Which indoor cultivation systems best suit your needs and what are the advantages and disadvantages of each system? Roughly speaking, a distinction can be made between systems that work with an inert (sterile) substrate or even without any substrate at all and systems that work with traditional potting soil.
The first category is called hydroponic systems. Hydroponic means growing plants in water. This technique is completely different from that on soil. With hydroponic cultivation, all the nutrients necessary for the plant are supplied via the water. With organic cultivation on soil, important nutrients become available through the actions of fungi and micro-organisms living in the soil. You could therefore say that with this cultivation method, the soil life is fed instead of the plant itself. The most extreme example of this is the “living soil” method. A cultivation method in which the plant is only supplied with water and obtains all its nutrients from the substances that are released when organic material decays. At the same time, this is also the most natural method.
Nitrogen (N) Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K) are the most important nutrients for every plant. Depending on the life phase of the plant, it needs different doses of these elements. In hydroponics, these elements are added directly to the nutrient solution. Unfortunately, this is only possible in synthetic form (mineral fertilizers).
Organic nutrients consist partly of trace elements and micro-organisms. Living elements need soil they can colonize and simply do not survive in a container with water.
Of course, you can also feed your plants with mineral fertilizers when you grow them on soil. Over time, the soil will become salinized by adding these minerals and soil life will disappear. The soil then becomes a sterile substrate and you are therefore actually growing hydroponically.
Indoor cultivation systems
The characteristic of hydroponics is that the plants are grown on a sterile medium and are given mineral fertilizers. As a grower, you have complete control over the growth process. This is in contrast to growing on soil, where you are dependent on processes that you have much less influence on for a good result.
In principle, all plants can be grown both according to a hydro method and on soil.
G-tools can supply a growing system for indoor cultivation suitable for both hydro cultivation and cultivation on soil. Below is a description of how they work.
DWC, Deep Water Culture system
In this system, the plants grow directly with their roots in water in which the fertilizers are dissolved. The plant itself is placed in a so-called “net cup”. Net cups are baskets through which the plant roots can grow until they have reached the water level in the underlying water container. In order to firmly anchor the plants, the net cups can be filled with hydro grains or another sterile substrate.
Many professional growers work with Deep Water Culture systems. Fast-growing leafy vegetables such as lettuce and spinach do particularly well in this system. The plants are placed in holes on rafts that float in enormous basins with water and nutrients.
Plants with more deep root systems such as cannabis and pepper plants also do well in these systems.
Because the solution of water and mineral fertilizers has a relatively long shelf life, this method requires relatively little maintenance. However, dosing the nutrients and maintaining the correct acidity (PH) does require a lot of time and the right tools. Examples of DWC systems offered by G-Tools are the Flow Hydroponics systems and the smaller 3 in 1 systems.
DWC systems with “floats” are often used for growing salads and leafy vegetables.
Drip irrigation system
A drip irrigation system involves placing a dripper directly next to each plant. These drippers are connected to a pump in a water tank that switches on at set times and pumps water to the plants. These can be plants in a sterile medium such as rock wool or coconut. In this way, you grow hydroponically and are bound to the use of a mineral fertilizer. But you can also use the drip irrigation system for pots with soil. You can choose to fill the water tank with organic nutients or you use no nutrients at all and work according to the “living soil” principle.
A drip irrigation system involves placing a dripper directly next to each plant.
Drip irrigation systems are particularly suitable for growing larger plants with a longer life cycle, such as cannabis, tomatoes, peppers, etc. For these systems, you will need a grow table and a special ebb & flow tray. In our webshop you will also find fully assembled drip irrigation systems. The great thing about these systems is that they can be converted into an ebb & flow system in no time.
Ebb & Flow indoor cultivation systems
The name says it all, this type of cultivation system works according to an ebb & flow method in which the plants in pots are placed on a special tray that is pumped full of water with nutrients at set times (flood). The plants are now in the nutrient solution and absorb it through holes in the bottom of the pot. As soon as the pump that pumps the nutrient solution into the tray stops, it empties again (ebb).
It is important that you use a suitable tray for this. G-tools ebb & flow trays have a raised edge and are designed with special drainage channels. This causes the tray to dry completely after each watering. This is not only important for healthy plant growth, but it also reduces the chance of algae growth and harmful bacteria.
In addition to water and nutrients, plant roots also need oxygen. Ebb & flow systems contribute to healthy oxygen renewal in the bottoms of the pots where the root system is located. During each flood period, the rising water pushes the oxygen from the bottom of the pot out of the substrate. During the ebb period, the water sinks out of the pot and fresh oxygen is sucked into the substrate.
Ebb & flow systems can be used with both a sterile substrate and with soil. They are often used for growing many small plants such as cuttings or seedlings.
Ebb & flow systems are also very suitable for growing microgreens and sprouts. Special cellulose growing mats are available for this purpose with a large water absorption capacity that can be fully composted after use.
In an ebb & flow growing system, the plants are placed on special trays that are regularly flooded.
