe, and the ripening process is supposed to occur as the plant produces its last sugar content to attract animals to spread the fruit, and/or to give its offspring something to grow from once it has fallen. To indicate the food is at its tastiest, the plant will give off ethylene gas to finish the ripening colour.

If picked green, most tomatoes go red due to the beginning of the rotting process, which also is related to ethylene gas. Hence fruit going red and soft in the bowl may not indicate it is getting better.... could be its process of dying.

Hydroponic tomatoes will usually not rot in the short term because the lack of soil-borne and soil related bacterias.

The plant has longer shelf life because of this, and most hydroponic tomatoes are sold "vine-ripened" to ensure they are ripe and salable. Long shelf life is natural and really how plants are supposed to work.

Some varieties of tomatoes such as gross lisse have longer shelf life. Combined with other aspects this may play a part.

45 degree temperature might not affect ripening. If inside and 45 degrees, this is not unusual for tomatoes. On a 30 degree day in the sun the tomato reaches as high as 65 degrees internally, which is why they split if cold rain falls on the fruit during/after a hot day. Tomatoes should NEVER be refrigerated as it shortens their life, except that it slows bacteria, which is not applicable in this case.

Finally, the fruit may not be able to ripen on its own. Put a ripe banana (a fruit that has high ethylene gas) and ensure its a supermarket one as they are artificially gased with ethyene, next to the tomato and theoretically it should all ripen faster.

As for Organics, I am glad you tried some Hydroponic produce. I am a strong believer in non-synthetic growing, and we use non-chemical, only mineral based nutrients.

Are you using manures? Research has now shown E-coli and other bacteria from Organic fertilisers such as manures are being transferred into the vegetables. Some countries are considering banning all manure based organic produce after the political fallout following the Mad cow scares in the UK. I am supporting Hydroponics primarily for its lack of contaminants, being 12 minerals, pure, refined from soils and seawater. Thats my advertising, and hope you don't take it the wrong way.

Hope your interest includes a Hydroponic System one day. Remember, some glyconutrients, phytoestrogens, and other high tech discoveries are nutrients made in the fruits and often break down within hours of picking (such as mannose, a glyconutrient which assists the body in communication and healing) and may not be present in crops grown in traditional methods. Hydroponics is the preferred method to enhance their production, and the need to pick the fruit/vegetable and eat it immediately is extremely important.

Gee I can talk can't I, sorry I tend to ramble.

Scott

Hello, from Singapore here....May I know the procedure to grow food using the Hydrophonics Method? I need to know it badly for my project....Thank You

Hello,

The term hydroponics involves all the different ideas for growing when using a mineral nutrient solution and growing containers (usually plastic).

GO to our products pages and look at the systems there, which should help.

The Basics of hydroponics click here.

Also our information pages click here.

If you still have some specific questions let me know.

Thanks

Scott

You want to find out if a certain plant grows best in a hot, warm, or cool climate. What variables should you control? What variables will you test?

Sounds like a question from a university/school project....

First you need identical plants in identical growing systems. 
Provide more heat to one of the identical plants from a normal household lamp, and a bowl of open water in this hot environment for humidity. Then use a fan for cool, drier environment on the other plant.

Ensure you measure the temp and humidty levels you have created. You could now tell how different plants performed. If lettuce, you could measure wet and dry weights.

Hope that helps - Scott

Who started hydroponics, and how did it get started?

I wasn't there. I am not that old.

It was either the Babylonians and/or the Aztecs.

The Babylonians who had fabulous hanging gardens. The plants were watered by hand by slaves who walked from the Euphrates River. A measure of soil was placed into each of the water vessels, and thereby gave the gardens liquid nutrition.

Aztecs lived in the mountains and grew their food plants on rafts floating on the mountain lakes. The lakes were full of nutrients washed down from the hills.

Modern Hydroponics were started by scientists in the 1800's, by using liquids with different types of minerals dissolved in it. The scientists tried to discover what made the plants grow by adding more or less of things they thought might be plant food.

