| When you lack the land for a traditional garden, | | | | requiring large amounts of water may use up the |
| consider one of the hydroponic gardening systems in | | | | nutrient solution faster than the wick can supply it. |
| order to raise vegetables indoors. | | | | Ebb and Flow |
| Hydroponics gardening techniques were brought into | | | | This hydroponics gardening system is also known as |
| modern agricultural practice with the invention of | | | | the "flood and drain" method, The ebb and flow |
| nutrient additives and formulas in the early 1900s. | | | | indoor system works by temporarily flooding the |
| Originally hydroponic gardening utilized water as the | | | | grow tray with nutrient solution, and then draining the |
| growing medium. Today hydroponic gardeners use | | | | solution out of the tray and back into the nutrient |
| various other forms for growing medium. | | | | solution holding tank. A submerged pump run by a |
| There are six basic types of hydroponics growing | | | | timer is responsible for continuously cycling the |
| medium systems in use today: wick, water culture, | | | | nutrient solution. The timer turns the pump on, and |
| drip, ebb and flow, nutrient film technique and | | | | the nutrient solution is pumped into the grow tray. |
| aeroponic. There are other growing mediums available | | | | Then, when the timer shuts the pump off, the |
| today but the are variations of these six basic types | | | | nutrient solution flows back into the holding tank. This |
| of hydroponics. | | | | process is carefully timed, and repeated several times |
| Hydroponics Gardening - Wick Systems | | | | throughout the day. The size and type of plants, |
| Of the hydroponic gardening systems the most | | | | humidity, temperature and the type of growing |
| suitable for indoor gardening is the wick system. Most | | | | medium used can all affect the number of times the |
| indoor gardeners prefer wick systems as the | | | | hydroponics system will "ebb and flow". |
| simplest ways to grow plants. The wick system is | | | | Water Culture System |
| passive, so it has no moving parts. Growing plants | | | | Another easy hydroponic gardening system that is |
| using the wick method is very simple. A wick is | | | | simple to set up is the water culture system. |
| simply placed into a container of nutrient solution. The | | | | Components include:a floating platformair line,air |
| wick draws the nutrient solution into the growing | | | | stoneair pump |
| medium, so there is no need for any additional | | | | The floating platform acts as a foundation system |
| moving parts. | | | | and holds plants in place while the roots dangle in the |
| Other components of the wick hydroponic gardening | | | | nutrient solution. The air pump is located outside of |
| system usually include: | | | | the tank and pumps air through the line to the air |
| * Growing medium | | | | stone. The air stone, in turn, aerates or "bubbles" |
| * Growing tray | | | | through the nutrient solution, providing oxygen for |
| * Hydroponics system air pump | | | | the plant roots. |
| * An air stone | | | | An ideal plant to grow using the water culture |
| To use the wick hydroponics system, you'll need to | | | | hydroponics system is leaf lettuce. Leaf lettuce is a |
| include a growing and rooting medium. Perlite, | | | | plant that grows quickly and requires a lot of water, |
| vermiculite and Pro-Mix are commonly used for grow | | | | making it a good match for this type of hydroponics |
| medium with hydroponic gardening systems. The | | | | system. |
| major problem with the wick system is that plants | | | | |