Hydroponic Plant Crops – Hydroponics

Hydroponics allows you to achieve the most ideal results when growing a particular plant. And while the idea of ​​growing a “perfect” plant has different meanings to humans, hydroponic methods satisfy everyone’s needs. For example, an orchid fanatic might define the ideal plant as a rare variety, color, or symmetry. For a commercial tomato grower, the ideal plant can be determined by its growth rate, disease resistance, palatability and long shelf life.

a large database of various plant cultures suitable for hydroponic cultivation is presented, as well as recommendations for their cultivation.

See the complete list of plants

 

Bulbous plants

Bulbous plants work well for indoor crops. Vermiculite is an ideal medium for bulbous plants, as it always maintains optimal moisture and contains enough moisture to leave the plant unattended all day long. However, for the success of the bulbous pot culture, the recommendations listed below must be strictly followed.

The first step is to plant the bulbs in capillary pots. When planting, the hyacinth bulb should be only half in the vermiculite. All bulbs should be planted immediately after purchase as they quickly become soft and start to rot. The supply of nutrients in the bulbs with normal moisture is sufficient for the formation of roots. However, excessive moisture should be avoided before the bulbs begin to germinate. Before planting the bulbs, the vermiculite must be well moistened. In the future, as the vermiculite dries up, add water in very small portions.

The following technique gives good results in my practice. After planting, I put the pots in a dark room or closet. For ventilation, I leave the doors open for a while. If possible, I keep the temperature at about 13 °. As soon as the sprouts reach a length of 2,5 cm, I transfer the pots to the darkest place in the room, since they should be transferred gradually on full daylight hours. It takes about three months to develop the root system and form a green sprout 2,5 cm long. After a week or 10 days, the pots can be switched to full light and fed regularly with nutrient solution.

In everite trays, the bulbs are placed at a distance of 5 cm from each other. Once the plants have faded, there is no need to keep them in pots unless you need to grow your own bulbs for next season. Indoors, hyacinths, tulips, daffodils, amaryllis, buttercups, tigrinum lilies, crocuses, freesias, gladioli, lilies of the valley and tuberose grow very well in pots with vermiculite.

 

Spices

Mint, sage, thyme, tarragon – all these plants grow very well in hydroponic conditions. Many of them yield yields that allow the transition to industrial culture. The homeland of most of the herbs used in our time is on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and in the territory east of the Mediterranean Sea up to India. These are countries with hot climates, so herbs should be planted in sunny places.

 

Essential oil plants

Hydroponics, apparently, will gain great development in the desert regions of the world, where land is cheap and powerful plants are being built to desalinate seawater. The climatic conditions of some deserts are ideal for essential oil and medicinal crops. Thanks to the optimal pH and balanced nutrient solutions, the quality of essential oils is greatly enhanced. It is well known that the quality of the oil obtained from essential oil plants such as mint and lavender is highly dependent on soil type and weather conditions. By carefully selecting the nutrient mixture and the optimal pH, the quality of the essential oil can be influenced. In conventional agricultural practices, weed control plays an important role, which can degrade the quality of the essential oil of the cultivated plant. Hydroponic beds are weed-free, and plants can be cut and left in place until shipped to the plant.

In arid areas, where ionized water is used for irrigation, windbreaks should also be created from essential oil shrubs. Very suitable for South and South West Africa Leptospermum citratum – one of the types of tea bush from Australia. Once the bushes have reached a height of 1,5 m, they can be trimmed annually like a normal green hedge. All cut branches are used for distillation and get oil, which is easily sold in the soap industry. The oil content is 1-1,5%, and the oil itself contains 75-85% citralaldehydes, which, when broken down, give 50% citral and 35% citronellal.

The following four types of mint thrive in hydroponic conditions: Mentha piperita – peppermint, Mentha arvensis – field mint, . spicata – green mint, М. pulegii – mint mint. Essential oil of the first of these types is widely used for the preparation of first-class sweets and liqueurs. The second type of oil is used in the pharmaceutical industry for the preparation of mixtures for coughing, for the preparation of menthol. The third type of oil is necessary for the production of chewing gum, the fourth – for the pharmaceutical industry. A typical hydroponic bed produces 450 g of essential oil, which corresponds to 112 kg of oil per hectare.

The possibility of hydroponic culture has been established: dill, coriander, fennel, geranium, vetiver, goldenrod and yarrow, which also give essential oils.

Essential oil crops are grown by dry dressing. Pallets are made one brick high above the ground. The depth of the trench is usually at least 30 cm. Before filling the pallet with sand and vermiculite, check the quality of the drainage. Gravel, stone and other materials are unsuitable for growing essential oil plants by dry feeding.

 

drug plants

Plant roots develop well in vermiculite, so industrial hydroponics of medicinal plants grown for roots can be profitable. Experiments have shown that belladonna, ipecacuanha, aconite, ephedra, gentian, dandelion, ginger, finger yateoriza and turmeric produce good yields under hydroponic conditions. Gentian is used as a part of medicines more often than other root medicinal plants. An infusion of gentian roots is added to bitter tonics. It grows well on hydroponic beds and produces high quality roots. The same can be said for the palmate iatheoris, which originates from East Africa.

Plants such as datura, belladonna, foxglove use leaves. Datura is found as a weed in many parts of South Africa, and when cultivated provides a good cash income. Desert areas can be licensed under strict control to grow crops that provide drugs such as opium. The yield per unit of hydroponic area is very consistent and can serve as a control in itself.

Plants whose flowers are used for medicinal purposes, such as Roman and Dalmatian chamomile, also yield good yields in hydroponic conditions.

Regulated nutrition and optimal pH allow you to obtain medicinal plants that exactly meet the specific requirements for them. For example, with hydroponic cultivation of belladonna and other alkaloid plants, it will be possible to increase the content of alkaloids by 20% compared to their amount in plants grown in soil.

 

Algae

In recent years, it has been established that some algae can serve as a very important food source. One of these algae is called chlorella. Hydroponic cultivation of it may in the future be widely developed in deserts. Chlorella grows very quickly, gaining 3000 times in weight in 2-3 days. From 0,4 hectares, you can get from 40 to 80 tons of product per year. Chlorella contains many times more vitamins than orange, and much richer in protein than meat.

Proteins, fats, sugars and vitamins can be extracted from chlorella cells to be added to other foods such as bread and margarine. Thus, malnutrition could be a thing of the past forever. Chlorella fats can replace other vegetable oils used to make soaps, drying oils, varnishes and paints. By sublimating dry chlorella, chemicals similar to those obtained from coal are obtained. Fermentation of this algae produces methane, which is used as fuel for gas generators.

 

Literature

  • Bentley M. Industrial hydroponics. – M .: Publishing house Kolos, 1965 .– 819 p.
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Anna Evans

Author ✓ Farmer

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