In World War two, the US Military tried to grow vegetables in the sand of Pacific Islands using nutrient solutions. The concept was great, but the sand was just too salty.

In 1970 Dr Cooper had the job to save the greenhouse tomato industry in England. The tomatoes were too expensive because the heating costs of greenhouses was high, and the Spanish and Italian Tomatoes were imported into England cheaper because there was no need for heated greenhouses in the Mediterranean climate.

Dr Cooper designed the channel system, where only the liquid was heated. The by product was that the costs were down, and the yields were double. SO he saved the greenhouse industry. His book - The ABC of NFT is still the defining work on all modern Hydroponics, and still sits next to my bed anytime I cannot sleep. It is highly technical and not an easy read.

Scott

Dear Mr. Andrew: Thank you for the fast response to my last e-mail. It was very helpful for my source list. These are the questions that I would like for you to answer.

1. Based on your experience, do you think plants grown using hydroponics are more or less healthy than plants grown in soil? 

Much healthier. There is no doubt that the soil plants are much poorer quality as well as quantity See also question and answer pages on www.hydrocentre.com.au for more information on soil vs.. Hydroponic Questions.

2. Why do you think this is? 

The majority of a plants ability to produce nutrition is that the nutrients must be available, at exactly the right time, right quantity and with a maximum solubility level (minerals at correct pH and soluble form) The contaminants absorbed in soil affect health quality. Hydroponics consists of around 16 minerals from soil in dissolved form. It is soil without the solubility or availability issues. Vitamin C is a good example. Nitrogen uptake is critical to formation of this vitamin. Nitrogen is available in ammonium form and nitrate form. Ammonium needs to break down from nitrates because that is the form the plants can take up. The ammonium needs bacteria to break down, as well as a suitable pH and temperature, and is carried by water flowing through the soil, so many things have to happen for the nitrogen in soil to get to the plant and as such most of the time, Vitamin C is low in soil plants. As all the nutrient is designed as the most soluble component in Hydroponics (nitrogen only in nitrate form), at the correct pH and quantity, Vitamin C is higher is hydroponically grown plants. It is accepted worldwide by any scientist that Hydroponics is the only way to ensure total nutrient content in foods grown. More important than any of this is that food must be picked ripe as at least 50% of the nutrition is created in the ripening process, which is not possible from commercial techniques.

3.Which plants, if any, do not grow well in a hydroponics system? 

Never heard of anything that doesn't grow well. Even potatoes, mushrooms, bananas, orchids.....

4. Which plants are better suited for hydroponics? 

All

5. Do you think hydroponics takes too much time, effort, and money, so most people should just use soil? 

Time - Hydroponics is time saving 

Effort - Hydroponics is effort saving 

Ease - Hydroponics is much simpler 

Trouble - There are less problems in Hydroponics 

Money - Hydroponic Gardening has been shown to be less expensive over a sort term, however the actual initial cost may be higher, there are almost no ongoing costs and produces plants much cheaper. The over cost is the same as soil gardening and purchasing tools for ploughing weeding fertilising and irrigating over say 6-12 months. Example; In the 1970's Hydroponics was used in England to compete with imported tomatoes. As the greenhouses in England had to be heated, Dr Alan Cooper developed the channel system to keep the cost of production low, as imported tomatoes from Spain and Italy where there were no heating costs, were made more expensive because of the costs in production is soil. In Australia a Lettuce farmer might produce 3-5 crops of lettuce a year, and over a 3-4 acre area might employ 3-4 people. Their cost is around 10-20c per plant plus labour. The Hydroponic lettuce grower might produce 10-14 crops of lettuce per year, has a denser packed area so uses 1/4 the room, uses less arable land so it costs less to setup, employs no-one as 1 person can run the farm, and the cost will be 4-8cents per plant plus non-existent labour. Also Hydroponic Lettuce gets a higher price than soil, because of the perceived greater value, health, cleanliness, etc by the consumer than soil crops. Hydroponics is much more profitable because of this. These figures may vary if buying seedlings instead of planting seeds, and so on, but the comparison would be for seed production on site.

