Lighting your Hydroponic Garden
An important consideration when growing plants inside your home is installing a proper lighting set up for your hydroponic system. As with any soil grown plants, a hydroponics garden requires plenty of light to grow. The function of light in your hydroponics garden is vital, you cannot grow healthy and vigorous plants without the proper lighting. Certain species of plants do require specialized light, so be sure to buy the correct kind of lighting setup.
• Fluorescent Lighting…. almost all hydroponic plants can use this type of light. These would be like your regular overhead lights. Fluorescent lights are also very good for starting new plants. It can give the appropriate amount of light for your seedlings. It can also provide enough quantity of light and uses a fraction of the electricity when it’s placed within 12 inches from the plant. When it comes to tall plants, they need to have enough light at the bottom part of the plant for the whole system to be effective. There are plenty of fluorescent options that can produce a balanced light similar to the light produced by the sun.
• HD Lighting … there are two types HD lights that you can select. The two options use different technology and both of these two options are also needed in different parts of the plant growth cycle … this is because of the different type of light that it can produce. One is the HPS or the high-pressure sodium technology. This lighting is often used for street lights and it produces a orange/yellow light. This lighting is perfect for flowering plants as well as budding plants because of its red, as well as, orange light that can encourage full growth for these types of plants. They are excellent for starting plants and can also encourage the plants to produce more flowers or food for crop plants. The second type…. the MH light, produces blue light waves that are excellent for growing plants outward and allows the plants to in fill and gives you lush, full flowers for your garden.
• Incandescent light bulb… these kinds of light are the least favourite of many gardeners who are involved in hydroponic system gardening because they consider the light system inefficient. “How to hydroponic” articles all over the internet and can provide you with lots of information on how you can start your own garden. Don’t wait … get started today!
Hydroponics in Guyana.
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ydroponics is not new, but in Guyana it is an adaptation to climate change and is being practised worldwide. With urban households having to face space as a limiting factor, it provides a means where persons can have the opportunity to provide themselves with certain basic things. Explaining the process, Dr. Oudho Homenauth of the National Agricultural and Research Institute (NARI), stated that hydroponics is the cultivation of crops without soil, or by using a soilless culture. He pointed out that it can also be done in the hinterland communities which are being targeted by NARI, especially in those areas which are prone to flooding. Because the exercise is being carried out above ground, there is no chance of the crops being flooded. What is currently being focused on is the raising of celery, lettuce, cabbages, tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, poi and cauliflower.
Dr. Bissasar Chintamanie, Plant Scientist of NARI, says the method is simple and inexpensive. A mixture of white sand and paddy shells provide the medium for the plant to root.