NFT Do you want Earlier Bigger Taste Hydroponic Crops Yields Explosion Excellence Find out more basic steps to successful growing
BASIC STEPS TO GROWING SUCCESSFULLY USING NFT NFT (NUTRIENT FILM TECHNIQUE) NFT is uniquely simple. It involves a shallow film of nutrient solution (nutrient & water) constantly recirculating past the roots of your plants. Nutrient solution is pumped from a tank to the channel, over the plant roots and back into the tank. It is the recirculating film that differentiates NFT from other hydroponic growing methods. RAISING OR OBTAINING YOUR PLANTS For successful transplanting to your NFT system you need strong healthy transplants with abundant white roots on the OUTSIDE of the propagation block. A propagation block comprises any artificial or soil-less medium in which the transplant is raised from seed or cutting. ARE MY PLANTS READY? Both plants shown are ready for your NFT system. If your plants are not at this stage DO NOT transplant. It is always better to delay transplanting until correct root stage is reached in order to achieve best results in the end. The reason for this is that if white roots aren't abundant on the outside of the propagation block at transplanting to NFT the block will absorb a large volume of solution. The roots inside the block will be saturated but with no access to oxygen. As a result they will die-back and successful introduction to NFT will not be possible. THIS IS WHAT YOU WANT CONVENTIONAL PROPAGATION BLOCK AEROPONIC PROPAGATION BLOCK THIS IS WHAT YOU GET BIG CROP: THE RESULTS YOU CAN EXPECT THE DENSE ROOT MAT YOU CAN EXPECT PAGE ONE
RAISING TRANSPLANTS FROM SEED ENSURE YOUR ENVIRONMENT IS GOOD ENOUGH FOR THE PLANTS YOU INTEND TO GROW. IF NECESSARY USE A PROPAGATOR. R R R A. USING SOILESS COMPOST Germinate seed in a seed tray of compost. When seedlings are large enough to handle, transplant to a suitable size round plastic pot with drainage holes. (2.5 /3 (75mm) for tomatoes (1.25 (35/40mm) for lettuce. Alternatively germinate seed directly in the correct sized pot. Water as necessary. If your compost contains nutrient (see label) use water only. If your compost does not contain nutrient use a complete hydroponic nutrient at half strength. If necessary adjust ph in the watering can. Your plants are ready to be transplanted to your NFT system when you can remove the pot and the compost remains bound by the abundant white roots of your transplants. B. USING ARTIFICIAL COMPOST The leading brand in this category is it is recommended by Nutriculture. and N.B. Before using any products always thoroughly soak the material overnight in water at ph 5.5 and allow to drain. This reduces the alkalinity in the propagation block. Additional beneficial drainage may be achieved by squeezing the block prior to use. Using the small propagator block, plant the seed in the block and allow to germinate. Gently bury and cover over the seed using a blunt instrument. When the seedling develops it s first green leaf begin to water sparingly with half strength complete hydroponic nutrient. If necessary adjust ph in the watering can. When seedling has developed white roots to the outside of the small block it can be transplanted to a larger propagation block soaked (at ph 5.5) and drained as before. Alternatively, seedlings raised in soil-less compost can be transplanted at this stage to a. propagation block instead of a soil-less compost in a pot. As necessary hand water seedlings with half strength hydroponic nutrient. Your plants are ready to transplanted to your NFT system when white roots are abundant on the outside of block (inside the plastic liner). RAISING TRANSPLANTS FROM CUTTINGS FOLLOW THE PROCEDURE EXACTLY AS FOR SEED PRODUCTION BUT NOTE THAT YOU SHOULD NEVER USE NUTRIENTS IN THE WATER UNTIL YOUR CUTTING HAS ROOTED. TIP: FOR RAISING SEEDLINGS OR CUTTINGS, OVERWATERING SLOWS ROOT GROWTH DRAMATICALLY. ALWAYS TEND TO KEEP YOUR PLANTS SLIGHTLY ON THE DRY SIDE. PAGE TWO