6. What benefits are there for using soil? 

Unless a perfect soil can be located, there are no benefits. If one was made up, it would still provide incomplete delivery of nutrients as the soil only dissolves minerals for the plants, not fed directly like Hydroponics.

7. What benefits are there for using hydroponics? 

Faster, healthier, nutritious, cleaner, less pesticide, less fungicide, no weeding, less bending, less labor, less knowledge required, cheaper to run, works anywhere, can make use of land close to cities and allow close to market growing, less area required, and more. Soil diseases are almost eliminated, as well as viruses and harmful bacteria.

8. Do you think people in parts of the world with poor soil could be taught hydroponics so that they can earn money growing crops? 

Many parts of the world do not have access to refined mineral. That would introduce expensive importation of nutrients, eliminating benefits. This may make some poorer nations unsuitable to Hydroponic growing.

9. Do you think hydroponics is a trend that is growing, shrinking, or staying about the same? 

Huge growth in the industry worldwide. Lack of Government support is the main failure. All Schools in Australia are required to teach Hydroponics, and do so VERY BADLY. (not teachers fault either....)

10. What role do you think hydroponics will play in the future of this world? 

Hydroponics will be the only method used in 50-60 years, as Organics is likely to be banned for health risks, and the rate of soil degradation is increasing. As population increases, Hydroponics will be the only way to keep pace with food demands.

11. Is there anything else that you would like to add? 

Use the Questions I have answered on the Question and Answer page on www.hydrocentre.com.au to provide other angles to your research.

*For my experiment I am growing lettuce. I have not transplanted half of my plants in soil and the other half into the hydroponics system yet because the seedlings look very small and flimsy. How will I know when they are strong enough?

Minimum 2-3 sets of leaves. More is better. To plant into hydroponics you should wash any soil off. TO ensure you have a correct experiment wash the soil of the soil test too, as transplant shock from the roots being disturbed can slow plants. If only washed from the hydroponics group the soil plants would not have this transplant shock, and would give incorrect test results overall.

Scott

I was wondering about the health/safety of consuming plants grown with the type of fertilizers used in hydroponics. And are other chemicals such as growth hormones etc used?

Ah yes. The old what is a chemical situation. Yes we sell mineral nutrients, and some brands have organic additives. Growth hormones if synthetic should not be in your diet. Organic hormones such as phytoestrogens are produced by plants and are required to be in your diet to assist you in your own hormonal balance. If plant extracts are used, they usually make a huge song and dance about what they've done, like seaweed or molasses, or beeswax, or alfalfa sprout juice, that sort of thing.

I grow veggies at home using my black and white formula, which is just the minerals, with some humic acid to provide an organic catalyst to aid boron take-up. You can get the 1kg powder packs which are additive free, and are just minerals refined from the soil, no synthetics.

On a sidebar - I am an anti-chemical crusader, as well as anti-organics (mainly anti-bacteria containing manure fertilisers). 

75,000 synthetic chemicals have been added to our lives since 1940's and only 7% have been tested for toxicity. Health Organizations say that 100% of people tested around the globe test positive to 100% of the toxins they can test for. There are no fish left without traces of chemical pollutants. Even the snow, ice, penguins and fish at the Arctic is contaminated, far from industrial and agricultural chemicals. There is now a green layer under the ice that won't freeze made up mostly of farm pesticides. You cannot hide from the chemicals in our world because the water on this planet keeps recycling, diluting and distributing the contaminants. Simple things such as almost every water supply has pharmaceutical drugs at a detectable level in them, leads me to believe that the symptoms people have can often be just side effects of mixing drugs together in small amounts. Its frightening. Birth rates are falling worldwide in animals and humans. The female to male ratio is now very upset, with males becoming much less predominant in numbers to females.

