Organic gardening in hydroponics – The Hydroponics ?Ebb and flow? System

“Ebb and flow” hydroponics system is an example of the common arrangement of the indoor garden. Such system is composed of the upper grow bed, which is a box or tray that holds containers with plants. Those individual containers may be filled with various mediums, the most frequently used ones being rockwool, coconut fiber, lava rock, perlite, vermiculite or styrofoam pellets. The best mediums are those that are porous and can accumulate some water for a long time: lava rock is said to be the best in this respect.

The other part of the hydroponic system is the lower bed – the reservoir with the mix of water and nutrients dissolved in it.  Aquarium pump, regularly triggered by a timer, sends water solution up into the tray with plants.

The most important thing is to keep the correct composition of water solution in the reservoir – this is the key factor of the hydroponic garden flourishing. Many beginners find it difficult to maintain the right pH level of the water, necessary amount of nutrients, and their correct ratio. 

Standard organic plant nutrients are available to fertilize plants; however, many people are reluctant to do that, as they think such fertilizers will quickly make the water reservoir dirty. Indeed, organic nutrients interact with the organisms in water, which leads to their decomposition. Specialized concentrated nutrients, on the other hand, keep the reservoir relatively clean, since they are synthetically made and thus they cannot interact with the organisms in water. Nonetheless, such “clean” fertilizers will severely burn the plants roots if used in access.

Being pumped into the grow bed, water with a fertilizer saturates the plants and returns to the reservoir lacking the previous amount of nutrients and ppm (parts per million). Thus, its composition is always different and changeable. That is why a gardener should always monitor water solution, controlling its pH level and plant nutrients amount.

Source: ArticlesBase.com

Indoor Gardening

Indoor gardening is becoming more popular as technology improves and costs decrease for supplies and equipment.  Growing indoors can be very rewarding and the results are absolutely fantastic when done correctly, that said they can also be devastating when things go wrong.

In this article I would like to dispel some myths about indoor gardening as well as give some tips for simple ways to improve your harvest.

Myth #1: You can grow in any room indoors.

Growing indoors even in the best circumstances is more difficult than you would think at first, and depends a lot on “what” you are trying to grow.  For this article I will focus on food bearing plants such as tomatoes and cucumbers, and other succulent garden plants, as well as herbs and fresh flowers and orchids.  Plants such as garlic and carrots that create bulbs are even more challenging and will not be discussed at this time.

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Tip #1:  No matter what plants you decide to grow indoors, you will still need to meet its basic requirements for growth.

Mainly, good ventilation from the outside, Light, and fertilizer as well as a exhaust for the heat from the lights and built up oxygen that the plants cannot eat.  Plants Breath CO2, but with global warming and all there is plenty of that in regular air, so just make sure your ventilation is good into and throughout the room.  Light and fertilizer depend more on what you are trying to grow. Be sure that water is nearby unless you like to carry heavy things a lot.  Even long hoses only go so far.

Myth #2:  Indoor gardening doesn’t involve getting down and dirty.

Cleanliness is close to godliness.  Growing indoors can be a messy job.  Weather you decide to use hydroponics or soil, there is usually some sort of spills involved.

Tip#2: Plan for the worst!  Enclose the growing area in a cheap and easy home-made reserve reservoir to prevent run-off and spills from damaging your home.

Create a wooden frame of 2x4s that sits flat on the ground and lay a giant plastic sheet (available at home depot) that tucks over the board on all sides.  Be sure to measure before hand, but often you can get 12 x 30 ft or more.  The idea is to create a giant tub below the plants in case of emergency. This is especially important for hydroponic systems that are not on the ground floor.

Source: ArticlesBase.com