The Benefits of Hydroponic Vegetable Gardening
Many gardeners enjoy their hobby so much, they are sad to see cold weather make an appearance and their gardening months come to an end. However, gardening doesn’t have to be a seasonal hobby any longer. Hydroponic vegetable gardening allows gardeners to bring their crops indoors when the snow begins to fly, so they can enjoy fresh tomatoes, peppers and lettuce all year long. There are many benefits to hydroponic vegetable gardening to consider.
Controlled Environment
Because hydroponic vegetable gardening does not use soil to grow crops, the environment can be completely controlled by the gardener. This is especially true when plants are grown indoors, away from potential pests and disease that lurk outside. Gardeners have full control over which nutrients the crops receive and how much and how often the plants receive them. Gardeners also control variables like lighting and water to ensure the healthiest plants and the best possible harvests. Many gardeners enjoy this aspect of hydroponic vegetable gardening most of all, since it takes away the frustration of fighting natural pests and diseases that are common to traditional outdoor gardens.
Good for the Environment
Another big plus for hydroponic vegetable gardening is that it is kind to the environment because it uses nutrients. Hydroponic vegetable gardening can also produce bumper crops in a fraction of the space it takes to grow a traditional vegetable garden. In fact, a lot of hydroponic vegetable gardening consists of plants being placed vertically in hanging tubes or on shelves; so many plants can be grown in just a few square feet of space. With space at a premium on our earth today, this conservation of space is a huge contribution to the conservation of our planet.
Control the Temperature
It is rewarding not only because of the outcome but because of the effort involved to actually have your home garden succeed. Hobbyists and professional gardeners alike will tell you that when moving a garden indoors, the temperature is the hardest factor to take control of. Chicfarm recommends that during winter, planting in the indoor of heated rooms with a conservatory or sun can shine in directly on solar water heaters, water heaters to reach the insulation effect. In summer time, planting in the indoor or outdoor air-conditioned rooms with black netting or solar/wind fan, hydraulic fan to achieve cooling effect. When confined to a small space ballasts and lights can push temperatures sky-high in no time flat. This is especially true during hot summer months when outside temperature reaches its highest. Nighttime (lights out period) temperature can be just as difficult to regulate during cold winter month.
Most home gardeners are aware that temperature in the grow room plays a major role and can greatly affect the growth of plants and the quality of the finished crop. It is important for home gardeners to know that controlling the temperature of their home garden in very specific ways can lead to a superior crop. Drift too far from these ideal temperatures and watch your plants and crop suffer.
Before getting started it is highly recommended that every indoor home garden has a max/min thermometer. This product allows the gardener to see exactly the fluctuations in temperature within their home garden. The difference between the two temperatures is very important to plant growth. Anymore than a 15C difference between daytime and nighttime temperatures and you risk shocking and stressing the plants. In general the optimal daytime temperature for plant growth is between 23C-30C. Drift too far above this range or too far below and growth can be severely affected. Daytime temperatures exceeding 33C or under 15C will stunt a plant's growth. If the temperature drifts higher than 33C the plant’s enzyme production will drop off and the plant will begin shutting down. At temperatures that high photosynthesis shuts down due to the stomata in the leaves closing to conserve water. At normal temperatures the stomata will be open, taking in CO2 and sweating water to keep the plant cool and allowing for transpiration.
Ideal temperature also varies depending on whether or not CO2 is being introduced to the environment. A more suitable daytime temperature when the air is being enriched with CO2 is 26C-30C. This temperature range promotes the exchange of gases between the plants and the environment. Also, it can speed up the process of photosynthesis. A plant in an environment at 30C can perform carbon extraction from CO2 twice as fast as at 18C. It is still recommended that the night time temperature drop no more than 9C from that of the daytime temperature. There is another relationship between temperature and the absorption of gases by plants that many hobbyist growers are aware of. That is the relationship between the temperature of the water in your reservoir and the amount of oxygen the water can hold. The best range that your reservoir can be between is 15C-23C. Ideally the reservoir temperature should be at 15C because this level contains the most oxygen. Also this temperature will help control transpiration (the act of drawing up nutrients by evaporating water throughout the leaves), and humidity levels. Buying a simple floating thermometer will allow you to know where you fit in this range.
Temperature is also very important when it comes to starting seeds and getting cuttings to root. Placing seedling trays on a heating mat will reduce germination time dramatically. Speeding up germination time usually leads to stronger and healthier plants. Also, less time spent between crop cycles makes a garden efficient. More harvests provided in less time can equal big bucks in the pockets of professional home growers.
The ideal temperature to achieve these results is 26C. Any higher and you risk burning the roots. Also, many seeds simply will not germinate at temperatures over 32C. The seeds will become dormant and never sprout. The same principal used for seeds is used on cuttings to coax roots out quicker. The sooner cuttings can establish roots the better. If roots can be forced quickly they will grow strong and stay strong. A bottom temperature of 26C-30C, roughly 10C warmer than the air, will speed up rooting time and help to jump start those roots once they do begin. Let the temperature get too high or too low and roots growth will be hindered or they will never grow at all. Using the proper technique and the proper temperature for bottom heat not only can rooting time be sped up from 2 weeks to as little as 3 days, but the survival rate of your cuttings will drastically improve. In this case, we strongly recommend home gardeners to buy already grown seedlings (US$ 0.1/ pc) to transplant them to save time from 15-20 days seedling process.
Hydroponics System from Chicfarm LED grower, http://www.chicfarm.net
