Story: Introduction to Hydroponics
Episode: 6
Presenter: Neville Passmore
Air Date: 19th September 2020

Hydroponics are a great way to grow vegetables and other food crops at home.

• A nutrient solution is fed into a system where plants grow in a medium that has no soil. The plants absorb the nutrients, and this helps them to grow.
• This solution, which consists of refined soluble minerals, gets topped up regularly.
• Plants are grown from seed or cuttings in sterile rockwool called Cultilene then transferred into a pot or grow bed in into the growing medium.
• Alternatively, you can wash soil off seedling’s roots or sow seeds directly onto this expanded clay medium.
• There are many different systems you can use to home grow food. You can see these in action at the Demonstration Farm in Canning Vale.
• Tomatoes grow magnificently in a shallow aquaflute tray in expanded clay.
• Capsicums have their own Dutch Bato pots. This system is called Deep Flow.
• Strawberries and lettuce can be grown in an NFT system, where a film of nutrient solution just touches the bottom of the root system.
• Basil thrives in a shallow tray with nutrients fed in from a small reservoir by a pond pump.
• Ready to grow kits using all of these different systems are available from the shop in Canning Vale or online, together with a wealth of advice.

For more information, head to  
Hydroponicexpress.com.au