More About Hydroponic Systems, Part 2: Solution Culture
In Part 1 of this series on hydroponic systems, I outlined many of the media-based setups suitable for newer growers, including passive and active designs, ebb and flow, drip/top feed and media-bed units.
In Part 2, I’ll look at the media-less, or solution-culture systems, such as such as aeroponics or NFT. Many regard these systems as the “true hydroponics.” Solution-culture systems are slightly more complex, because they need to incorporate some form of plant support, which is carried out by the substrate in a media setup. Media-less systems are typically always based on recirculation of the nutrient solution, unlike many media-bed systems, where nutrients may be drained to waste. So using a well-balanced nutrient formula or product with a good quality water source becomes vital to prevent a buildup of unwanted elements or deficiencies in essential nutrients.
My advice to those new to hydroponics is to start off with a small media-based trough or grow-bed system. That’s because media-based systems are more forgiving of beginner’s errors, such as supplying too little water or too much, or EC and pH that’s allowed to get too high or low. The same mistakes made in an NFT (nutrient film technique) or aeroponics, for example, can lead to rapid plant decline, which is rather disconcerting for someone new to hydroponics.
But many hydroponic growers, once they get more experience under their belts, sooner or later try solution culture. With more knowledge, for these growers the transition from media to media-less systems becomes straightforward.
