Understanding Hydroponics Systems

1. Understanding Hydroponics Systems Reminder: student learning activities are at the end of this power point.

2. Next Generation Science / Common Core Standards Addressed! • RST.11‐12.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to important distinctions the author makes and to any gaps or inconsistencies in the account (HS‐LS2‐1), (HS‐LS2‐2), (HS‐LS2‐6), (HS‐LS2‐8) • RST.11‐12.7 Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., quantitative data, video, multimedia) in order to address a question or solve a problem. (HS‐LS2‐6), (HS‐LS2‐7), (HS‐LS2‐8) • HSS‐IC.B.6 Evaluate reports based on data. (HS‐LS2‐6)

3. Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resource Standards Addressed! • PS.03.02. Develop and implement a management plan for plant production. • PS.03.02.07.a. Summarize the use of hydroponic and aquaponic systems for plant production

4. Bell Work / Learning Objectives • Explain the meaning of hydroponics and describe some of its advantages and disadvantages. • Describe the basic requirements for hydroponically grown plants. • Identify common hydroponic systems.

5. Terms • Aeroponics • Aggregate culture • Circulating systems • Hydroponics • Nutriculture • Nutrient film technique (NFT) • Parts per million (ppm) • Respiration • Rockwool • Soilless culture

6. Can Crops be Grown Here?

7. What is Hydroponics? • Explain the meaning of hydroponics and describe some of its advantages and disadvantages.

8. Hydroponics • Growing plants with their roots in a medium other than soil. • Combination of two Greek words. “Hydro” means water and “ponics” means labor. • Sometimes, hydroponics is referred to as soilless culture because soil is not used. • Although it sounds new, hydroponics was documented over 300 years ago.

9. Strawberry plants cultivated on vertical poles on a hydroponic farm in Israel in 1970

10. What advantages and disadvantages are associated with hydroponics? • Some advantages of hydroponic production include the following: • Greatly reduced risk of damage caused by insects that attack below soil level. • No dormant weed seeds in soil. • Plants can be placed closer together. • Easier to harvest.

11. Some advantages of hydroponic production cont. • Easier to adjust nutrient levels based on a plant’s maturity. • pH level can be adjusted easily. • Allows for high quality yields in areas with poor growing conditions, limited water and extreme weather conditions. • Maintain a desirable climate to maximize production.

12. Some disadvantages of hydroponic systems include the following: • High initial investment for commercial systems. • Some diseases can spread rapidly. • Flower pollination can be difficult in greenhouse settings where pollinators are absent. Example wind, bees.

13. What requirements must hydroponic systems meet in order for plants to grow? • Describe the basic requirements for hydroponically grown plants. • Temperature • Light • Water • Oxygen • Nutrients • Physical Support of plants

14. Requirements in Detail: • Temperature • Since most hydroponic systems are in greenhouses or confined areas, temperature can be set. Each type of plant has an optimal temperature range for maximum growth.

15. Requirements cont. • Light • All vegetables and most flowering plants need large amounts of light. Hydroponically grown vegetables require 8 to 10 hours of direct sunlight daily for healthy growth. Commercial operations sometimes use high powered lamps to increase light intensity and duration.

16. Requirements cont. • Water • Providing plants with enough water is not a problem with water culture systems. Water quality can be an issue. The pH of water should be tested, and if necessary adjusted for the particular crop being grown. Softened water may contain harmful amounts of sodium and should be avoided.

17. Requirements cont. • Oxygen • Perhaps the most critical factor is supplying the root system with enough oxygen. Plants and plant root systems require oxygen for respiration. Respiration is the chemical process in which a plant can convert stored energy in order to carry out plant functions.

18. Requirements cont. • Nutrients • Hydroponically grown plants have the same nutrient requirements as those grown in soil. However, since hydroponic systems do not use soil, essential nutrients must be provided via a water solution. These solutions require careful calculations to insure that the optimal amounts of macronutrients and micronutrients are provided.

19. Nutrients Cont. • Nutrients in a solution are measured in part per million (ppm). • Parts per million means that for every million molecules of a solution, a certain number of those molecules are made up of a particular nutrient. • For example, a solution of 200 ppm nitrogen means that 200 out of one million molecules would be nitrogen

20. Hydroponic Fertilizer Systems.

21. Requirements cont. • Support • Soil provides a firm anchor for plants to grow upright. In hydroponic systems, artificial support can be provided. This can be accomplished through string stakes, trellises, wires/cables and mesh materials.

22. What are some of the common types of hydroponic systems and how do they operate? Identify common hydroponic systems. • Aggregate culture involves the use of aggregate or substrate materials that help support plants. Such materials allow the plants to take root.

23. Common hydroponic systems • Common substrates include sand, perlite, vermiculite, gravel, peat moss, and Rockwool. • Rockwool is a spongy fibrous material spun from molten volcanic rock. All of these materials are considered inert. They do not provide nutrients to the plants.