TRANSPLANTING TO NFT CHANNELS ENSURE THAT YOUR SET-UP IS LEAK PROOF BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO TRANSPLANT. ALWAYS TEST YOUR PUMPING SYSTEM IS IN GOOD WORKING ORDER BEFORE TRANSPLANTING. Fill your collection tank with clean water (no nutrient) several days before transplanting. (Note the volume of water your tanks holds. You will need this information later when working out how much hydroponic nutrient to use.) This allows the water temperature to rise to room temperature and also allows time for testing and for chlorine to escape from tap-water. If the water temperature is too low (minimum 65 O F 17 O C) use a water heater to raise water temperature. 1. PLACING SPREADER MAT Place spreader mat into the channel. Use only 1 layer of quality spreader mat. It's only function is to spread the water as it comes from the inlet to the channel. To prevent leaks at the channels ends where water "drops" into the collection tank or duct always over-hang the spreader mat to provide a path for the water from the channel to tank or duct. Solution flow is generally unimportant but should normally be between 400 ml and 1500ml (1 to 3 pints) per min. per channel. Ensure that your channels are sufficiently sloped, normally not less than 1:50 but may be much steeper if set-up allows, so that there is no "pooling" in the channels. NFT channels should always be covered this prevents algal growth in the nutrient solution. When you are happy with the reliability of your system and water temperature and the air space environment is adequate for your plant type you can transplant to your channels. At this stage your system will contain water only. 2. PLANTING OUT Remember you should have abundant white roots on the outside of your propagation block before transplanting (see right). Planting out distances should be appropriate for your plant type. Plants grown in NFT seem to prefer their roots to run together so with tall plants where there is good opportunity to train the stems to make full use of air space plants can be set out reasonably close together. The picture right shows a typical planting arrangement in a NFT system approximately 1 week after planting. PAGE THREE
THE FIRST FEW DAYS THESE ARE VITAL TO SUCCESS IN NFT. THE SUCCESSFUL TRANSPLANT QUICKLY PROJECTS ROOTS FROM THE PROPAGATION BLOCK AND INTO THE WATER FLOW. In the right conditions root growth is amazingly rapid - several inches per day. Signs of successful growth into the water should be seen within 48 hours. At this stage drain-off the water, refill with water, if necessary adding some hot or warm water to bring water temperature to acceptable level and add hydroponic nutrients at half strength. The picture right shows a plant in the early stages of rooting out from the propagation block. Additionally you should adjust the ph of the solution if necessary. How do you do this? The best method varies a little depending on whether you are using soft or hard water. A. USING SOFT WATER 1. Determine the ph of the nutrient/water mix in your collection tank using an approved test kit eg: Nutriculture liquid ph test. 2. Determine the ph you wish to run your NFT system. Most authorities recommended between ph 5.8 and 6.5. 3. If the ph of the solution is in the correct range do nothing. 4. If the ph of the solution is above the correct range add phosphoric acid (ph down). 5. If the ph is below the correct range add potassium hydroxide (ph up) B. USING HARD WATER - ie: water which causes your kettle or boiler to "fur" up. 1. Determine the ph of the water (BEFORE ANY NUTRIENT IS ADDED) in the collection tank. 2. Determine the ph you wish to run your NFT system. Most authorities recommended between ph 5.8 and 6.5. 3. The ph of hard water is always higher than 6.5 so you need to add phosphoric acid (ph down) to bring the water to the correct ph range. 4. Add hydroponic nutrients to the water and begin circulation. 5. After an hour or so recheck ph and add more phosphoric acid (ph down) if necessary. SAFETY FIRST Phosphoric acid is strongly acidic and Potassium hydroxide is strongly alkaline. Always follow the safety instructions on the container. NEVER EVER mix phosphoric acid with potassium hydroxide. You should never need both materials on the same site. USEFUL TIPS Phosphoric acid and potassium hydroxide are very dense chemicals which do not mix readily with water. To improve mixing so as to get the best results from your ph test kit add phosphoric acid or potassium hydroxide very sparingly to a glass of warm water stirring vigorously before adding it to the nutrient solution. Once in the solution stir vigorously again, or allow ample circulation of the nutrient (say over 1 hour) before retesting ph. Finally it is very easy to overdose with either chemical. It is not critical for your plants that the ph should always be in the determined range, while overdosing is always very harmful so go easy and use either chemical very sparingly. Be satisfied to adjust ph to your chosen level over several days. Take a note of the amount of phosphoric acid used to adjust your first tank of nutrient solution it will make it much easier when you need to do it again at solution changes. PAGE FOUR
