By: Erica
Alot has happened since school has started. Greenhouse Management – Sustainable Food Production has been giving the opportunity to do hydroponic research, an investigation on using standard foam versus an algae resistant treated foam during seed germination and in a water culture hydroponic system.
Hydroponics is the technology of growing produce in nutrient solutions with the use of soilless mediums in an aquatic based environment. These systems are very efficient and environment friendly as all water is recirculated and creates no agricultural runoff. Although there are many types of systems, the main use of foam in hydroponics is used in water culture. Water culture systems involve the plants being suspended in net pots directly above the nutrient solution with a constant supply of oxygen from an air pump. This foam used is much like a raft with holes. As a raft, the foam will float on a shallow body of nutrient solution so that the roots will be completely submerged at all times.
Alot has happened since school has started. Greenhouse Management – Sustainable Food Production has been giving the opportunity to do hydroponic research, an investigation on using standard foam versus an algae resistant treated foam during seed germination and in a water culture hydroponic system.
Hydroponics is the technology of growing produce in nutrient solutions with the use of soilless mediums in an aquatic based environment. These systems are very efficient and environment friendly as all water is recirculated and creates no agricultural runoff. Although there are many types of systems, the main use of foam in hydroponics is used in water culture. Water culture systems involve the plants being suspended in net pots directly above the nutrient solution with a constant supply of oxygen from an air pump. This foam used is much like a raft with holes. As a raft, the foam will float on a shallow body of nutrient solution so that the roots will be completely submerged at all times.
This is where Plymouth Foam has stepped in to assist the Plymouth Food Science and Ag Center in growing hydroponically grown produce. Plymouth Foam has provided us with a treated foam product that controls algae development throughout the plant growing process. The reduction of growth on the foam will allow the lettuce to grow to maximum health as algae will not be absorbing needed nutrients. As a constant, the environment will remain the same throughout this whole lab and help us to determine the true algae growth as this organism prefers certain conditions. There will be no altering of temperature, humidity or light. During this lab, algae growth will be measured. These measurements will be collected for both types of foam and data will be compared.
Pelleted seed are used in hydroponics. A clay based coating is added to the exterior of the seed. The coating will dissolve once exposed to water. There are many benefits of using a pelleted seeds are that they are easy to handle, have a high visibility, and gives you the opportunity of planting more precisely. The following picture illustrates a few examples of pelleted seeds used in the Plymouth Food Science and Ag Center.
Pelleted seed are used in hydroponics. A clay based coating is added to the exterior of the seed. The coating will dissolve once exposed to water. There are many benefits of using a pelleted seeds are that they are easy to handle, have a high visibility, and gives you the opportunity of planting more precisely. The following picture illustrates a few examples of pelleted seeds used in the Plymouth Food Science and Ag Center.
In addition to the research we began, germination trials with treated foam rafts, relating to the lab we are starting. The test rafts were, again, provided from Plymouth Foam and treated with a special coating to resist algae growth. The rafts made available have slits cut out of them, approximately one inch to two inches apart that have a shape of a “v.” This shape helps to keep the medium inside the foam rafts. Vermiculite is used as the soilless medium in these trials. For planting, vermiculite was dampened in a beaker and inserted into the rafts. To begin, the “v” shaped slits were only filled about three-fourths full. Pelleted seeds were then placed on top of that, roughly one inch apart, and covered with another layer of vermiculite. Once the rafts were planted, they were placed in a shallow tub of water for germination. Remember, these are trials to determine the way we will germinate the seeds for our official lab. As a graphic, the images below are the rafts in the germination tray. These seeds were plants on Tuesday and we should see sprouts in five to ten days. Hopefully just in time for the Food Science and Agriculture Center’s Open House on Friday, October 9th!