So eat lots of fresh veggies. You need antioxidants free radical scavengers etc to attack toxins. You will need to eat 10-14 serves of veggies per day, or 30-40 serves if they are not raw. If you can't graze like a cow, then use dietary supplements. If any readers are interested in what the correct dietary supplements are you can contact me direct.

Scott

How does growing plants hydroponically effect the environment? Discuss the amount of land used in hydroponics vs. traditional dirt farming. ? Discuss the amount of water used in hydroponics vs. traditional dirt farming. ? Discuss the amount of fertilizers used in hydroponics vs. traditional dirt farming. ? Discuss the amount of pesticides and insecticides used in hydroponics vs. traditional dirt farming.

Scott responds...

Very good questions - you sound like a school project....lol.

Environmentally Hydroponics has the potential to have very minimal impact, but farmers usually stuff up the ecology because of the cost and the effort required to be responsible with this planet. For example it is cheaper to set up a system that allows nutrients to run off than to recycle them. As this will be illegal shortly it is not a relevant issue, but it is a good example that good practices need to be legislated to ensure 100% participation and that the costs will be passed on to consumers as an industry. Farmers often complain that if they do the right thing and others do not, they will bear higher costs that the non-conformists, and this will not be reflected in the market price and their costs cannot be recovered. Environment and Economics can work, if governments have the courage to set up laws that help the environment and have the economic cost recovered within the community.

Land issues - you can use land that is not agricultural, such as old industrial land, areas with soil infertility or toxicity, and leave more arable land to go back to its natural state to support wildlife etc. On an economic level, this land is often cheaper than agricultural land, and often closer to markets.

As production is higher and practices such as weeding, ploughing etc reduced and in Hydroponics, the land is used more effectively. (given same space a lettuce farmer might get 3-5 crops in soil vs. 10-14 in hydroponics, thus using about 1/2 the area or less to produce the same amount of produce. 

Water use is minimised. A test once produced 1kg of produce with 3 litres of water. The same test in soil was 80 litres due to continual drainage and run off, soil evaporation and the slowness of crops in soil requiring long term irrigation. Fertiliser run off is minimised because where soil run off has varying levels of fertiliser present, the Hydroponic nutrient is around 500-1500ppm or 99.5% to 98.5% water!!!! This is below soil output. To ensure total ecological control, any time a nutrient tank needs to be refreshed, the nutrients can be pumped to irrigate the farmers normal lawns or gardens or collected for irrigating golf courses etc, to have 0% impact, as at that strength, the nutrition is absorbed by the gardens if applied without any runoff. This also reduces the need for soil fertilisation where the nutrients are applied. Some farmers use a secondary crop field that has a tomato or tough crop in soil which receives a small amount of nutrients regularly. The crop is a bonus from extra income, and eliminates run off for the ecology.

Pesticides should be only applied to keep plant damage from damaging yields. Since Hydroponic Plants grow so fast, losing a leaf or two usually has no result as the plant has grown 3 more during the period a leaf gets eaten. Because most systems are either plastic lined or off the ground, most crawling and soil born pests are not applicable to Hydroponics. Wind break can be used to avoid flying insects flying onto the crop. Crawling insects can also be repelled by treating the surrounds of the system, not the plants themselves. Hydroponics provides more alternatives to soil in the area of pesticides.

Scott

Which is easier and which gives you the greatest yield on average ? I am currently using soil

From Scott

There is no doubt Hydroponics is easier than soil, and the yields and speed is much better. There are many techniques which will yield differently that other hydroponic techniques as well.

