How to Choose the Hydroponics Suppliers?

Hydroponics in India is a very new industry and hence, finding good hydroponics suppliers is more difficult than would be expected. This article is a short guide to helping you pick a good hydroponics supplier to get you started with growing plants at home. The first thing you should do is to categorize existing suppliers into equipment manufacturers vs. re-sellers of popular brands. This is important because if the re-sellers are selling you systems designed and manufactured internationally, then in case of damages or replacements you will face delays in replacing parts. This is a problem if you are mid-cycle, you now risk losing your plants. In case of equipment manufacturers, the procurement of spares or replacements will be significantly easier.

Hydroponic systems are not prone to heavy wear and tear, but over time in case of incidental damages to the system can cause leaks that may be hard to fix – making it more advisable to go about picking a local manufacturer that helps with spares and replacements.

The next important consideration when practicing home hydroponics is looking for NFT Hydroponics system suppliers that who also provide post-sales service. Home hydroponics for a beginner can be quite daunting, it would help if you have someone to guide you through your first grow. Some hydroponics supplier also offers training programs or paid visits to help you get started. The next important point when picking hydroponics suppliers is to understand what certifications the supplier has for their equipment. This is important because all the materials used in hydroponics should be food grade while buying hydroponics equipment please note that the materials used have food grade material certifications. These certifications are expensive so this reflects in the cost of the system. So opting for the cheapest system is not the best option as the low price may be a result of not using food grade materials so do look out for the same.

Some suppliers may offer you DIY kits that are a compilation of different parts required to build a system this option may be cheaper and offer some customization options but will require one to assemble the system yourself. Inputs are another important consideration, good quality consumables like seeds and nutrients are hard to come by picking a supplier who offers both is a good idea as they will have some experience in growing the seeds and their inputs will be valuable as you are getting started home hydroponics. Best way to get started is to look for suppliers that offer complete growers kits for home hydroponics this will help you get all the required components in one go. So what are you waiting for, go to www.futurefarms.store!

How to improve Hydroponics Lighting

Using Artificial lighting in growing crops is a fairly new concept when you consider that agriculture itself is an age-old practice that led to the development of modern society. There is still a lot of data being gathered on the efficacy of lights for indoor growing especially to do with spectrums and optimal use of electricity to maximize growth while not stressing out the plants. Lights are increasingly being used in both Commercial Farming and Home Hydroponics to let growers overcome the restraints of nature and enable growth in indoor closed and controlled climates and environments. The use of lights to remove the need for sun and land-based agriculture is the future of urban food production, in this post we will discuss methods to optimize the use of these lights in indoor and controlled environment agriculture.

The first thing to look at is the type of light, older less efficient lights are the HPS(high-pressure sodium) MH(Metal Halide) and CFL(Compact Fluorescent light) which have been used extensively in the past in grow rooms. These types have a lot of disadvantages ranging from the inefficient use of electricity too high heat generation or low light output. These early experiments have led to the invention of the efficient LED bulbs that put out a lot of light without eating up electricity and needing too many accessories to run. LED’s can also be designed to put out light in specific spectrums and hence if a grower has access to good quality LED’s then that would be the best pick.

The second thing is the grow room or grow area itself which should act conducive to increasing light absorption by the plant and so high reflectivity must be achieved. This can be done by painting the walls of the grow room with highly reflective paint such as pearl white or using a reflective material like mylar or foil. Light placement is also important, most LED’s come in a configuration of throwing light at 90 degrees or 120-degree angles and so the plants to be grown should be placed directly below the lighting system and larger areas may require multiple light fixtures. Towards the outer edge of the lit area, the lux values could fall drastically hence a lux meter to reduce low lux spaces between light fixtures would be recommended to have a larger more uniformly lit grow area. Daisy chaining which is the capability of controlling multiple light fixtures with a single control unit, this is a useful feature when having multiple lights and this can be used to control on/off cycles and optimize electricity use. It is also useful to have height adjustable rope ratchets to be able to adjust the height as per the plant type.

Heating is a common issue when it comes to growing rooms and this can be mitigated with exhaust fans and circulation of air inside the grow room. It is imperative that a grow room has an even in-out flow of air to remove hot air and let more fresh air into the grow room. Circulation between the plant canopy is also crucial and can be achieved with the help of simple fans. Advanced climate control methods like air conditioners also help mitigate this issue.

