Growing greens in hydroponics at home

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People are often interested in how to provide themselves with fresh, vitamin plants in the winter? Growing different greens using hydroponics at home - you 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 fascinating activity will provide an opportunity to save money intended for the purchase of greenery, and at the same time enjoy the pleasure of communicating with plants.

What is the hydroponic method of growing greens

The word hydroponics says that water is the basis of this technology. With its help, green cultures are developed not in ordinary soil, but in water of a special composition, in which all the useful substances necessary for the life of plants are present. This method of cultivation allows you to forget about weeds, watering and digging beds, about various pests, who try to eat our plants.

The solution used for growing plants contains all the necessary batteries, which in 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, 3-5 cm in diameter are made in their bottom, they are necessary for sowing seeds.

The prepared container is installed in a high pan, and the compressor is attached to it from the aquarium. It is necessary for saturation of water with air and constant mixing of the nutrient mixture so that nutrients do not settle to the bottom, but move between the roots of plants. Cups or pots should be installed in the slot suitable diameter for them in the sheet of foam.

In short, the sequence of growing herbs in hydroponics:

1. We select suitable for hydroponics culture;
2. We assemble installation and in the cups we pour in an inert filler - expanded clay, perlite, etc. (installation diagram is presented below);

3. We land the seeds;
4. We select fertilizers for preparation of the nutrient mixture, taking into account the needs of the selected culture;
5. Fasten to install compressor;
6. Complete and Sown Pots immersed in a nutrient solution.

The plant is collected, 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 is desirable organize lighting with special fitolamp.

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 greens are completely safe because there are no parasites, pests and diseases in the specially formulated solution.

Methods of growing plants in hydroponics at home

In addition to the nutrient composition, a special substrate is needed - a structure made of a porous material capable of serving as an accumulator of the nutrient composition.

But there are ways to grow plants in hydroponics, for which a substrate and an aqueous solution are not needed:

• The first way. It lies in the fact that the pots, where the roots of plants are, are fixed above the nutrient solution so that the root is submerged only to a certain depth, the rest is located above the surface of the water. When the liquid evaporates, it is filled with water to the desired level.This method is ideal for plants, for the roots of which you need a lot of oxygen (with an extensive root system).
• The second way. For him use double pots, in one of them, larger size is poured nutrient solution. In the smaller of the pots, filled with the substrate, is the root system of plants. In the bottom and walls of the smaller pot, it is necessary to make holes through which the solution will penetrate. Control that the roots of the plant are not completely lowered into the liquid, but only 2/3 of their length.
• The third way. This method is called - submersible hydroponics. It is convenient to use, when growing greens in large quantities. It is necessary to prepare a large container (bath) and fill it with a nutrient solution. A foam platform floating on the surface is lowered into the solution. Holes are cut through the foam into which the pots are placed with the substrate and the greens planted in it.

This hydroponic system works as follows - 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 periodically necessary to change the nutrient solution, because after 3-4 days it decreases the concentration of nutrients, and some of the liquid evaporates.

Preparation of the solution

Nutrient solution is necessary for any kind of plants. Its task is to provide a growing culture with nutrients that are necessary for the formation of the crop. Now there are many different recipes for a water solution for making a home with your own hands.

The easiest option is to purchase a ready-made solution in a flower shop. But remember that for every vegetable and green crop you need your own solution with a certain content of nutrients.

For this reason, before buying, consult an experienced person! Additionally, carefully read the instructions on the package that will allow you to buy exactly the drug that is best for your culture.

Sowing seeds

Seeds must be sown in a pot or on a tray, on a special substrate, for rapid germination it is necessary to maintain a temperature of 22 degrees and the substrate in a wet state. In order to make it easier to transplant seedlings into a hydroponic plant later, you need to use a substrateeasily washable from the root system. Good for this purpose suitable composition containing 25% volume of vermiculite and 78% perlite. This mixture allows you to maintain the required moisture for the seeds.

Good substrate prepared from peat moss. You can not use the usual soil - it is very difficult to wash 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, you shouldn't make an effort, It is necessary 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 lowered into the solution.

Hydroponic method of growing greens is a good alternative to the soil method of growing greens. He has many advantages for example - the lack of physical labor, the ability to get a harvest in a regular apartment, the absence of pests.