Growing Systems — DWC

What the systems on this page share is that there is no substrate in between. The roots hang in or above a nutrient solution that is kept actively moving, and that produces the fastest growth of any method. It also leaves the smallest margin for error, because nothing is left to absorb a mistake.

Standing water: RDWC

In deep water culture the roots hang permanently in aerated nutrient water. The Growrilla Hydroponic 2.0 comes in 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 12, 16 and 18 pots, the Growrilla PRO with wider pipes, a filter and a float valve from 3 to 18, and the layouts are worked out for tents: the four-pot puts two rows of two on 80 x 105 cm and fills a 120 x 120 tent. Recirculating means the buckets are linked, so temperature, pH and EC stay equal throughout and you measure and correct in one place rather than bucket by bucket. The ALIEN RDWC 16 Pot with 20 litre pots is the largest; it is not shipped and is collected from us.

Moving water: aeroponic and flowing

The AeroFarm 45L mists the solution over the roots rather than suspending them in it, with insert openings at 2 or 3 inch, and choosing between them is about the thickness of your plant's base rather than about root room. The RainForest 72 does the same across 72 sites on a Vortex motor and is meant for batches, a whole generation of cuttings at once; the CuttingBoard is the small version of it. The GrowStream 10 and 20 keep the solution flowing past ten or twenty positions on the Aeroflo principle.

What you arrange in advance

The pump must not fail: without oxygen or without circulation you have hours rather than days. Keep the water cool, because warm water holds less oxygen, and chillers are under Water & Irrigation. Measure more often than you would in soil, with a meter from EC Meters, and on the larger setups plan a reservoir that is big enough: twenty plants on the same flow use twice what ten do.

Frequently asked questions

Why recirculating rather than separate buckets?
Because separate buckets drift apart. Each one develops its own pH and EC as soon as the plants drink differently, and then you are measuring and correcting eight of them instead of one.

What happens in a power cut?
In a standing system the water runs out of oxygen quickly and the roots suffocate; in a flowing system the supply stops. Both are a matter of hours, which makes this the category where a spare pump is not a luxury.

Do I still need pots and medium?
Net pots yes, medium barely. The roots grow straight through the mesh and the medium mostly holds the plant upright; clay pebbles are the usual filling and are under Clay Pebbles.