Hydroponics for Beginners

By: Charlene Rennick

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At first glance, it may seem like starting a hydroponic garden is complicated.  There are a lot of unusual terms used to describe systems that are unique to hydroponic gardening.  It isn’t as difficult as it may seem.  Starting a hydroponic system can be a gradual process in which you begin with a few small, inexpensive supplies.  Hydroponics can be as low maintenance as a kitchen herb garden or as large a project as growing food for a country like Columbia in South America.

Let’s start with becoming familiar with some of names for growing systems. A hydroponic system can be identified as a bare root system or a substrate system. Bare root systems include deep flow, nutrient film technique and aeroponic systems.  Substrate (meaning a surface on which the plant or organism grows) systems use a growing media such as rockwool, perlite, pebbles, or coir.

Hydroponic systems can be described as active or passive. In an active hydroponic system, the nutrient-rich water is moved using a pump.  In passive hydroponic systems, the natural osmosis or action of the growing medium is how the nutrients are moved to the roots for absorption.   Passive systems are the more inexpensive route, but can be too wet for healthy plant growth.

Another way of describing hydroponic systems is to say they are recovery or non-recovery based.  Recovery systems recirculate (recover) or recycle the nutrient-rich water.  Non-recovery means the opposite; the nutrient solution is used only once.

Now that we understand some of the lingo, let’s apply it to some choices for hydroponic equipment.  Here are some variations:

• The Wick System
• The Ebb and Flow System
• The Nutrient Film Technique
• The Continuous Drip

The Wick System is passive and a non-recovery type of hydroponic system.  An inexpensive candle wick or thicker oil lantern wick is used to move the nutrient solution from the growing medium to the root system of the plant.   This is does not require a pump. 

The Ebb and Flow system is an active recovery type of hydroponic system.  It is an active system because a pump is used to move the nutrient solution to the roots of the plant.  The pump and the nutrient solution are kept inside a reservoir.  When the pump is on, it propels the solution to a raised tray where the roots of the plant rest.  The pump stays on for 20-30 minutes and when the nutrient solution reaches a certain level, the overflow tube drains the water back down into the reservoir. This makes the Ebb and Flow system, a recovery method.    When the pump pushes the nutrient solution up to the root system, it displaces the oxygen depleted air and replaces it with oxygen rich air. This hydroponic system is low maintenance and provides better opportunities for growth than the Wick System.

The Nutrient Film Technique is another active recovery type of hydroponic operation.  Like the Ebb and Flow system, a pump is used to move the nutrient-rich water from a reservoir to the root system.  The difference is that the solution is pumped into a grow tube where the roots are exposed.  The grow tube is slanted downwards where gravity assists the solution back into the reservoir.  The roots need some type of small porous stones to trap oxygen inside the tube.  Growing mediums are not needed because the plants are supported by a collar or basket.  Although this method is very effective, it is a higher maintenance system because the roots are completely dependent upon the constant flow of pumped nutrients for sustenance.

The Continuous Drip method of hydroponic growth can be either an active recovery or non-recovery type of system.  Continuous drip uses a pump in a reservoir and has a nutrient supply line connected to each plant.  A drip emitter controls the amount of solution allowed for each plant.  If a drip tray is installed under each row of plants it makes this system a recovery method of hydroponic gardening.   Rockwool is often used in the Continuous Drip method of hydroponics to stabilize the plant.