Passive System
A passive hydroponics system is great for beginners and requires minimal setup and equipment. It consists of a pot, or other container, filled with a soilless media (i.e. steadyGROWpro soilless media), which is placed in a pot saucer. The plant, or seed, is placed in the soilless media and fed a nutrient solution (water and nutrients). Some of this nutrient solution will drain into the saucer and continue to feed the plant for many hours or days. Providing water and or a nutrient solution is performed by hand.
Aeroponic System
An aeroponic system is a method of growing without soil or soil substitute. This system supplies the roots of plants with a fine mist of liquid nutrients (water and nutrients). The liquid nutrients are held at the bottom of a container, and are pulled from a hydroponic nutrient pump outlet into a spinning nozzle or a similar method for creating a spray or mist of water. This spinning nozzle provides the fine mist to the roots of the plants that are suspended at the top of the nutrient container. There should be enough room for the roots to dangle and not be submerged in the nutrients at the bottom of the tank. The pump can be connected to a timer for the grower to automate and regulate the supply of the liquid nutrients to the plants.
NFT (Nutrient Film Technique)
An NFT system is one of the easiest and most effective methods of growing hydroponically. This system is a great way to continue the growth of plants after their germination in soilless medias like steadyGROWpro. Once the seeds have germinated and have enough root structure, they can be arranged in rows of channels where the roots dangle freely. A holding tank at the bottom of the channel(s) pumps its liquid nutrients (water and nutrients) to the top of the channel. The liquid nutrients run down the channel, flowing past the roots at a very shallow level, before flowing back into the holding tank. This cycle is usually run continuously throughout the day, but shut off during the night.
Dripper Feed System
A grower can have more control using an automated dripper feed system than with most other hydroponic systems. This is a system that can be used during every stage of a plant's growth in steadyGROWpro or other soilless media. Liquid nutrients (water and nutrients) are pumped from a holding tank to drippers that hang over plants, or are inserted into the media. Using basic plug in timers, the frequency of each drip pick or tube can be adjusted to meet the needs of a particular plant. This can be a tremendous advantage as growers can have one system to feed a variety of plants, during all stages of growth. The steadyGROWpro all in one hydroponic bucket is an excellent example of a simple drip system.
Water Culture System
A water culture system is a popular system for growing leafy plants like lettuce. The plants are floated, or held, in a holding tank of liquid nutrients (water and nutrients). An air pump is connected to a perforated tube, resting at the bottom of the holding tank, and is run continuously. This provides oxygen to the nutrients and keeps them moving around the plant's roots. This is a great system to further the growth of plants that have germinated in a soilless media like steadyGROWpro.
Ebb & Flood System
An ebb and flood system is one of the more complicated methods of growing hydroponically. This system can be used during every stage of a plant's growth in steadyGROWpro or other soilless media. The plants, in their media, sit in a table that can be flooded with liquid nutrients (water and nutrients). After a set amount of time, the liquid nutrients are allowed to ebb back into the holding tank from where they were originally pumped. This cycle runs continuously on timers that can be adjusted by the grower as the plants mature.
