By: Courtney
This has been a busy week! Our hydroponic systems have been arriving and we are getting them set up. The Food Science and Ag Center will have the following systems: Aeroponics, Ebb & Flow, Dutch Bucket System, Nutrient Film Technique (NFT), Water Culture and a Fodder System.
This has been a busy week! Our hydroponic systems have been arriving and we are getting them set up. The Food Science and Ag Center will have the following systems: Aeroponics, Ebb & Flow, Dutch Bucket System, Nutrient Film Technique (NFT), Water Culture and a Fodder System.
I’m sure you are wondering how each of these systems work so let me explain. According to dictionary.com, Aeroponics is a plant cultivation technique in which the roots hang suspended in the air while nutrient solution is delivered to them in the form of a fine mist (2015). The mist is timed at certain intervals to maximize the effectiveness. This system allows for less nutrients to be used, better yield and higher nutritional value for certain plants.
Flooding the plants is an essential part of an Ebb and Flow system. The plants are suspended in a mesh net cup that has rockwool inside it. The rockwool is what absorbs the nutrient solution before the solution drains back into the reservoir beneath the grow tray. This cycle could happen 2-4 times per day depending on what product you are growing. Each growing cycle in the Food Science and Ag Center will grow 72 heads of lettuce!
One of the best ways to grow tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers hydroponically is through the use of a Dutch Bucket System. A Dutch Bucket System allows a greenhouse to produce plants that grow into 40 - 50 vines. Each bucket is filled with perlite and a rockwool cube holds the plant. As the plant grows it is clipped to twine that is suspended from the ceiling to support the plant and its produce.
Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) systems can be built in both a small scale or large scale design. We have a large scale design that allows us to grow 180 plants at any one time. NFT systems are commonly used for small quick growing plants. The operation of this system starts out when the nutrient solution is pumped up from the reservoir. The solution then flows down the gutter that houses the plants, like the Ebb and Flow system they are suspended in the air above the water. As the water solution passes by the roots absorb the nutrients. The excess water drains into another tube which then goes back into the reservoir until the next cycle starts.
Water Culture s a hydroponic method of plant production by means of suspending the plant roots in a solution of nutrient-rich, oxygenated water. In our greenhouse we use foam to hold the mesh pots and keep the plants suspended on the top of the water. We have four foam rafts so that we can grow lettuce that will be ready at different times, instead of all at once. Also a special thanks to Plymouth Foam for fabricating and cutting the rafts that we needed!
The final system that we will be utilizing in the greenhouse is a Micro Fodder system. The fodder system will allow us to grow a variety of micro greens that will be added to our lettuce so that we have our very own salad mix utilized in our school lunch program. Microgreens are tiny plants with only their first leaves developed. To grow micro greens the seeds need to be soaked for 6-8 hours prior to placing into the grow tray. The nutrient solution cycles through the fodder system several times a day through the duration of growth. Microgreens are harvested at 8-14 days, they are smaller and more tender than baby lettuces, yet more robust and flavorful!
Interested in learning more? Feel free to visit us during our Open House on October 9, 5-8pm.
Interested in learning more? Feel free to visit us during our Open House on October 9, 5-8pm.