Gardening Tips
Contents
The Nutrient Film Technique , sometimes referred to as NFT , is one of the most populartypes of hydroponic systems . It ’s prized for how various and modular it is . By adding more NFT channels to the organisation ( I ’ll cover what those are later in the clause ) , you may importantly increase your yields without too much superfluous effort .
Listen to this post on the Epic Gardening Podcast
How NFT Systems Work
NFT is very similar to theEbb and course techniquefor one childlike ground : they both use water pumps to deliver the nutrient solution to your plants .
In a NFT system , gravity ultimately guide the water back to the main man-made lake . It ’s also a constantly course organisation as react to the deluge and debilitate mechanics of anEbb and Flow setup .
NFT systems are consider active systems , meaning they require moving parts to act upon . Systems likeWick SystemsorThe Kratky Methodare passive voice , simpler to build , and easier to take to the woods , but you may be sacrifice optimum growing conditions for those benefit .
Before we go on , take a look at this simple TV explaining the technique:
The key element of a good NFT system is how the nutrient solution flows over the roots . It has the word “ flick ” in it for a reason – ideally , a very small amount of water supply flows through the distribution channel . This allows the plants to get sufficient atomic number 8 so they do n’t swim .
It ’s important to choose plants that do n’t involve a lot of documentation when using a NFT setup . Lettuce , basil , and many other salad putting green flourish in NFT scheme , while fruiting plants like tomato and cucumbers require much more support . It can still be done , but it ’s labor - intensive to place up the keep structure for these types of plants.
Benefits of NFT
Overall , a grower will use the nutrient film technique over other methods due to their low price and criminal maintenance requirements , as well as their flexibility . However , there are many other benefit to develop in an NFT organization :
Downsides of NFT
Every type of system has its disadvantage , and NFT is no exception . Because roots are growing in throttle channel , they can choke off the channels . More downsides admit :
How to Build a NFT System
There are a million and one way you may design a NFT organization , all depending on the distance you have , the plants you want to rise , and other concerns . But , there are a few materials that every system should have:
The Reservoir
A lineament reservoir is essential to a unanimous NFT system . It ’s placed underneath your grow channel and water is pumped upwards to your channels .
When choosing a reservoir , make certain you ’re awarewhich charge plate are secure for gardening. This is peculiarly authoritative if you ’re growing in full sun .
I recommend plastic carryall from Home Depot , or 5 gallon bucket if you ’re prepare up a minuscule , hobbyist system.
NFT Channels
alternatively of flat tray like an Ebb and Flow system , a NFT organization uses tubes or TV channel to house your plant and growing medium . Many hobbyists prefer for polyvinyl chloride pipes because they ’re sluttish to buy and manipulate . All you need is a hole saw and somenet potsand you ’re off to the races .
The downside to using PVC is that it ’s a round tubing . This means that your nutrient answer will not hit your roots evenly and if you ’ve miscalculated the slope or catamenia rate , you might hunt into growth problems.
If you want to avoid that effect , you might go with rain gutter as a DIY option or even 2×4″s that are run along with a food - safe charge card sheet . But there are also plenty of products on the market that are customized for NFT produce systems as well if you want to get started quicker .
To transfer into your transmission channel , most people expend net pots and a small bit of growing mass medium to harbour the beginning of the roots in position . Then , the quietus of the solution just fall into the channel and are fed and watered via the nutrient solution running along the bottom of the channel.
When building or buy your NFT scheme , it ’s significant to look at the length of your channels . The plant that are closest to the water source will get the most nutrition and oxygen , and the ones at the oddment will get less . For this reason , have extremely long TV channel may be damaging .
Keep an eye on the plants at the last and equate their growth charge per unit to the plants at the beginning . If you see a difference , you may postulate to shorten the length of your channels.
Air Pump
You ’ll need an air pump to oxygenize the water in your reservoir . Because NFT systems also allow for a lot of melody in the channels or tube-shaped structure , this is less crucial than in other systems likedeep water culture . But it ’s still recommend and pumps are fairly inexpensive .
Recommended Product : Hydrofarm Air Pump
Air Stone(s)
The next logical item on the list are air gemstone . For NFT systems I typically like to use either an array of long tenuous airstones , or 2 - 3 of the orbitual airstones like the ones urge below . These also hail with suck cups , so you wo n’t need to bribe them separately .
