9/29/2010 Maximum Yield - Indoor Gardening

Archive Article: July, 2010

Water as a Substrate: Aeroponics and Aero-Hydroponics

by Nou cet t a Keh di 2010-06-01 Print Email

When choosing a hydroponic system, one of the important factors to consider is

the substrate. A variety of options exist for the soilless gardener; among the most
common are rockwool, clay pebbles, coconut fiber, several peat mixes, lava rock,
perlite and vermiculite. It is important to choose the best option for your growing
method.

But do you really need a substrate? What does the substrate do? What is its action?
There remains a misconception among growers that the substrate alone handles the relations of air and water within plants’ root
systems. In reality the substrate’s role in plant growth is about 15 per cent, the other 85 per cent being in the hands of the grower.

A substrate is the medium in which a plant grows. It can be one material, or a combination of materials, that provide support,
aeration, plus water retention and distribute moisture to the plant. Basically, as far as the plant is concerned, the substrate must
hold water, oxygen and nutrients, drain correctly and stay neutral so that it does not interfere with the plant’s development.

The substrate must also respond to several other factors: it needs to be dependable, economical and light. It must be easy to
handle and easy to dispose of. Ideally it should be non-polluting and biodegradable. And if you grow green, you will want
something that is all-natural.

Some find all these parameters too tedious to sort through. So the next question is how necessary is the substrate? Can you do
without it or can you at least reduce it your dependence on it to a minimum amount?

This is where aeroponics and aero-hydroponics come into the picture. These
technologies respond exactly to these issues, and require little or no substrate. No
more carrying bags up the stairs; no more dumping loads of used material to the
rubbish; no more substrate-related pests and diseases.

What is aeroponics and what is aero-hydroponics?

Have you ever seen growing systems that mist the solution at the root level in a fog?
These are aeroponic systems, a technique where water is delivered to the roots as a
high-pressure fog.

This technique is not often used in its pure form. Although some companies like to call
their systems “aeroponic” systems, you will generally find them only in research
laboratories and universities.

Aeroponics has its advantages and inconveniences. It saturates the nutritive solution
with oxygen, which gives the plant’s roots the healthiest of environments. Its most
interesting application is plant propagation. But if you want to keep the crop all the
way to maturity, you will notice that the root zone will develop too fast and too much,
at the expense of the aerial portion of the plant. This is not what we are generally
looking for except in the case of root crops. Even then, it is not always practical
“ EGS” (Ein Gedi System)
because the roots often stay soft from being immersed in water, and won’t offer the
firm characteristics needed, like in the case of licorice root.

Aero-hydroponics is an adaptation of aeroponics. It really started in the mid 80s in California, where Lawrence Brooke of General
Hydroponics decided to bring aero-hydroponics into the mainstream market. He started with the “EGS” (Ein Gedi System), a unit
invented at the University of Davis in California, which was used essentially to study the content of oxygen in water, and
transformed it into one of the best propagation systems around.

This unit will spew out mist to the roots, not in the form of a fog system, but rather as a “vortex” spray. Today there are loads of
aero-hydroponic growing systems on the market, some very efficient, some less, depending on the experience and the know-how
of the manufacturer. You can even build your own with a little help from the many magazines and books found in hydro shops.

In aero-hydroponics water fills with oxygen through different methods: spray, injection and cascade. It relies on a pump that
pushes water through different sprayers and irrigation tubing, and falls back down into the reservoir. A well-conceived aero
hydroponic system must offer a good balance among its different components, and proper ratios between the different flows of
water and the shapes of its different components (tubes, reservoirs, sprayers and irrigation devices).

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9/29/2010 Maximum Yield - Indoor Gardening

Both aeroponics and aero-hydroponics need little or no substrate. They use only plant supports in the shape of coconut pots,
plastic net-pots or just neoprene rings, leaving water as the only substrate.

With aeroponics and aero-hydroponics you have eliminated the most gruesome problems
of substrates, but you may wonder if you have switched to others that are just as difficult
to address? No, not really. To safely eliminate the traditional substrates, you must ensure “Substrate must hold water,
water is available to the plant. You must also ensure there is good aeration, and a neutral
environment. In aeroponics and aero-hydroponics these are the basics. Well oxygenated oxygen and nutrient supply,
water is presented to the roots and drainage is ideal.
drain correctly and stay
Once this is said and done, the rest is in the hands of the grower. He or she must ensure
a well-balanced and comprehensive nutritive solution, a correct level of EC and pH, good neutral so that it does not
ventilation, temperature, humidity and cleanliness, as you would generally do for any
plant, and with any other growing technique. interfere with the plant’s

The advantage of the substrate is its buffering capacity, which means that contrary to development.”
water where parts of your roots hang bare in the air, the substrate surrounds the root
zone completely, and thus protects it from environmental variations like temperature,
humidity and accidents. This is why it is often recommended that a beginner start with substrate systems and switch to aero-
hydroponic systems once they have acquired a little more experience. Some manufacturers will offer “dual” growing units, with
special kits that allow you to switch from one substrate machine to a machine that doesn’t require substrate, as soon as you feel
more confident. And they will guarantee fast and free technical advice and follow up with their customers.

You can even choose aero-hydroponics as a beginner, if you wish. Just follow the instructions that come with your growing unit,
and you’ll see how simple it is. And don’t forget that, whichever technique you choose, it is not the system nor the fertilizer alone,
but the gardener who ensures the plant of a healthy development.

A few weeks ago in Berlin, I had the good fortune, and the pleasure, to meet Melchior, from High Five in Holland. As most Dutch
growers, he used the traditional rockwool and drip system, and was quite happy with it. Last year, an Australian friend of his left
him with a small aero-hydroponic system. Melchior played with it for a few months and was definitely persuaded. His plants
looked perfect, uniform and harmonized. His harvest was great—much better than any other he had in years. His greatest
accomplishments are the excellent yields he achieved, and the fact that he was ridden from substrate and all the hassles related to
it. Let’s see what we can accomplish with aeroponics and aero-hydroponics.

Other articles by Noucetta Kehdi

Hydroponics and Medicinal Plants Go

Hydroponics gardening resources by Maximum Yield, a free how-to hydroponics gardening and indoor gardening bi-monthly
magazine that is distributed internationally through stores that retail hydroponics gardening products.

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