Soilless growing of plants is a fairly new, but already widely used technology that allows you to enjoy the fruits of a rich harvest literally from the air. Indeed, according to research by scientists, the intensity of plant development directly depends on the volume of air access to the roots. Do-it-yourself aeroponics is a great opportunity to grow plants without dust, dirt and at the same time solving in this way the problems of pest control, as well as soil depletion.
If we take as a basis the way of feeding the roots, then there are two types of systems:
- Containers in which plant roots are immersed by one third in nutrient solutions for aeroponics.
- Systems that spray the root system of plants at regular intervals.
Due to the alternation of exposure to the roots of a cloud of fine particles with nutrients and enriched air, plants develop much faster, delighting the eye with a riot of colors during the flowering period and a rich harvest.
Aeroponic systems are designed to maximize the saturation of the root system with oxygen and nutrients
Systems of the first execution type are intended for domestic use.
The complete set of compact plants includes electronic controllers and sensors that maintain optimal conditions for plant growth and development
Aeroponics installations of the second version are more used on an industrial scale.
The structures of the systems are built in such a way that the aboveground part of the plant is located on racks, and the root system is in an airtight container in which the necessary air environment is maintained
The secret of the popularity of modern technology of growing plants over traditional ones lies in a number of significant advantages, the main ones being:
- Saving space. The installation of aeroponics systems does not require large areas. The compact units can be stacked on vertical racks, creating layered plant compositions and thus saving space.
- Creation of optimal conditions for growing plants. The installation allows to provide the root system of plants with rich oxygen and nutrients, stimulating their development intensity and rich fruiting. The roots of plants grown on aeroponics are covered with a “fluff” of moisture-absorbing hairs, which increases their ability to saturate with oxygen and increase the availability of nutrients.
- Easy to maintain. Both the aerial part of the plants and the root system are easy to observe. This allows you to assess the condition at any time and timely identify and then remove the diseased parts. The very technology of care consists only in regulating the lighting and nutrition regime, taking into account the growing season of the plantings and the season.
Since the plants do not have a safety reserve, when the plant stops working, the roots of the plants begin to dry out quickly, which leads to loss of yield. Therefore, it is advisable to foresee in advance ways of providing automatic backup power supply and the presence of filters in the nutrient solution supply system.
The vulnerability of aeroponic systems is their susceptibility to timer failures and power outages.
Visual growing of lettuce on aeroponics:
To make an aeroponic system with your own hands, you will need to prepare a large container. The plants themselves will be placed in six smaller pots.
For this purpose, a 70 liter flower pot can be purchased to act as a reservoir for keeping the roots.
We cover the large tank with a lid, in which we pre-cut holes for placing the pots. As a material for the manufacture of the cover, you can use a PVC sheet, which has sufficient strength and increased moisture resistance. You can buy it at any hardware store.
On the sheet, measure out a circle whose diameter corresponds to the diameter of the upper side of the large pot. Using the same principle, we outline the placement and circle the circles for cutting holes for arranging six small pots. Use a jigsaw to cut the circumference of the lid and holes for small pots.
To transform small pots into hydraulic tanks, it is necessary to make small “punctures” in the walls and bottom of the products using a soldering iron
The construction is ready. It remains to equip it with a spraying system. To do this, you need to purchase or prepare:
- Indoor fountain pump 2500 l / h;
- Turntable for lawn watering;
- A piece of metal-plastic 50 cm;
- 2 adapters for metal-plastic.
We install an adapter on the pump, fix a metal-plastic plate to it, the other end of which is also connected to the spinner by means of an adapter.
We install the system at the bottom of the tank. Due to the fact that the spinner has a different angle of inclination of the jet supply, we can always adjust the most convenient placement
Place the spinner with the pump on the bottom of the container, into which the solution is poured, and cover it with a lid. Ordinary drain pipes can be used as a plug. The system is ready for operation, it remains to connect it to the power supply and adjust the angle of supply and dispersion of jets into the pots.
You can fix plants in pots with a soft clip, which is quite simple to make from water-repellent synthetic foam. Nutrient solutions can be purchased ready-made from horticultural stores. They include potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, nitrogen and other trace elements necessary for plant growth.
