Hydroponic Seeding Techniques

Many people skip starting their own seeds for their Hydroponic kits in Chennai because of the time and effort to get them started, but there are some great reasons to start your growing own seeds hydroponically. For Hydroponic technology in India, It’s so much easier to just go to the store to pick up some seedlings to pop into your system and get growing, right?

The reason that we find nursery or store-bought saplings lacking for Hydroponic technology in India is that: you’re limited to what you can grow in your system. You have to choose from the options available at the store. However, if you start your own seeds, you can grow anything. This means you can grow your favorite heirlooms or even rare plants that aren’t found at many nurseries.

Adding seeding to your overall hydroponic system design means that your plants won’t go through any trauma or root damage from being transplanted into your system. This process may also introduce diseases or bugs into your hydroponic system, from the store.

The first time you start your own seeds for your hydroponic system may be a bit more expensive in the beginning because you need to buy more materials. Seeds need water, light, oxygen, and heat to grow. You really don’t need anything too special to grow your own seeds for your Hydroponic kit.

Inside of your grow tray, it can be beneficial to use a pot that works for your Seeds and their future as seedlings in your hydroponic set-up. You’ll want to use starter cubes, cocopeat or something like an Oasis plug. The key here for the seeding in your hydroponic system design is to use something that can withstand being immersed in water without dissolving, as it could clog up your system after transplanting.

Step by Step Instructions for Sprouting Seeds in a Hydroponic System

The first thing that you’ll want to do is to soak your starter cubes in clean water for about an hour. After they’ve been given a chance to soak, put a few seeds into the cube’s hole. You’ll want to add several just in case you have some seeds that don’t germinate. Once they sprout, you can thin out the weaker plants to allow the strongest to grow.
Prepare your grow tray with about an inch of clean water or nutrient solution that is at half strength. Arrange the light source and heating mat as needed. You can keep the lid on to keep the heat and moisture in the tray.
Put these planted cubes into the grow tray and add water or the half strength nutrient solution as the level goes down in the grow tray.
After about four days, you’ll start to see some sprouts emerging.

Indoor and Outdoor Hydroponic Gardening

With the advent of commercial hydroponics and other soilless methods of farming, indoor cultivation has gained a lot of traction. India has a few areas such as Bangalore where the weather is mild enough to suit gardening with hydroponics outdoors for the entire year with good management practices, and appropriate crop selection. However India has a lot of places where it is difficult to grow a large variety of crops due it’s harsh climatic conditions outdoors. The main impediment to farming indoors is the lack of sunlight which is required for plant growth. With a climate controlled polyhouse you can operate just like an indoor garden, with the exception that you will have access to an abundance of sunlight and easy air exchanges to keep your hydroponic crop healthy and happy above the root system. If however you wish to grow indoors where there is no access to sunlight, you will need to use grow lights. With the help of grow lights and a climate controlled setup, one can ideally grow any crop at any time of the year irrespective of the natural climate.

The same hydroponic system which you would use to grow outdoors can simply be moved indoors and grown on with the help of grow lights. Please check out our blog posts on how to choose the best lights for your hydroponics system if you’re looking to move your hydroponic plants in India indoors. Apart from the access to light, growing indoors or outdoors with hydroponics entails more or less the same kind of effort and maintenance. The primary drawbacks of growing outdoors is that you’re limited to choosing crops which will grow well in your prevailing climate and since you’re not in a protected environment your plants face the threat of pest and fungal attacks. While indoor growers don’t face these issues, it is a far more expensive method of hydroponic farming both in terms of capital expenditure and operating costs.

Both methods of Hydroponic farming have their limitations and benefits. While outdoor hydroponic farming is cheaper, it is subject to climate and may fall prey to pest attacks. Indoor hydroponic farming albeit more expensive gives a farmer more control over their growing conditions and hence can achieve better and faster growth. If you have a hydroponic kit in Chennai, try outdoor farming in the winter months and move your system indoors for the Summer. Compare your results and let us know which works better for you!

pH Levels and your Hydroponic System

The two most important factors in water and nutrient management are pH and conductivity, and a good understanding and command of these variables is essential for successful hydroponic gardening.

The pH levels in hydroponic systems can often be overlooked if a grower is focusing more on monitoring a solution’s electrical conductivity or TDS level, balancing nutrients, providing beneficial additives and avoiding algae and plant pathogen problems.

Today, we’re going to be focusing primarily on pH.

pH is the measure of acidity or alkalinity of an aqueous solution. If a solution is acidic then it has a pH in the range of 0 to 6.9. If a solution is alkaline then it has a pH in the range of 7.1 to 14. Pure water or deionized water is neutral at pH 7.0. The ideal pH for most hydroponic systems application is between 5.8 and 6.2, except for Rockwool cultivation, which likes a slightly lower pH of about 5.5.

