3R Lighting: Tutorial--Flood and Drain Hydroponics Page 1
www.3rlighting.com/tutorial
Flood and Drain Hydroponics
Q: Why should I use Flood and Drain hydroponics?
A: You don't have to.
There are many ways to grow plants, this is just one of
many. When you are growing plants, the important thing to figure out is which
growing techniques fit your
individual situation and your personality. Some folks like to fiddle with
every small detail and some like to leave everything alone for days. Most
everybody else is somewhere in the middle. As long as you find ways to live
with your plants that work
for you, we will be just as happy as you are.
Q: Alright then, how does Flood and Drain work?
A: Since you remember how to mix up nutrient solutions from the other part of
the 3R Lighting Tutorial, there's no need to go over that again.
Q: Right I know everything.
A: Now, you have to find a way to give the nutrient solution to the plants.
This has to be done on a consistent and regular basis.
If you leave the plants sitting in the solution, they will drown. Not as
melodramatically as an actor in a Hollywood movie, and Celine Dion won't sing
about it, but the plant's roots do need oxygen. In fact, the reason hydroponics
grows plants faster than soil is that more
oxygen
gets to the plant's roots
than in soil.
The party line is "Hydroponics grows plants 30% faster than plants grown in
soil." The stated reason for the faster growth is the extra oxygen at the
roots. This is true as far as it goes, but there are so many other factors,
like light--intensity and duration, and if you use hydroponic nutrients on
plants grown in loose soil, what the soil is made up of, the population of
micro organisms and beneficial fungus--the organic bonus stuff, etc. that can
change from day to day or hour to hour or vary widely in the same experiment
that you
can game the results like an Enron Market Trader headed for his stock options
bonus. 30% is a good number for the laboratory. 30% is a good reference point
to start from.
The biggest benefit to growing hydroponically over soil is that you can grow so
fast that it becomes hard for the plants to pull the nutrients from the soil
fast enough. Hydroponic nutrients are clean and pure so they can be easily
absorbed.
Q: Why don't you just spray the roots with a nutrient solution?
A: There is a technique called aeroponics that does that; it is for
experienced growers.
If you are growing under intense light, you can lose your
plants in five minutes--if it is the wrong five minutes. Remember, the plants
are moving nutrient solution from the roots to the leaves and evaporating
water. If the plants have a lot of leaf space and are growing along at a good
clip, they are sucking up a lot of water or nutrient solution. Even if there is
no moisture at the roots, the plants will keep evaporating water out the
leaves at that fast rate. Plants do not have a brain, they will kill
themselves. Besides that, the aeroponic sprayers have a knack for clogging and
need to be cleaned a lot.
Q: Now who's being melodramatic? I asked about Flood and Drain.
A: The "Flood and Drain" or "Ebb and Flow" technique has a few safety features
built in and is pretty simple to
set up and pretty reliable to run.
It is just about as simple as it sounds: take a tub, then fill it with
the nutrient solution, give the plant some time to soak it up a little, then
drain the tub leaving the roots moist. Got that? Not wet
MOIST
!
Q: Yeah, I got it: Not Wet, just moist. How many times are you gonna say that,
"Not wet, moist" Jazz?
A: Plenty more. It's an important concept that the roots only need to be moist
and not soaking wet.
Q: So that's it? How does a flood and drain hydroponics system work?
A: Plants need to be watered with a nutrient-water mix every so often. There
are five basic techniques used in hydroponics. Every hydroponics system is a
variation on one out of these five.
Q: OK, what are the five ways?
A: First is your Flood and Drain, sometimes called Ebb and Flow
Next is Airified Water
Then there is The Drip Method
There is also Nutrient Film Technique sometimes called NFT Hydroponics
Lastly, there is Aeroponics.
Q: Which one is best?
A: It depends on who you are, what you are growing, and how you want to grow it.
Q: Wow, that is such a firm stand--so which one is best?
A: Remember, every decision you make is a trade off.
Besides that, the person
or persons who are taking care of the plants have to be able to work the care
of the plants into their lifestyle. The plants need constant and reliable
care. If you are going out of town and leave the
system alone for three, four days, or a week the system itself has to take care
of the plants. Some systems need to be poked every day or every two hours--if
you are
at work for eight, ten, or twelve hours, the plants can suffer.
Some people just use hand watering, some people use automatic equipment, some
people use a mix of both. Some people set their systems up so that the plants
need constant care. This
could force terrible decisions at the neighborhood bar between rushing home to
take of the plants or "getting lucky" way out in Reseda.
However, in your case that is never likely to be a problem.
Q: Ah, you're so funny. What are the good and bad points of a flood and drain
system?
A: A Flood and Drain System's best point is its simplicity.
It's worst point is it uses up a lot of nutrients. Nutrients cost money.