Recommended Product : Hydrofarm Air Stone
Airline Tubing
For your tubing , it ’s authoritative to get black or dark tubing . Clear tubing has the voltage to motivate alga growth within the tube , which is n’t playfulness to shell out with . There ’s no real difference in price or quality , so I choose for the tubing that will give me less headaches in the farseeing run .
Recommended Product : Lee ’s Sleek Airline Tubing & Suction Cups
Water Pump
For a lowly scheme , a simple water heart like this will work just fine . If you ’re give way to grow commercially or large - scale , you ’ll require something toilsome obligation though .
recommend Product : Active Aqua Water Pump
Once you have all of your textile , you’re able to determine them up in a manner similar to this diagram ( taken from the video at the beginning of this article ):
Growing Tips For Your Nutrient Film Technique System
Control your environs . This is n’t a tip that is specific to NFT … you should always check your surround to the best of your ability . It ’s important in NFT systems in particular because your roots are more exposed than other method . This make believe controlling airwave temp , humidity , and airwave fall even more important .
curb your temperature . Again , this is a pourboire that go for to many systems , but it ’s deserving iterate . Your nutritious solution should always remain in the 65 - 68 ° range for root health , as well as optimum nutrient concentration and dissolved oxygen ( DO ) levels .
settle how to start your plants . How you start out your flora determines their future success in your NFT system . It ’s common to start in rockwool cubes , but I personally prefer to use Rapid Rooter starter plugs ( I’mnot a big fan of rockwool ) . However you decide to start seeds , check that it will transplant well into NFT channels .
Keep your nutrient solution calibrated . You ’ll regain your works thrive in your NFT organisation equate to other methods , and twice so compared to soil . But that increased maturation mean increase water and nutrient uptake . Make certain your plants are using water and food at the same charge per unit . If they ’re not , top up one or the other ( or both ) appropriately .
Monitor your pH. For most plants grown hydroponically , a pH range of 5.8 - 6.3 is ideal . It ’s very easy for large fluctuation to happen if you ’re not careful , so supervise often and check that you ’re within this range , lest you face nutrient lockout . you could either do this with a pH test outfit or something like theBluelab pH Pen .
Remember to transfer your reservoir . About every week it ’s a good estimation to change out your artificial lake completely . The larger your tank , the longer you’re able to go without a complete alimental answer change , but it ’s good to switch more often than wait too long . This ensure a dead calibrate system with the good amount of nutrition for your mature plants .
Keep light out of your reservoir . Make your life sentence easy by keep your roots in the dark . If ignitor gets through and hits the roots and nutrient solution , you are opening yourself up to alga growth , which is both a pain in the neck to handle with and affects the growth charge per unit of your plants .
Keep your environment clear . This is a no - brainer . Everything around your nft system should be as clean as the system itself . When you harvest from the system , give it a recondite cleaning before you transplant fresh seedling in .
Start slow . After you transpose your seedlings into your system , do n’t go too strong with your nutrient solution . The back of the nursing bottle on most nutrient you may buy is higher than your seedlings need , so cut it by 25 - 50 % , gradually moving up as your plants grow .
Use a one-half intensity level nutrient solution to start your plants off , moving to two thirds to full dosage pace ( as detail on the bottle ) after the first alimentary solution variety ( about 7 – 10 days after planting ) .
Check your root wellness . Peek into your NFT channel once in a while to supervise your root health . They should be promising white and flourishing .
Use the correct grow medium . Whatever you practice to surround your plants ’ stems , check that it is n’t blocking the antecedent zone from developing . This will stunt growth !
Support your plants . As your plant develop , you may necessitate to post them , splice them , or use some sort of support as they begin to fruit or flower .
Do n’t plant too dense . Because the ascendant grow through your NFT channels , you execute the peril of clog your television channel if you imbed too close together .
transplantation into your NFT system at the right sentence . Make trusted that you graft your plants into your system when the roots have modernise to the point where they ’re already peeking out of the starter plug ( or whatever else you used to initiate seeds ) . By waiting until this point , you ’re allowing the stem to have immediate access to pee and food once they ’re in the scheme .
Header image courtesy ofJackie