R MAINTAINING THE NFT SYSTEM FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS ON YOUR HYDROPONIC NUTRIENTS. THESE INSTRUCTIONS WILL TELL YOU WHEN TO USE HIGHER OR LOWER LEVELS OF NUTRIENT OR IF IT IS APPROPRIATE TO CHANGE TO LEAF PROMOTING OR FLOWER PROMOTING NUTRIENT FORMULATIONS. Avoid large changes in either ph or nutrient strength and do not let the solution level in your tank drop significantly. On larger systems an automatic top-up device can be fitted to prevent this happening. If you are monitoring your solution strength using a conductivity meter always top-up the tank with water to it's maximum level about 1 hour before testing for nutrient strength. This will ensure an accurate reading. If you are using the "top-up" method of nutrition (dose rates will be given on your nutrient pack) it is especially convenient to make-up a large container of nutrient solution so you can draw off just sufficient to top-up the tank on a regular basis, say every day or so. Check and adjust the ph of the solution as necessary. In soft water areas very little adjustment (if any) will be needed but in hard water areas (and especially if using ) there will be a tendency for the ph to rise gradually after you have previously adjusted it down to the correct level. Do not be alarmed by this. Do not be tempted to add extra acid. As necessary simply adjust ph back down to preferred level. OBSERVE ROOT GROWTH REGULARLY The key to successful growing, assuming your shoot environment is favourable to the plant you have, is to obtain a full healthy root system outside of propagation block. It is worth detailing what you are looking for. Plant roots have three components:- 1. PRIMARY ROOTS These are the large diameter roots which first emerge from the propagation block into the nutrient solution and which grow so rapidly. 2. SECONDARY ROOTS These are smaller diameter laterals emerging from the primary roots. The large surface area of these roots makes them vital in taking-up nutrients and water from the nutrient solution. Incidentally plants don't always take-up nutrients and water from the solution in the same ratio as you add it. They have a mechanism known as "active" uptake which enables plants to determine what they want to take-up from all that is provided in the solution. This is why NFT is so successful for growing plants. 3. ROOT HAIRS These are vital to the health of your plants. Root hairs take-up atmospheric oxygen (which is as essential to plants as it is to humans). Root hairs are the lungs of the plant. Most plants cannot absorb sufficient oxygen from the solution for healthy growth so it follows that the roots of your plants should always have roots hairs present and above the solution level in the channel. It is essential to keep the solution from pooling so that roots are not submerged. This is achieved by having an adequate slope and appropriate inlet solution flow. Note that atmospheric oxygen will always penetrate into the root zone irrespective of your channel cover or the length of your channel. Remember NO ROOTS, NO SHOOTS. PAGE FIVE The picture above shows the dense root mat you can expect from your NFT system.
KEY THINGS TO REMEMBER 1. TRANSPLANT WHEN ROOT BOUND. 2. ENSURE ATMOSPHERIC (AIR SPACE) ENVIRONMENT IS SUITABLE FOR THE PLANT YOU INTEND TO GROW. 3. FOLLOW NUTRIENT INSTRUCTIONS ON NUTRIENT LABEL. 4. MAINTAIN NUTRIENT & PH LEVELS. 5. MONITOR & CONTROL PESTS AND DISEASE. PAGE SIX
Do you want Find out more Bigger Taste Hydroponic Crops Yields Explosion Excellence Do you want Earlier Crops Bigger Yields Taste Explosion Hydroponic Excellence Find out more Do you want Bigger Taste Hydroponic Crops Yields Explosion Excellence Find out more EBB & FLOOD Earlier basic steps to successful growing NFT basic steps to successful growing PROPAGATION Earlier basic steps to successful growing CONTACT YOUR STOCKIST FOR MORE GROWING GUIDES 99% OF ALL HYDROPONIC QUESTIONS ARE ANSWERED IN THESE GUIDES STOCKIST 3-5 PADDOCK ROAD, SKELMERSDALE, LANCASHIRE, WN8 9PL TELEPHONE: +44 (0) 1695 554 080 FAX: +44 (0) 1695 554 081 E-MAIL: sales@nutriculture.com WEBSITE: www.nutriculture.com