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EFFICIENT PLANT CULTIVATION
The reason why people are returning to the old method of growing plants without using soil is its efficiency.
We turn to hydroponics when we want to grow more, faster, at a constant quality and all year round. Hydroponics allows us to change our approach to food logistics and slowly move towards a “From Farm to Fork” system of local production. Hydroponics will help us reduce the carbon footprint of transporting fresh ingredients.
Let’s go through what are the prerequisites for larger production.
KEY FEATURES
HYDROPONIC SUBSTRATE
Let’s start with the very essence of hydroponics, a replacement for the soil used in traditional agriculture.
Substrates used in hydroponics share common characteristics. These are mainly higher lightness, airiness, absorbency and permeability. Importantly, the substrate does not alter the parameters of the nutrient solution.
Rockwool
Stable base for the plant's root ball.
Mineral wool without chemical admixtures created for sowing hydroponic seedlings and growing by various methods.
Ceramsite
Reusable baked clay.
The substrate of different fractions absorbs 90% of the water and provides perfect air access to the roots.
Coconut grit
Fine, soil-like fibres.
However, its properties make coconut an inert substrate. Those do not change the parameters of the solution.
HYDROPONIC FERTILIZER
Hydroponic substrate, unlike soil, contains no nutrition. All the elements important for growth and flowering must be supplied to the plant with a nutrient solution.
In hydroponics we control the amount of each element and are able to provide each plant with the right cocktail of nutrients.
In traditional farming we fertilise with (dissolved) powdered salts, a kind of raw material for the plant, which is only absorbed by the plant after the salts have been broken down by microorganisms.
The nutrients in hydroponics are transported directly to the roots and absorbed by the plants immediately.
ADVANTAGES AND PROPERTIES OF DFT
In vertical farms, the NFT cultivation method is standard. Through testing, we have found that greater stability, safety and better production quality are achieved with the DFT – Deep Flow Technique.
- Faster plant adaptation after transplanting
- Positive effect on the climate of the nursery
- Stable environment for the roots
- Better oxygenation of the solution
- Firmer plant mass
- Good nutrient availability
- Resistance to failure
NFT
Solution flowing continuously through the low profile of the grow room.
Nutrient Film Technique
Low level solution with passive oxygenation.
DFT
Bubbler with solution that continuously flows through the system.
Deep Flow Technique
The combination of two important cultivation methods, the bubbler and NFT.
DRAIN
Filling the grow tub with solution from the bottom and then draining it.
~ Ebb & Flow
The grow tank is filled and then drained.
Shortening the supply routes
One of the biggest benefits of hydroponic crop production is the ability to produce directly at the point of consumption.
10 000 km
3 000 km
700 km
100 km
