Apr 10
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Nutrient Film Technique
Nutrient Film Technique (NFT)
The nutrient film technique was developed in the mid 1960s in England
by Dr. Allen Cooper. He was interested in building a low cost, large
scale system to be used in parts of the world where soil quality is
poor. NFT ensures a continuous flow of nutrient laden solution over
the root system, allowing the plants to feed constantly, resulting in
increased productivity and yield. NFT systems use little or no growing
medium, thereby keeping operating costs down, but because of the lack
of medium to act as a buffer, plants may suffer if a long-term power
failure occurs. Trellising may be required when growing larger plants
in NFT systems because of the lack of medium to hold the plants in
place.
Ebb & Flow
Flood And Drain aka Ebb And Flow Pod System™
An Ebb and Flow system consists of a growing bed in which individual
containers filled with medium hold your plant’s root systems. The
growing medium also acts as a buffer, holding water and nutrients
around the root system, and reducing the risk of crop loss due to
power or equipment failure. The growing bed is flooded periodically to
feed and water the plants and allowed to drain freely to pull oxygen
into the root zone. Ebb and Flow systems’ low maintenance, high
productivity, and ease of use make them among the most popular
hydroponic systems for not only the beginner, but for the advanced
gardener as well.
Top Feed Systems (drip systems)
A top feed or drip system operates by using a pump and tubing to
deliver nutrient solution to the top of the growing medium, where the
solution trickles through the medium and then returns to the
reservoir. Top Feed systems can use a variety of growing media and are
available in a wide range of configurations. Top Feed systems are
reliable, require little maintenance, and are suited for all types of
plant growth.
Aeroponic-crop-1986
Aeroponic Systems
Aeroponics systems use pumps and sprayers to continually spray oxygen
rich nutrient solution directly onto the root systems of your plants.
Aeroponic systems have shown extremely fast growth rates and clone-
rooting success rates due to the large amount of diffused oxygen
available in the nutrient solution. These systems successfully
propagate very hard to root plants. Very little growing medium in
these systems reduces operating costs.
Air Pump Systems
An Air Pump system utilizes a small air pump of the type used in an
aquarium to constantly circulate oxygen-rich nutrient solution through
the growing medium. This method of hydroponics does supply more
dissolved oxygen to the root system of the plant than other methods
can, although not as much as the aeroponic method does. Air Pump
systems are available in a variety of configurations and sizes.
