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Choosing a system - A buyers guide for the beginner |
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| A brief guide to the factors a new grower needs to consider when selecting an indoor growing system. |
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Choosing a system - A buyers guide for the beginner
Introduction
These days as a beginner to indoor gardening there may seem to be a lot of equipment on the market and many different growing systems to grow the plants in. Finding the right system for you and your garden is important, so we’ve highlighted some of the key points of different growing systems like flexibility, price, floor coverage, maintenance, etc. to hopefully help you get the system which best suits your needs and your available growing environment.
The three main components of your grow room are the light system, the air exchange system and the growing system by which we mean NFT, Flood & Drain, or Pot-ponics etc. Every method of growing will have its good points and bad points – If there aren’t many bad points, then it is usually top end equipment that you are looking at and worth the extra cost.
First here are a few things you may consider:
Will it fit into my grow room?
Sizes of Flood & Drain Systems, NFT Gro-Tanks and trays are in the catalogue and also on the relevant page of this web site (click links to visit relevant pages). Alternatively, you can always call our Technical Team for help on 0845 345 5176. Don’t forget you may need room to move around your tanks to get to parts of your garden. Don’t forget that the the big plants will overhang the sides of these trays considerably and you need to take this into account when sizing up your system. All of the NFT Gro-Tanks should go through loft hatches and are ideal for loft growing.
Is a hydro-system quicker?
Basically Yes! You’ll certainly get through the vegetative stage quite a bit quicker with usually better growth. This is especially true in the high light environment where the plant has a lot easier time of it with all that water and oxygen about. Younger plants particularly can control their body temperature and transpiration rate a lot easier and put more of their energy into good, healthy growth compared to a hand watered pot system.
Do these hydro systems make much noise?
Only small water pumps are used so the noise level is very low, with larger systems it may become an issue. NFT systems need to have the pump going 24 hours a day or at least most of the time. Flood & Drain Systems only need to be run for a few minutes every few hours. Systems can be demonstrated at our large store.
Budget!
If cost is an issue then the cheapest way to get started is Pot-ponics. This is growing in pots with some Bio-Bizz All-Mix (organics), Cellmax Growing Cubes (hydroponics) or Canna Coco (hydro-organics). If you fancy diving straight into an active hydroponic system then the NFT Gro-Tanks are very popular and are quite reasonably priced.
Do the Hydro-systems use much electric?
Most hydroponic systems use an electric water pump, these are generally only a few Watts and shouldn’t cost more than a few pence a day. A Nutrient Heater is usually needed in the winter months, these are generally 200 Watt or 300 Watt but only come on for small amounts of time. You will also need to consider the running costs of your lighting systems if you are going to grow under HID lights. For a rough guide to the costs involved, take a look at our Grow Room Running Costs article in the Learn section.
If I have a hydroponic system can I leave it for a few days at a time?
Unlike pots which may need watering every other day when they get going, your hydro system can be left for longer. How long will depend on how big your nutrient reservoir is compared to how many plants you have and how big they are. If you have a lot of big plants in your system under a lot of light then have a big a reservoir as possible, they will drink fast. Your system solution may need changing every two weeks and toping up at regular intervals in between, maybe up to every 4 days. pH adjustment can be done at the same time.
Ongoing costs in time and manpower
There wouldn’t be that much difference in the amount of time and effort gardening whether you were growing in pots or were growing in a hydroponic system. Whichever system you choose, some amount of regular time and effort is needed whether it’s transplanting into organic pots and watering every 2 or 3 days, or changing your nutrient solution for a fresh batch every 2 weeks in NFT. The main differences are in plant growth rates.
Will a hydroponic system give me more yield?
The answer is simply Yes! Not only a bigger yield, but healthier plants, especially where there is a lot of light. And for most species and varieties of plant, you will get better quality too! You can’t lose.
So what makes pots so popular?
Growing in pots has always been very popular, even more so now with the advent of so many good feeds and media. For example the yields and quality obtainable from coir in pots is remarkable. Also the pot system does have the advantage of being able to treat each plant as an individual. This is especially good for the hobby gardener who may only have 10 plants but made from 5 different varieties, all requiring differing feed strengths growing at different rates to different sizes.
System height
This can be an issue when using a high output light which creates not only a lot of light but also a lot of heat. Even when using an extractor/air exchange system, you need to make your grow room as tall as possible. If your grow room is height restricted (less than 180cm (6 feet)) you may wish to avoid tall systems and go for NFT Gro-Tanks or Flood & Drain Systems which will give your plants more breathing room. You could also consider using a light rail which will not only increase the size of your growing area but will also help spread the light and avoid heat build up problems in the summer.