In Soil a Lettuce grower would expect 3-5 crops a year, but in Hydroponics a farmer gets 10-14 crops a year. There is much less effort. The Hydroponic solution makes the plants grow at their optimum rate, not artificially accelerated as some may think. The speed and yield is high because the plant does not wait for soil to give up its minerals, if they are there at all. The reason that the whole thing is easier is its all in the bottle. No need to guess what a plant needs. When soil goes wrong, there are thousands of possible reasons, in Hydroponics it all comes down to less than 10 and they are basic like is there nutrient, is there light. In soil it is, are there bugs in the soil I can't see, is that an such and such deficiency or such and such toxicity locking up such and such blah blah, too hard!!! Give me a simple thing like Hydroponics in Perlite, of Expanded Clay,..., No need to be a rocket scientist or worse - A horticulturalist.

If anyone wants a really big reply to this the question of questions either:

1. email me and I'll do it up for you!
2. get some Perlite and some dirt and race them against each other!

.....either way you will be able to see the differences quickly.

Scott 

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were apparently soil mixed in vessels with water, which was lifted by slaves and poured into plumbing that ran through the gardens.

Aztecs planted plants on rafts and set them out on the lakes which were high in minerals washed down from the mountains.

In the 1800 scientists used soil and water to test how plants worked in England.

In 2nd World War the US Army tried to grow vegetables in the sand of Pacific Islands to supplement supply. Unfortunately the Salinity of the sands made the project fail.

In 1970's the English greenhouse tomato industry was under threat from cheaper European tomatoes, grown in Spain and Italy where the weather is warmer than England and didn't have the expense of heating the greenhouses. The modern Hydroponic Industry was invented by Dr Cooper ("The ABC of NFT") who invented a warm nutrient solution running down channels, and the roots warmed by continuous liquid, which was cheaper. The byproduct was that plants increased their yields significantly, and caused the recovery of this industry. 

Sidebar: I am still of the opinion that channel (NFT) systems do not suit a warm climate as the nutrient gets too warm, which depletes the available oxygen, and causes root rots, although given the correct conditions, results can be achieved.

Hope that indicates where Hydroponics came from.

Scott 

How is Hydroponics better than traditional growing methods

Scott responds;

Several reasons.

• Weeding reduced or eliminated
• can work at bench height eliminating bending
• disease is highly unlikely
• nutrition simple to control
• healthier plants through more oxygenated growing root environment
• faster (lettuce in soil 3-5 crops/year; Hydroponics 10-14 crops a year) and therefore can produce in small areas what would take a much larger traditional area to grow.
• planting can be close together as plants don't compete for nutrition
• Anyone can grow Hydroponically with little ability required
• Can be grown in areas which are arid (bad soils) or islands, in isolated communities where fresh produce is unavailable, non-farmable locations such as NASA's space missions, or rooftops or any space available
• cleaner produce - no e-coli and bacteria from animal manures (lets face it Organics is likely to take a life one day if it hasn't already as the plants absorb the bacteria)
• increased pest resistance
• water usage reduced (3litres for same amount of produce compared to 80 litres traditional method)
• It annoys horticulturalists like my family, who took 4 years to learn soil and still have no control, and I can explain Hydroponics in 10 minutes.
• It has little to no environmental impact when used properly.
• It conserves fertilizer/mineral reserves in the earth
• NASA, CSIRO, scientific bodies around the globe use it to produce crops in laboratories because it is the easiest method to get top results that are reproducible time after time.
• Lots of reasons relating to nutrient uptake and soil rotation, and no ground water contamination and support systems, and so on.....
• It is REALLY COOL!

One Day I'll write a 30 page essay on it, but hope this will do till then. Any of the above needs elaborating, let me know with a response or a personal email scott@hydrocentre.com.au 

Scott 

I am working on a science project and need a diagram of how hydroponics work. Can you e-mail me one or lead me to a web site that has one?

You should find some pictures on this site, but you will notice that there are so many different systems available that are all called Hydroponic. email me at scott@hydrocentre.com.au with some more information on what your project requirements are and I might have something from my bag of tricks.

Scott 

Hi there.

