Garden Tips & Resources

Let’s begin with a brief understanding on what hydroponics is before we delve into hydroponic drip systems. Hydroponics is a way of growing plants, be it vegetables, fruits or herbs without the use of soil and natural light. Instead of using soil, the plants are grown in solution full of nutrients. Hydroponics is generally set up inside using special lights to promote growth. As a result you can grow anything you want all year round, without the knowledge of which season are the best to grow crops. Of all the hydroponic systems available, it’s hydroponic drip systems that are mainly used. The layout and operation is relatively simple. A pump is submerged in the solution and is controlled by a timer. The timer is used to pump the solution at specified intervals, thus supplying the plants with nutrients via a thin drip line. A recovery drip system will reuse any unnecessary solution that has accumulated by redirecting it back to the reservoir. Unless you have a recovery unit on your drip system, the excess solution will accumulate at the plants base. As you can imagine a recovery system utilises the solution more efficiently, thus, the need for a precise, and more expensive, pump is not required as the timing of the drips need not need to be perfect. Word of caution though, unless you have a recovery unit installed, be aware of the exact amount of solution the plant requires, so you can set your timer accordingly, or they will not grow at their optimum rate. hydroponic drip systems with Recovery units tend to requires more maintenance time than non-recovery systems. The reason being, to maintain a flat level of nutrients and pH balance, the solution will have to be regularly check as a build up can occur due to the recycling process. To ensure your garden grows at it’s healthiest levels, monitor these levels and adjust them when required.

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