Lights must simulate the sun’s natural process in order to nurture the plant through its life cycles. A plant that flowers or matures only with the change in the seasonal availability of sunlight will not thrive well in an overly light stimulated environment when it is in its flowering cycle. To counter this some growers use timed light cycles for the various stages, for example for vegetative growth an 18(on)-6(off) cycle is used and for flowering they use 12on-12off cycle, this puts the plant into a false sense of seasonal light change (summer-winter).

For someone doing hydroponics in Gurgaon or other areas with extreme summers, indoor growing could mean a steady supply of off-season crops without the use of pesticides and the ills of soil growing. Agriculture is a constantly improving method for sustenance with the availability of more and more energy sources for us indoor growing will soon become a norm at every residence and commercial farming ventures.

Types of Hydroponic Gardening Methods

Since there are many different options when it comes to hydroponic systems, it can be hard to decide what method may work best for home hydroponics or commercial farming. Here’s a quick overview of some of the different types of hydroponic equipment and systems.

Nutrient Film Technique

One of the more intricate hydroponic arrangements is known as nutrient film technique (NFT). This also involves the use of a reservoir and pump system. The plants are situated in net pots that allow the root system to hang down, and these pots are aligned in a row down the center of a channel. The channel resembles a hollow tube with a flat bottom and holes in the top for the plants. The nutrient solution is pumped up from the reservoir to the top of the channel. The channel must be positioned at an angle so that the water flows over the lower tips of the roots and back into the reservoir. The flat bottom on the channel allows for an even layer of solution to cascade over its surface, feeding the root system on the way down.

Due to the size of the channels, NFT hydroponic systems work best for plants that have a small root system like leafy greens and herbs. NFT is the most scalable hydroponic system available which typically makes it a go-to method for commercial farming. At Future Farms, we have the Leaf Station Series for NFT home hydroponics.

Deep Water Culture

With Deep Water Culture (DWC) hydroponic systems, the plant’s roots are suspended in the nutrient solution and the air is provided directly to the roots with an air stone or diffuser. Plants are placed in net pots with growing media like light expanded clay aggregate (LECA) to help secure them.

DWC works well with almost all plants but is especially useful for growing large plants with extensive root systems like fruiting vegetables. The Future Farms Air Buckets Series is an ideal DWC solution for home hydroponics.

Wick Hydroponics

A wick system is basically a pot connected to a reservoir by a large wick that soaks up the nutrient solution and delivers it to the root system. As the root system absorbs the solution, more is pulled up from the reservoir below. The best media to use in a wick system is coco peat or perlite, as they have a high level of absorption and water retention. However, wick systems are more basic than other types of hydroponic systems and they have their drawbacks.

Unlike other mechanisms that deliver water to the root system, the wick method does not always provide enough water to completely saturate the media. So, even though wick systems are simple to use, they are best reserved for small plants or if you have limited space.

Aeroponics

Plants are suspended in the air and nutrient solution is sprayed over the plant’s root system. The nutrient solution is pumped into piping that’s fitted with mist nozzles. As the pressure builds the misters spray the plant’s roots and the solution falls back into the reservoir.

With the right setup, aeroponic hydroponic systems can grow just about any types of plant. The difficulty lies with making sure the mist nozzles are able to spray the entire root system. Aeroponic systems are fairly simple in design but can be expensive and tricky to put together, so they are not ideal for a beginner to hydroponics or for home hydroponics.

Drip System

A drip system is another more advanced hydroponic system. It has a reservoir system that utilizes an air pump to keep the reservoir solution moving and a nutrient pump that sends your solution up to the plants. In this case, the root system is not exposed. The plants are grown in your standard hydroponic medium like coco peat or vermiculite.

When the water is pumped up from the reservoir, it is fed to the plants through from hoses above the top layer of medium. The water literally drips from the hoses onto the medium and is controlled by a timer to go on and off at specific intervals. Set up can be complicated, so they should probably be reserved for more advanced hydroponic gardeners.

Ebb and Flow

In this hydroponic method, the plants are placed in large grow beds filled with growing medium. The grow bed is flooded with nutrient solution until it reached a certain point. A drain allows the water to only get a few inches below the top of the growing medium to keep it from overflowing. The pump is controlled by a timer which shuts the pump off after the grow bed has been flooded, to drain it completely.

These hydroponic systems work great for all types of plants including root vegetables. Ebb and Flow hydroponic systems are popular with home hydroponic gardeners.

In conclusion, it’s important to consider what plants you wish to grow and how much space you have available before choosing the ideal hydroponic system for your home hydroponic needs or commercial farming. At Future Farms, we cater to the needs of both and also supply hydroponic equipment for those looking to build their custom solutions!