How-To Hydroponics 4th Edition - agriculture

1 NEW FEATUREE mbedded hyperlinksin this documentenable you to quicklyfind more informationand purchase theproducts featured inthis book by simplyclicking on underlined linkswill launch your webbrowser for access toadditional informationand online time huntingfor hard to find partsby clicking thelinked items in theconstruction guideparts Hydroponics4th editionKeith Roberto4 How-To HydroponicsThe author of this information and its publish-ers disclaim any personal liability, loss or risksincurred as a consequence of the use and applica-tion, either directly or indirectly, of any advice,information or methods presented right and license to all publications, imagesand copy contained within are reserved. No partof this publication may be reproduced, copied,sold or presented to or for anyone other than thepurchasing agent granted specific license at timeof purchase.

2 Contact author at address below forlicensing imagery, diagrams or textual Edition published 1994 Second Edition revised 1997 Third Edition published 1999 Fourth Edition completely revised text, images and illustrationsCopyright 1994-2003 Keith design by Marissa MorrisISBN - 0-9672026-1-2 Published by:The Futuregarden Pressa division of Futuregarden, Rome StreetFarmingdale, New York Hydroponics , the fourth Edition , represents the largestand most concise body of work I ve accomplished on the subjectof Hydroponics thus far. So much has changed as technology andman s understanding of the science has progressed over the years,that I felt compelled to produce this new Edition to keep myreaders up to date and to further inspire others to give hydroponicsa try. How-To Hydroponics has been written in an easy to followstyle that combines a basic yet comprehensive background in thescience of Hydroponics with the hands-on experience that makeslearning fun.

3 Whether you grow for fun, food or profit, thiscompletely revised Edition covers everything you ll need to knowto develop a working knowledge of the ll learn, step-by-step, how to build and operate all thehydroponic and aeroponic systems detailed for construction in thebook. You ll learn how to grow your favorite flowers, herbs andveggies with this exciting technology that is revolutionizing theagricultural industry. How-To Hydroponics Fourth Editionencompasses over a decade of research and development in thefield of Hydroponics . I have spared no expense to provide youwith all the knowledge you ll need to get growing quickly andsuccessfully with Hydroponics . Every effort has been made toensure that all the known questions and discrepancies fromprevious editions have been answered and corrected in thisedition. Of course I m only human, so if you find something I vemissed, please let me know!

4 My email is included on this best results, I recommend that you read this book in theorder it has been written so as not to miss any important info thatcould sacrifice the quality of your results. Take the time to readthis book entirely before beginning any type of planning orconstruction. The important information within will certainlyaffect your decisions of what, where and how to grow, and it willultimately improve your chances for Regards,Keith For Food & Are What You To The Starts With A Is Hydroponics ?..10A Brief History Of All Gardeners Can Learn From s All About The And Gravel Dutch Bucket Rockwool Slab Drip Nutrient Film Technique (NFT)..23 The Raft Gedi Organic Composition Of Nutrients ..27 Micro A Hydroponic Your Own Nutrient Concentration And Solution Microbiology ..37 Supercharge Your Garden With And There Be Intensity Discharge (HID) (Photoperiod).

5 41 Color (Photosynthetic spectrum) ..42 Choosing A Grow As A A Market For Your Your Local Quality Prospective s Get Growing!..49 Growers Guide To Popular Started With Seed Starting ..52 Making clones of your favorite Your Hydroponic Stages Of In The First Line Of , Algae And Pest Management Web Your Own Your Hydroponic Hydroponic Systems You Can System Plans Hydroponic You ll Lettuce Raft You ll Aerospring You ll Growers Dutch Bucket You ll Dutch Bucket Garden Growers PVC Pipe You ll Pipe Gardens - Growers Spare Closet Do-It-Yourself Prefabricated Professional .. HydroponicsPlants For Food & PharmacyPlants are Mother Nature s ultimate factories. Powered bylight from the sun, plants combine the earth s most basicchemical elements with water and gases in the air to create foodand energy for growth.

