|
Urban hydroponics greenhouses to be located in high-rise buildings
There are Many Hydroponic Systems to Choose From!
There are many Hydroponic Systems that a grower can choose from and they are as follows:
1. Water Culture or Aquaculture. This is the method of hydroponics that is the simplest to set up on a small scale. In this system the plant roots are totally immersed in a nutrient solution. The major disadvantages of this system are the large amount of water required per plant and the need to aerate the solution continuously. The system must provide means to support the plant above the solution, aerate the solution, and prevent light from reaching the solution (to prevent the growth of algae).
2. Aggregate Culture. Growing plants using aggregates like sand or gravel is often preferred to the water culture method since the aggregate helps support the roots. The aggregate is held in the same type of tank used for a water culture system. The nutrient solution is held in a separate tank and pumped into the aggregate tank to moisten the roots as needed. After the aggregate has been flooded, it is drained to provide aeration. Enough water and nutrients cling to the aggregate and roots to supply the plant until the next flooding.
3. Aeroponics. In an aeroponic system, the roots of the plant grow in a closed container. A misting system bathes the roots in a film of nutrient solution and keeps them near 100% relative humidity to prevent drying. The container may be of almost any design as long as it is moisture proof and dark.
4. Continuous Flow Systems. The nutrient solution is held in a large tank and pumped or allowed to flow by gravity to the growing pipes. The continuously flowing nutrient solution bathes the roots and then returns to the holding tank. The solution aerates itself as it flows back into the tank.
5. The Ebb and Flow (or Flood and Drain) System. Many growers consider this the Rolls Royce of hydroponic systems. It usually involves the use of multiple modules or double buckets—the inside bucket or basket contains the grow medium, such as baked clay pebbles, while the outside bucket is flooded periodically by a pump on a timer for a set period of time, let’s say 15 minutes, then the solution is drained back into the reservoir. Aeration takes place automatically each time the solution is drained, since the resulting vacuum sucks air into the buckets.
Take your pick!
To discover more about hydroponics, please check out the best hydroponics newsletter around.
Going Hydroponic Against Global Warming
How can the method of hydroponics contribute to slow down global warming? Is it really possible to reduce global warming with the use of this method? For one thing, hydroponic greenhouses are usually located close to the urban centers which they supply with food, so the need for trucking produce hundreds of miles from warm areas to cold regions is eliminated, reducing the need to burn fossil fuels.
Proponents of hydroponic horticulture suggest growing your own food year round in specially built greenhouses close to home. Though heating the greenhouses in the winter requires energy, this could be produced through solar or wind sources as opposed to fossil fuel method which produces carbon dioxide. The CO2 or carbon dioxide generated within the confines of a greenhouse is absorbed by the plants and transformed into sugars, water and oxygen.
Hydroponic gardening and other forms of indoor gardening also offer an option that may help combat the effects of global warming. Hydroponics can be successful in areas where the soil nutrients have been rendered useless for crop production and plant growth. Since hydroponic gardening uses no soil, chemical pesticides are no longer needed because soil-borne diseases are eliminated.
With hydroponics, plants are grown in either a nutrient solution or in a growing medium such as rockwool, coir, perlite or vermiculite. The roots of the plant sit in the nutrient solution or the growing medium, thereby feeding the nutrient solution to the plant through the roots. When plants are grown in nutrient solution, the liquid must be aerated so that plant roots receive enough oxygen.
The hydroponic solution to global warming isn’t that far off the mark. Regardless of which hydroponic system is used, you have to keep in mind that plants need nourishment, just like any other living being. And absolutely the best food for plants is made by a Canadian company, Advanced Nutrients. Their complete line of organic and synthetic fertilizers, as well as all their additives, supplements, root colonizers, and bloom boosters help to superbly nurture all your plants, whether you practice hydroponic gardening or traditional gardening.
Hydroponic Gardening is the Answer to our Future
With the rapid rate of developing lands into buildings and commercial establishments, have you ever wondered what if we run out of land to grow plants? What if we don’t have anymore fields to plant fruits and vegetables? Would it mean shortages in our food supply? The truth is that if we use our farmland to put up more condominiums or buildings, we will have no more room for our crops to grow. This has been a potential issue for years. That’s why scientists have developed another way to grow food and plants without utilizing land and that is with the method of hydroponics.
Hydroponics is the best possible method that we can use to grow crops to sustain the earth without having to worry about losing farmlands. These days we are losing land rapidly; there is no telling how soon we will run out of land to plant crops on.
The great thing about hydroponics growing is that anyone can do it. If you have the knowledge and the right equipment you can do it yourself. That means those individuals who live in downtown areas and those that have no yard space for a garden can grow healthy vegetables and fruits easily. The method of growing plants using a hydroponics system is not hard to learn. You just need to understand the basic information like the equipment to use, what fertilizers to buy, etc.
