Intro: In this lab I will be making a simple hydroponic system. Before I chose the system I want to use I will research other hydroponics systems and how they work. The hydroponic system Maia and I chose, was a simple one using spice jars and a wick system. We will be making three of these. Once I finish building my hydroponic system I will start growing a plant. Unfortunately there is not enough time in this section to record my the plant growth. But I will post a picture of the plant after a few weeks of growth.
What we did: Once we brought in our supplies in on Wednesday we started building. The first thing we did was prepare the jar, we cut the center of the jar out with a drill so that all the tiny holes in the spice jar show. Then we taped those caps together. Then we prepared the 'medium' which was some aquarium pebbles that we found outside. We washed them in hot water to make sure all the dirt is removed. Then we got the wicks ready which was strips of cotton socks and t-shirts a couple inches longer then the jars. There are five wicks per jar which we then braided with a five strand braid. We stuck each wick from the braid into a hole in a spice cap. We filled the jars with water and some regular fertilizer. Because we were such in a rush we didn't get chance to use special hydroponics fertilizer. Then put the lid on with the wicks attached and taped it on to secure it. We put the seeds in the pebbles. The plants we chose to grow was kale, chives, and wheat grass. We wanted to try different types of plants to see which one would grow the most successfully in a hydroponics system. Two days later we checked up on our plants and we saw that the chives had already begun sprouting.
Hydroponic Science:
I really liked this project because this whole semester I had been wanted to do something with plants and I finally got around to it. It's dissipating that I will not be able to post the plants when they actually have grown. 'm really into environmental science, plants and trees really fascinate me with there way the seem to adapt and change to there environment. It is interesting that plants can basically grow anywhere as long as they have the important elements that they need. As I was researching online I found that there is an incredible amount of knowledge to gain in this area, and much more chemical science then I thought there would be. It is a different kind of type life then we are used to thinking about and something that I would like to explore more.
Research:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-super-easy-hydroponics-system/
https://www.hydroponics.net/learn/hydroponic_gardening_for_beginners.asp
http://boltonhydroponics.com/FAQ.php
http://home.howstuffworks.com/lawn-garden/professional-landscaping/alternative-methods/hydroponics3.htm
What we did: Once we brought in our supplies in on Wednesday we started building. The first thing we did was prepare the jar, we cut the center of the jar out with a drill so that all the tiny holes in the spice jar show. Then we taped those caps together. Then we prepared the 'medium' which was some aquarium pebbles that we found outside. We washed them in hot water to make sure all the dirt is removed. Then we got the wicks ready which was strips of cotton socks and t-shirts a couple inches longer then the jars. There are five wicks per jar which we then braided with a five strand braid. We stuck each wick from the braid into a hole in a spice cap. We filled the jars with water and some regular fertilizer. Because we were such in a rush we didn't get chance to use special hydroponics fertilizer. Then put the lid on with the wicks attached and taped it on to secure it. We put the seeds in the pebbles. The plants we chose to grow was kale, chives, and wheat grass. We wanted to try different types of plants to see which one would grow the most successfully in a hydroponics system. Two days later we checked up on our plants and we saw that the chives had already begun sprouting.
Hydroponic Science:
- Hydroponics is the process of growing plants in sand, gravel or liquid with added enrichments. But without using any soil.
- Hydroponics can grow plant up to 30-50 percent faster then growing plants in soil, this is because the perfect blend of nutrients is delivered directly to the root system. The plant does not need to expend energy on an extensive root system to find the food it needs, so all of its energy goes into upward leaf growth.
- Nutrients are one important factor in order to create a successful hydroponics system. A hydroponic nutrient solution contains all the elements that the plant normally would get from the soil. Most are highly concentrated, using 2 to 4 teaspoons per gallon of water. They come in liquid mixes or powered mixes, usually with at least two different containers, one for grow and one for bloom. The liquids are the slightly more expensive and the easiest to use. They dissolve quickly and completely into the reservoir and often have an added pH buffer.
- Another important factor in making Hydroponics would be having the correct Ph values. Ph stands for the power of hydrogen the level that plants need is around 7. Most plants can grow hydroponically within a pH range of 5.8 to 6.8, 6.3 is considered optimal. The pH in a hydroponic system is much easier to check than the pH of soil. Ideally you should check the pH every week because it changes as plant uses them to grow.
- You also need a energy for the plant to perform photosynthesis, source is essential to grow any kind of plants naturally or using hydroponics. This could be from the sun or a special kind of light bulb. Photosynthesis is the process of plants converting carbon dioxide, water and light into sugars and oxygen into energy to grow.
- There are many types of hydroponics systems the one we chose to use is called a wick system. Wick Systems are where plants are placed into a tray filled with a medium such as perlite or rock wool in our case little pebbles. At the base of each root or seed, some sort of fabric martial is placed by it this could be nylon or cotton. Which is allowed to dangle freely, hanging beyond the bottom of the tray. The entire tray is then placed on top of a reservoir. The nylon ropes absorb the water and nutrients, wicking them up to the plant's roots. This system is one of the most simplest but is still very effective.
I really liked this project because this whole semester I had been wanted to do something with plants and I finally got around to it. It's dissipating that I will not be able to post the plants when they actually have grown. 'm really into environmental science, plants and trees really fascinate me with there way the seem to adapt and change to there environment. It is interesting that plants can basically grow anywhere as long as they have the important elements that they need. As I was researching online I found that there is an incredible amount of knowledge to gain in this area, and much more chemical science then I thought there would be. It is a different kind of type life then we are used to thinking about and something that I would like to explore more.
Research:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-super-easy-hydroponics-system/
https://www.hydroponics.net/learn/hydroponic_gardening_for_beginners.asp
http://boltonhydroponics.com/FAQ.php
http://home.howstuffworks.com/lawn-garden/professional-landscaping/alternative-methods/hydroponics3.htm