6 They not only feed themselves, but justabout every other living organism on the food chain, includingus. Much of modern medicine is also based upon botanicalextracts and compounds found only in plants. In fact, thesciences of phytochemistry and pharmacognosy are all aboutmaking medicines from plants. In addition, almost everymanufacturer in the health and beauty business uses botanicalextracts to help their products nourish our skin and Are What You EatThroughout my career in Hydroponics , this is the one messagethat has always stayed with me. I ve witnessed this phrase unfoldbefore me every time I ve planted a seed and harvested a fruit. Thecare that goes into cultivating that plant is mirrored in what comesout of it, so feed and care for your plants well, especially if youplan to eat them! If you re a computer geek like me, you mayrecall an old saying "GIGO," which means "garbage in, garbageout.

7 " Ring a bell? It s also true when growing why start a book on Hydroponics on an old adage? Simplybecause it s the most fundamental lesson you will ever learn whenit comes to growing, and perhaps even the quality of your own lifeas well. As a food factory, a plant must have an endless supply ofquality raw materials for it to continue manufacturing new stem,leaf, flowers and fruit that we see as growth. If any one of therequired raw materials runs out , the entire manufacturing processwill be affected or even interrupted completely. GIGO! And tofurther complicate matters, just as a human appetite changes asyou grow, so does that of plants. Since plants are not as mobile ashumans, satisfying their changing appetite is far more difficult innature than it is for us with a market on every corner. As a result,plants have adapted to the environment and climates theyIn addition to being one of the world s favoritefoods, the tomato contains Lycopene, a naturalcarotenoid that is responsible for its red and other antioxidants can helpprevent cellular damage and abnormal cellulargrowth.

8 This was my first harvest of the year (onMay 15th!) from my new backyard greenhousethat I ll show you how to build later And in many cases, they have sacrificed their owngenetic potential in doing so. For instance, if a plant is admiredfor its flavor and it is relocated to another environment, thestress may cause the plant to reduce the oils responsible for itssavory taste. If this stress continues, as the plant breeds it willadapt to overcome the environmental stress in futuregenerations, and this adaptation may very well result in ahealthy, but flavorless To The RescueIn order for any plant to reach its full genetic potential ofproducing the beautiful foliage, flowers or fruit its programmed tocreate, it must be provided with everything it needs in just the rightproportions, and, at just the right time. With the science ofhydroponics, this is possible by applying proper watering andfeeding regimens, environmental control and plenty of qualitylighting.

9 While the literal meaning of Hydroponics is nothing morethan feeding plants while irrigating ( farmers call it"fertigation"), its definition has expanded to include all the aspectsmentioned above as they apply to growing the perfect plant. Whilethe definition of the Hydroponics has expanded, misinformationalso persists. Many people still believe hydroponically grownplants are fed "steroids" or other dangerous chemicals to forcethem to grow so well. In fact, hydroponic growers are simply"allowing" plants to reach their full genetic potential by carefullyproviding for their needs as nature is sometimes unable to idea of growing a perfect plant has different meanings fordifferent people. For instance, an orchid fanatic may define theperfect plant as being of a certain rare variety, color or a commercial tomato grower, the perfect plant may be avariety that grows fast, resists disease and yields tasty fruit with along shelf life.

10 The orchid grower isn t looking to produce orchidsin the same fashion as the tomato grower. But in both instances, byapplying the principles you will learn in this book, both canachieve unrivaled success by using Hydroponics provides each grower with the ability tohelp his or her plants achieve their full growth potential, you mustbe aware of the one aspect that is beyond the control of allgrowers: genetics. A poor variety of tomato that lacks flavor whengrown in the field will likely lack flavor when grownSeed TermsOpen Pollinated means seeds produced by plantsunsegregated according to favorable or unfavor-able genetics. Most common vegetables andflowers are open pollinated since the varietieshave generally become indigenous to the localewhere they are grown and prosper Hybrid seeds are carefully produced by crossbreeding two pure bred parents.