We are going to be focusing on the importance of pH in NFT Hydroponic systems. If the pH of a solution is not within the correct range the plant will not have the ability to absorb some of the essential elements required for proper plant growth. There are a few ways to check the pH of your nutrient solution, such as paper test strips, liquid pH test kits, and digital pH meters. We would highly recommend Bluelab if you were looking for digital pH instruments. We prioritize Hydroponic technology in India and the various Hydroponic kits that we sell in Chennai, where we’re based, and all over India have pH testing solutions included.

Automatic pH pens and meters are the most accurate for your hydroponic system, when calibrated correctly and offer continuous monitoring often with the possibility of data logging and taking into account temperature fluctuations, which can affect the calculation of pH levels.

Using a pH up and down the solution in small quantities allows for the control of the pH in your reservoir. Levels should always be checked after nutrient solutions have been added to the reservoir as they contribute to changes in the pH levels

Hydroponic Guidelines for Hydroponic Growers

We have barely scratched the surface of hydroponic technology in India. With just about 30 hydroponics companies in India, there’s an enormous need for education in the space that needs to be addressed. We at FutureFarms are trying to service this need with our hydroponic kits, in Chennai. If you haven’t already picked up a hydroponic kit from us, get one here! Now that you’ve got your very own home Hydroponic system, here are some guidelines to help you ensure your success as a hydroponic farmer!

There are two main factors to growing in hydroponics; plant care and water care. Each is equally important and can have a tangible impact on your success as a grower using hydroponic technology in India. We’re one of the only hydroponic companies in India which provide our clients with extensive support post-sale to ensure growers success!

The life cycle of a hydroponic plant is split into two parts; germination and growing. Before you can grow your plants in your hydroponic system, you will need to germinate your seeds and then transplant them into your system. At FutureFarms, we use a mixture of coco peat and perlite for our seeding mix since this is a light, inert medium that can be reused with each cycle. Pick up your FutureFarms Seeding Mix and Seedling Tray now! While transplanting your seedlings, ensure that you don’t damage the roots of your plant and don’t leave them open to air without hydration for more than 20 minutes! While putting your plants in your system, keep in mind that they will only survive if their roots are touching the water in the growing channel. After germination comes growing; keep your plants in a space where they get at least 6-8 hours of sunlight in a day and protect them from rain and pest attacks!

Water care in hydroponics is as important, if not more so than, plant care. You must regulate the pH of your water to stay between 5.5 and 6.5 because this is the ideal range in which plants are able to absorb maximum nutrients from the water. The pH of your water is liable to change due to various conditions such as nutrient dosage, climate, and rainfall. Hence use our Bluelab pH pen or GHE pH test kit to check the pH of your water with ease every 3 days!

Another important parameter of water care in Hydroponics is electrical conductivity (EC) or total dissolved salts (TDS). At FutureFarms, we use Bluelab EC pens to check the EC of our water! What does EC or TDS tell you about your water? It tells you the components of your water. When choosing water to put in your hydroponic system, ensure that the EC is less than 0.3, we recommend RO or drinking water since most tap or bore water in India doesn’t meet this criterion. After adding your GHE nutrients to the reservoir check the EC every 3 days to see how much your plants are eating and thereby deduce how much more you need to add.

With these simple hydroponic growing hacks, anyone can become a successful hydroponic grower! So head over to the futurefarms online store and pick up your hydroponic kit from the best hydroponic company in India!

What are Hydroponic Kits and where are they used?

If you are a hobby gardener looking for a Hydroponics Kit In Chennai, FutureFarms store is your one stop shop for all hydroponic equipment! We design and manufacture hydroponic kits in Chennai and ship all over India.

At FutureFarms we offer four kinds of hydroponic kits; the Darwin Series, Leaf Station Series, Leaf Pyramid Series and Air Bucket Series. Our most basic hydroponic kits are the Darwin series which have been designed to encourage children to learn about hydroponics and get growing at a young age!

The Leaf Station and Leaf Pyramid Series are our NFT systems used to grow leafy greens and herbs. The Leaf Pyramid Series are compact and space efficient vertical grow towers for those who want to grow a lot using little. Our Leaf Station series offers growers with a flat grow bed that can be fit into your balcony, patio or any other outdoor area with limited space availability.

Finally, for those who want to grow their own vegetables, we have the Air Bucket Series using the Deep Water Culture technology. These hydroponic kits can be used to grow all your fruiting vegetables for your kitchen’s needs.

Once you’ve picked a hydroponic kit to meet your space, budget and plant requirements, club it with a FutureFarms Grower Kit to get all the hydroponic equipment that you will need to get started! With a Growers Kit you will get all the hydroponic essentials; Nutrients, ppm pen, pH test kit, pH buffers, Seedling tray and Seeding Mix. Using the FutureFarms Hydroponic Kit and the help of one of our Urban growing experts you will be all set to grow your very own fresh hydroponic produce! Get in touch now!