24. Common hydroponic systems • Nutrient solutions provide the plants with essential nutrients. Common methods of supplying the solution are through drip, trickle, and sub-irrigation. One method involves flooding the aggregate for ten minutes. The aggregate is allowed to drain for 30 minutes and then flooded again.

25. Common hydroponic systems • Water culture, is also referred to as nutriculture. • In this type of system, no substrate is used. Although plants may be started in rockwool, most of the roots are growing in a nutrient solution. Most systems of this type have a continuous flow or mist of nutrient solution that is recycled and are referred to as circulating systems.

26. Identify common hydroponic systems • The water culture system most commonly used in commercial operations is called nutrient film technique (NFT). • In NFT systems, a continuous flow of nutrient solution runs through a series of tubes or troughs. A pump raises the nutrient solution to desired levels, and gravity allows it to drain. The system is constantly recycling the nutrient solution.

27. Identify common hydroponic systems • Aeroponics is another type of water culture system. • Aeroponics systems are designed to have plant roots suspended in the air within a closed container. Inside the container, spray nozzles are used to mist the roots.

29. Aquaponics • Utilizing the same water to sustain both plant and fish crops. • Water is circulated from the fish carrying away waste which is then utilized by the plants as a form of fertilizer. • This is a bio-integrated system!

30. Review/Summary • What is hydroponics? • What advantages and disadvantages are associated with it? • What requirements must hydroponic systems meet in order for plants to grow? • What are some of the common types of hydroponic systems and how do they operate?

31. The End!

32. Student Learning Activities • Sample tests are available in the Lesson Plan tab.

33. Hydroponics experiment • Supplies (for each project): • Two liter soda bottle • Wick (string or a strip of fabric) • Growing media (rocks, marbles, sand, Lagos, shredded paper, etc.) • Scissors • Fertilizer • Plant • Step 1: remove cap. Cut top off soda bottle and invert it so the top is inside the bottle. • Step 2: Stuff wick through bottle top opening so that it hangs down to the bottom of the bottle. Leave the top of the strip in the inverted bottle top. • Step 3: Place plant in inverted top and fill in with growing media. • Step 4: mix fertilizer with water (follow bottle instruction) and pour into bottle. Make sure the wick gets completely wet.

34. Vocabulary and Hydroponics Basics Please look up and write down the definitions for the following words: Hydro Pon Hydroponics Nutrient Solution Pond Why do we cover the pond? Why do we use extra light? Name: __________________________

35. Name___________________ Hydroponics Experiment Lab Write-up Title____________________________________________________________________ Hypothesis (in If I ______________ then___________________ format) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Materials (List everything we used, even rulers!) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Procedure (Step-by-Step instructions on how to repeat this experiment exactly the way we did it)

37. Name_________________________ Growing Plants Survey Please write your answers in the space provided. What do plants need to grow? Have you ever grown any plants before (by yourself or with someone’s help)? (circle one) Yes No What type of plant(s) were they, and how long did they take to reach their full size? Did you enjoy growing the plant(s)? (circle one) Yes No What did you enjoy (or not enjoy) about the experience?

38. Name_________________________ Worksheet for choosing a variable for your hydroponics experiment. Please choose one variable from the list of things that affect plant growth below and talk about why it interests you in the space provided. 1.How Germination time(time it takes the plant to sprout) of different plants affects how each type of plant grows in a mixed group of plants. 2. How different pH levels effect plant growth. pH is a measure of how acidic or basic a liquid is. You can change the pH of the nutrient solution by adding acids or bases until the liquid is no longer in the pH of 5-7 that plants ‘like’. 3. How different amounts of nutrient salts (created by changing the strength of nutrient solution) effect plant growth. 4. The effect of plant density (or amount of plants per given area) changes plant yield. 5. The effect of different amounts (quantity) or different lengths of daylight (photoperiod) on plant growth and development. 6. The effect of artificial light instead of or in addition to sunlight. 7. The effect of different colors of light on plants using theatre gels. 7. How one plant can chemically affect the growth of another aka allelopathy. (advanced) 8. Nutrient deficiency effects on the growth and development of plants. (advanced) Write in variable here ______________________________________________________ What do you like about this variable? How easy/hard do you think this variable will be to change?

39. Introduction to Hydroponics Technology During this unit, you will be learning about a biotechnology that allows us to grow food in places where ordinary methods would fail. This technology is called hydroponics. What is Hydroponics? The word hydroponics has its’ roots in the Greek language. “Hydro” in Greek meant water, and the word “ponos” meant labor. Literally, hydroponics means ‘water-working.’ For us, hydroponics is a technological method of growing plants without the use of soil. How do Hydroponic Gardens Work? In a hydroponic garden, the plants are fed nutrients from a solution of water and essential vitamins and minerals. The roots of the plant are supported by a substrate – a surface on which an organism grows or is attached. Clay beads, gravel, and sand are common substrates in a hydroponic garden. What are the Benefits to Growing Plants Hydroponically? On the back side of the worksheet, there are 13 questions on the benefits of hydroponic gardens. Each question will require you to think about gardens where there is no dirt, and predict how that might benefit the crops and the farmers. You may work with a friend or a small group to fill in the answers. There is an answer bank to help you!