Here are a few growing system options:
Pot-ponics
Pot-ponics Hydro:
Use Cellmax rockwool in the pot and just feed through the top of the pot with hydroponic pH adjusted feed at every watering by hand. This system has all the advantages of using hydroponic solutions and all the flexibility of using pots, and it’s nice and low level. The cost of setting up a hydroponic pot system is relatively cheap. Things you might need include several pots and saucers, a bag of Cellmax and some hydroponic nutrient solution, a pH test kit and pH adjustment liquids. The only disadvantage to this system is that it doesn’t yield as much as an active hydroponic system. We also sell complete Pot-ponics Hydro Kits which come complete with everything you need to get growing.
Pot-ponics Organic:
Use Bio-Bizz Organic compost in a pot and hand feed the pots with Bio-Bizz feeds and get that organic buzz and taste. This method is popular especially with beginners on a budget as not only is it cheap and easy (with no pH adjustment) but also very good for a fairly easy life with good healthy growth almost an inevitability. We also sell complete Pot-ponics Bio-Bizz Organic Kits which come complete with everything you need to get growing.
Pot-ponics Coco:
Growing in coco is becoming very popular as it offers both excellent yield and high quality produce. Part of its success is that it has very good structure, drainage and air content. When totally saturated it still holds a lot of air and consequently enhances growth rates over some other choices of media. The down side of this is that the pots may dry a bit quicker than other media resulting in the need for more frequent hand watering. The coco although itself organic is essentially a hydroponic medium in as much as it has no real feed in it and no biological action. Therefore it needs a complete hydroponic nutrient package. We also sell complete Pot-ponics Coco Kits which come complete with everything you need to get growing.
NFT – Nutrient Film Technique
With this system a thin film of nutrient solution is run down a channel or gulley using a pump from a main reservoir. The solution is usually re-circulated back to the main reservoir. These systems are usually very efficient. The most popular models are the NFT Gro-Tanks and their bigger brother the multi-duct NFT channels. The Gro-Tanks are low level, low maintenance and low cost with high growth rates and high yields. There is no reason you can’t use one of these systems to great effect the first time you grow with excellent results. For beginner or professional hobbyist it’s a serious option. These tanks also work well in very demanding ‘high light’ environments providing plenty of oxygen and water to the root zone. The root zones are fairly unprotected in NFT systems so if your plants will be subjected to cold temperatures (at night for example), systems can be converted to use slabs. A Flood & Drain Systems may be an option where the root zone is more protected from extremes of temperatures. Other than that, the lack of medium does make for easy maintenance and quick turn around with little waste between crops.
Flood & Drain
This is just as good as NFT and offers many of the same benefits. The growing tray sits on top of the reservoir and a pump floods the top tray, then lets it drain off. Your system may flood and drain 2-10 times a day depending on the size of the plants, the amount of light and growing medium used. In the top tray you can use pots full of your favourite medium, either clay pebbles, rockwool or coir. Alternatively you can fill the whole top tray full of medium rather than use individual pots. Like NFT, Flood & Drain Systems are usually low level. For best results it’s best not to re-use the media for more than one crop cycle, which does mean there is more waste to dispose of after each crop than an NFT system.
Most Flood & Drain systems have an all in one top growing tray. The HydroVator is a top of the range flood and drain system, lower level than other systems with individual moveable plant sites, this system pumps water in and uses a second pump to drain the solution after each flood, with state of the art microprocessor controlled electronics regulating the flood cycles.
The above methods and systems are some of the most popular with customers at GroWell, although we sell many other systems with different choices of medium and a large choice of good feeds. Come into the store or phone for advice on which system best suits your needs, budget and grow room.
You may also want to take a look at our article on choosing a light system which could be helpful in completing your grow room shopping list.
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GroWell Hydroponics Ltd, Solihull, Birmingham, UK
Blooms Garden Centre, Kenilworth Road
Hampton-In-Arden, Solihull, B92 0LW
GroWell Hydroponics Ltd, Fulham, London, UK
1 Royal Parade, 247 Dawes Road
Fulham, London, SW6 7RE
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Unit 52 Enterprise Trading Estate,
Off Pedmore Road
Brierley Hill,
Dudley,
DY5 1TX |
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