With our farmlands as one of our primary resource for our food supply rapidly depleting, we should be able to find alternative ways to combat this potential problem, thanks to hydroponics. Now, we have a better chance of surviving the future without sacrificing progress and development.
To discover more about hydroponics, please check out the best hydroponics newsletter around.
Name change for this blog
I discovered that Avocado99 was widely used (without my permission.) Some guy is posting videos on YouTube under that name, while somebody else is running a MySpace page. I decided to retire the name and rename this blog.
Oh, I’ll still sign my pieces “Avocado99″ but I’ll run under the new title, in order to reestablish my rights of ownership and exclusivity.
Brock Greenbud, the real Avocado99
Advantages of Home Hydroponics
|
Discovered This Great Avocado Blog!
Here is a taste of this person’s blog. Enjoy:
|
Pizza – Fresh sliced avocado on a freshly baked pizza (preferably a quality New York style cheese pizza) is delicious and easy.
Salads – Fresh avocado cut into cubes is great in most (if not all) salads.
Soup – Avocado is perfect when added to hot served soup as a moderately heavy garnish, as one might do with freshly baked croutons or graded cheese.
Plant Stress in the Home Hydroponics Garden
stress can actually kill your plants
When you think about stress, what comes to mind? Do you think about things that attack your body, causing you discomfort and often bringing about illness? I know I do. Stress is not just a human concern; pets can experience stress as well. What most people don’t realize is that plants also fall victim to stress. They react much in the same way as humans do, with shutting down and falling ill.
Some of the things that can cause stress in your home hydroponic garden are drastic changes in temperature. Excessive heat or cold can cause your crops extreme stress. Plant stress can come about if proper nutrition isn’t given. Your plants need to work harder to gain as many nutrients as possible from what they are given. Lack of water, not enough light and pruning can all be sources of plant stress. Even something good like blooming can increase the stress level in your home hydroponic garden. How the different stressors affect your plants depends on how healthy they are, where in their growing cycle they happen to be and what the stress is.
While there is nothing you can do to avoid plant stress entirely, you can help reduce the damage caused by it. By providing adequate light, water and temperature, you can reduce environmental stress. By seeing that your plants are given adequate nutrition, you can help them combat the stressors that can’t be avoided. Like humans, the B vitamins are excellent for this.
Adding B vitamins to your home hydroponic garden will help your plants combat the effects of stress. These vitamins will allow your plants to withstand more, repair themselves if they are damaged slightly and give them added energy to flourish in spite of less than ideal conditions.
To help combat the inevitable stresses that befall your home hydroponic garden, try Organic B. Organic B provides more than B vitamins. It also contains plant-strengthening B vitamins, amino acids and other enhancers. Your clones, transplants and seedlings will better resist stress and disease to turn into healthy adults. You can find out more about Organic B at click here.
Home hydroponic gardening is increasing in popularity, especially with the rising costs of gas and food. Making sure your plants are as healthy as possible will help save you money in the long run. For more information on creating the best possible home hydroponic garden you can, visit click here and take a look around.
Home Hydroponics—Vitamin Supplements
vitamins keep hydroponics plants healthy
Plants, like all living things, need certain vitamins and minerals to grow and bloom. They have special needs depending on which part of the growing cycle they are going through. You want to provide more of one supplement during the initial growing stages and another during the blooming phase. This is the same as the human body needing more of one vitamin when in childhood and another in old age.
In traditional gardening, plants are apt to get most, if not all, of their nutrients from the soil. This is not the case in the home hydroponics garden. For this reason, you will find it necessary to provide these necessary vitamins and minerals with the addition of a vitamin supplement. The trouble is, how do you know what your plants need? For example, vitamin B1, or Thiamine, helps encourage the synthesis of sugars
Some of the most necessary vitamins and minerals needed by plants in your home hydroponics garden are the B vitamins. These give your plant the energy they need to grow, ability to handle any stresses caused by less than idea circumstances. The B vitamins also help your home hydroponics plants repair any harm that may be done. Other than oxygen, the B vitamins may well be some of the most important.
When searching through the myriad of vitamin supplements available, it helps to know what to look for in the way of a healthier supplement. The first thing is the ability to be absorbed by your hydroponics plants. Let’s face it; if the plants can absorb the supplement, it does no good. For this, you want to look for a product with a humic acid base. Humic acid has the ability to chelate, or bind positively to charged ions. To your plants, this means it allows many more nutrients to be absorbed than would be possible without the humic acid. This in turn translates into larger, healthier plants.
One of the best Vitamin B supplements I have found is Organic B, sold by Advanced Nutrients. Organic B is made from the best sources and provides an excellent source of B vitamins to the plants in your home hydroponics garden.
Home hydroponics gardening is increasing in popularity, especially with the rising costs of gas and food. Making sure your plants are as healthy as possible will help save you money in the long run.
