- Image by Ryan Somma via Flickr
There are 6 basic types of hydroponics systems:
- Drip (Top-feed)
- Wick (Capillary)
- Ebb and Flow (Flood and Drain)
- Water Culture
- N.F.T (Nutrition Film Technique)
- Aeroponic (Spray)
Nutrient Film Technique
The Nutrient Film Technique, NFT, is one of the most popular hydroponics garden growing methods.
A pump, normally submerged in the nutrient reservoir tank, pumps a thin film of nutrient along a channel and past the roots of the growing plants. This gives the plant access to sufficient nutrient and oxygen, the two key ingredients for great plant growth.
- Image by SheepGuardingLlama via Flickr
The nutrient can be pumped continuously or at timed intervals using a programmed timer.
The channel holds net pots containing the plants. This allows the roots to hang down into the channel. The upper roots in air, the lower roots in the nutrient solution.
The size of channel will depend on the plants being grown. For example lettuce can be grown in a narrow channel whereas tomatoes will produce a large root system and will need a wide channel to avoid the roots clogging up the channel and blocking the free flow of the nutrient solution.
Most hydroponics garden vegetables thrive in a NFT system, especially the following:
- cucumbers, letuce, eggplant, cabbage, cauliflower, tomatoes
However I have not had much success with growing flowers.
Benefits of using the Nutrient Film Technique, NFT, include:
- easy to set up and maintain
- fast growth and heavy yield with little fuss
- self-watering, which means it can be left for a few days unattended
- uses very little growing media, which reduces cost
- less chances of disease: There is no soil and very little growing media, risk of soil-borne pests and diseases is minimised
- no build up of nutrient in the growing media : the excess nutrient is drained back into the reservior tank for re-use
- no over-watering or water-logged growing media: very little growing media and the nutrient is being pumped into the growing channel and the excess nutrient draining back into the reservior tank.
- because the nutrient is pumped through the root systems constantly, the plants take up increased levels of water and therefore nutrient, compared to other systems.