The other day I went down to your shop and had a look around and liked what I saw.
I am deciding to buy one of your hydro kits but because I'm a first time grower I am not sure which one to buy. I don't have that much money right now so I am only getting the basics. These are the systems I was looking at buying;

the satellite System with the 6 cell and all the equipment for $175

the automatic system with the smart valve and the 6 pots and 3 trays for $250

to start off I'm growing by using the sun but maybe in 1month I' ll be getting some lights and probably move the plants into my room or closet which of the 3 systems do u recon is the best for me?????

Response by Scott

Great to hear. No problem starting off on a budget. Starting somewhere is a good idea.

> the satellite System with the 6 cell and all the equipment for $175

Good, easy beginner system, moderate cost.

> the automatic system with the smart valve and the 6 pots and 3 trays for $250

Good system, very easy, moderate cost.

> the aeroponics system kit for $145

Advanced system, fairly easy, can confuse first time growers a little bit. Generally the increase in performance keeps people interested who like to really be involved with their growing.

Try this also:
6x 300mm Pots, with Saucers, Nutrients, Perlite, Instructions, for $100 

You water with nutrient until Perlite is moist, and then add nutrient to the saucers until full. When Perlite and Saucers are dry, do this again. Very Easy. More inexpensive, if that helps. Might get you into the lights and so on earlier...

Impossible to say which is easiest or suits you best. All systems suit different people, and that is why they were invented by someone at some time, and why there is so many systems.

The System should suit how you want to take care of it. 

The automatic system is fill and forget. Check tank every week. Easy 

Satellite system, refill tank twice a week with water, dump tank every 7-10 days. More performance, by 25-50% 

Aeroponics, check daily, adjust timing, refill with water, dump tank every 7 days. 

Perlite in Pots, check every 2 or 3 days, water with nutrient most times, flush pots with plain water each month.

Does this help? If not let me know 

Unfortunately, it really is a decision on what you feel is best for YOU. 

You have to take care of it. You get the rewards too!!!!!

Happy Growing

Scott

Can a System be totally automatic? If I left it it would work and be able to work itself? Can I grow and stay organic? Thanks

Response to Automatic systems by scott [moderator]

You can make a system so automatic you can leave the system alone. A simple float valve like an autopot valve can be used to provide enough nutrient from a gravity tank. The tank can be huge, or you can use a dosing system to refill the tank with a mix of water from your tap and nutrient in a bottle. see automatic systems at http://www.hydrocentre.com.au

Organic based nutrients are very common. Mineral based nutrients (i.e.no synthetics) are very common. Pure organics becomes difficult to keep the biological activity balanced. I tend to steer clear of organics, as any fecal matter in organics could contain E-coli and other nasties; which have now been proven will be absorbed by vegetables. Hydroponics with a mineral nutrient and/or organic blended nutrients (using clean organic matter) will tend to be the safest growing method, and will result in the highest vitamin and nutritional content. Of course, growing at home is the only sure way to ensure no pesticides are used. Give me a yell if that needs further clarification Scott

I wanted to grow carrots and wanted to know if they can be done hydoponicilly? Thank You Carrots grow in 20cm + depth August 2 2002 at 4:25 PM Scott Scott

Response to How would you grow carrots?

Carrots need 20cm or more in depth of a moist medium like Perlite. I have grown them in Soil and Perlite in Crates that were about a foot tall so about 30cm in depth. The perlite was wet down with nutrient when nearly dry. The soil similarly. The soil ones were small and pitiful by the time I had eaten all the Perlite grown Carrots, and they weren't dirty, but almost sweet, they tasted really nice. Worth doing I think! I am growing Pototoes in a similar system, and Onions and root crops would grow well in that system. Keep smiling and growing!
Scott

Can you put fish in a nutrient tank?

fish in tanks October 30 2000 at 9:43 AM scott scott

Response to Fish

Yes you can put fish in tanks keep an eye on temperature, pH of the nutrients, and only use freshwater fish.

Be careful of any fish treatments you use, and change tanks regularly. Just don't toss the fish out with the nutrients - lol

More info if you need it, in Practical Hydroponics - come and see me if you need it

Scott