40. Benefits of Hydroponics

41. Name: ________________________ • Understanding Hydroponics Systems Worksheet • Answer the following questions by ether filling in the blanks, or answering the questions with a complete sentence. • What is hydroponics? • ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • Combination of two Greek words. _____________________ means __________________ and ________________________ means ___________________. • Some advantages of hydroponic production include the following: • ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

42. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • Some disadvantages of hydroponic systems include the following: • ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • Describe basic requirements for hydroponically grown plants. • __________________________________________________________________ • __________________________________________________________________ • __________________________________________________________________ • __________________________________________________________________ • __________________________________________________________________ • __________________________________________________________________ • What is temperature and why is it important for growing plants? • ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • What is light and why is it important for growing plants?

43. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • What is water and why is it important for growing plants? • ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • What is oxygen and why is it important for growing plants? • ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • What are nutrients and why are they important for growing plants? • ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • How are nutrients in solutions measured and why? • ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • What is support and why is it important for growing plants? • ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • Identify common hydroponic systems: • Aggregate culture: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • What is Rockwool?

44. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • Nutriculture: • ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • Circulating systems: • ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • NFT: • ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • Aeroponics: • ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • Draw the aeroponic system, in the space below.

45. What is aquaponics? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

46. Name: ________________________ • Understanding Hydroponics Systems Worksheet • Answer the following questions by ether filling in the blanks, or answering the questions with a complete sentence. • What is hydroponics? • Hydroponics is growing plants with their roots in a medium other than soil. • Combination of two Greek words. “Hydro” means water and “ponics” means labor. • Some advantages of hydroponic production include the following: • Greatly reduced risk of damage caused by insects that attack below soil level. • No dormant weed seeds in soil. • Plants can be placed closer together. • Easier to harvest. • Easier to adjust nutrient levels based on plant’s maturity. • pH level can be adjusted easily. • Allows for high quality yields in areas with poor growing conditions, limited water and extreme weather conditions. • Maintain a desirable climate to maximize production. • Some disadvantages of hydroponic systems include the following:

47. High initial investment for commercial systems. • Some diseases can spread rapidly. • Flower pollination can be difficult in greenhouse settings where pollinators are absent. Example wind, bees. • Describe basic requirements for hydroponically grown plants. • Temperature • Light • Water • Oxygen • Nutrients • Physical Support of plants • What is temperature and why is it important for growing plants? • Since most hydroponic systems are in greenhouse of confined areas, temperature can be set. Each type of plant has an optimal temperature range for maximum growth. • What is light and why is it important for growing plants? • All vegetables and most flowering plants need large amounts of light. Hydroponically grown vegetables require 8 to 10 hours of direct sunlight daily for healthy growth. Commercial operations sometimes use high powered lamps to increase light intensity and duration.

48. What is water and why is it important for growing plants? Providing plants with enough water is not a problem with water culture systems. Water quality can be an issue. The pH of water should be tested, and if necessary adjusted for particular crop being grown. Softened water may contain harmful amounts of sodium and should be avoided. What is oxygen and why is it important for growing plants? Perhaps the most critical factor is supplying the root system with enough oxygen. Plants and plant root systems require oxygen for respiration. What are nutrients and why are they important for growing plants? Hydroponically grown plants have the same nutrient requirements as those grown in soil. However, since hydrophone systems do not use soil, essential nutrients must be provided via a water solution. These solutions require carful calculations to insure that the optimal amounts of macronutrients and micronutrients are provided. How are nutrients in solutions measured and why? Nutrients in a solution are measured in part per million (ppm). Meaning that for every million molecules of a solution, a certain number of those molecules are made up of a particular nutrient. What is support and why is it important for growing plants?

49. Soil provides a firm anchor for plants to grow upright. In hydroponic systems, artificial support can be provided. This can be accomplished through string stakes, trellises, wires/cables and mesh materials. • Identify common hydroponic systems: • Aggregate culture: involves the use of aggregate or substrate materials that help support plants. Such materials allow the plants to take root. • What is Rockwool? • Rockwool is a spongy fibrous material spun from molten volcanic rock. All of these materials are considered inert. They do not provide nutrients to the plants. • Nutriculture: • In this type of system, no substrate is used. Although plants may be started in rockwool, most of the roots are growing in a nutrient solution. • Circulating systems: • Most systems of this type have a continuous flow or mist of nutrient solution that is recycled and are referred to as circulating systems. • NFT:

50. In NFT systems, a continuous flow of nutrient solution runs through a series of tubes or troughs. A pump raises the nutrient solution to desired levels, and gravity allows it to drain. The system is constantly recycling the nutrient solution. • Aeroponics: • Systems are designed to have plant roots suspended in the air within a closed container. Inside the container, spray nozzles are used to mist the roots. • Draw the aeroponic system, in the space below. What is aquaponics? Utilizing the same water to sustain both plant and fish crops. Water is circulated from the fish carrying away waste which is then utilized by the plants as a form of fertilizer. This is a bio-integrated system!