Best management practices for hydroponics

From high-tech vertical farms filled with greens and herbs to Dutch-style greenhouses growing strawberries, ornamentals, or greenhouse hemp, hydroponic growing is making headlines.

Experienced growers understand the soilless environment of hydroponics demands careful nutrient management. But appropriate nutrition programs can be a daunting challenge to many growers drawn to hydroponic systems. Unlike growing with media and containers, there’s not much margin for error with hydroponic growing and controlled environments. With that in mind, we’ve put together some insights and best management practices (BMPs) to help new hydroponic growers succeed.

Gains from hydroponic systems

The interest in hydroponics hasn’t surprised us. We’ve seen concerns about climate change grow. The desire for improved sustainability is one of the driving forces behind our work here at ICL and the hydroponic industry’s growth. Peer-reviewed studies have shown that hydroponic production can decrease water use by up to 90% and increase yields by 10 times compared to traditional outdoor production of some crops.

Now, it’s important to frame those stats with a qualifier: Typical indoor controlled environments have vastly higher energy use than greenhouses or outdoor production. But advances in growing technologies also focus on making gains with those resources. For growers in regions with water scarcity and abundant renewable energies, hydroponics holds special promise.

With appropriate nutrient management and systems, hydroponic growers can improve nutrient control and delivery, reduce water usage and waste, lessen pest and disease pressures, increase yields on smaller footprints, and potentially reduce labor needs. But ultimately, success with hydroponics rests on sound nutrient programs and BMPs.

Simple, sound hydroponic nutrition

By nature, hydroponic growing demands precision, but that doesn’t mean it needs to be complicated. As we recently shared about greenhouse hemp production, there’s a lot of hydroponic advice floating around. And it’s not always based on sound, fundamental growing practices or solid research.

Here at ICL, we’ve developed some products and programs specifically for hydroponic growing systems to help you meet the challenges they present. As with all our products and advice, you can be sure they’re based on innovation, fundamentals, and robust R&D—with growers like you in mind.

With products such as Peters Professional 5-11-26 Hydroponic Special and Peters Professional 14-0-8 Hydroponic Boost, you can develop a hydroponics program that’s both simple and sound.

Our team is ready to help you refine and optimize your program based on your specific hydroponic growing system, production environment, hydroponic crops, crop stages, and your irrigation water quality. And it’s all designed especially for hydroponic culture, to go hand in hand with these hydroponic BMPs:

Best practices

• Base nutrient demand on crop type, crop stage, and growing systems, as shown by qualified research. Follow advances in hydroponics and controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) research from centers of excellence, such as the University of Arizona CEA Center.
• Test your irrigation water sources to determine alkalinity level and useful nutrient content, such as calcium, magnesium, and sulfur. ICL Lab Services can help with an irrigation water assessment and other services.
• Avoid irrigation waters containing excessive potential problem ions. Hydroponic systems are less forgiving than container or field production, so maintain sodium and chloride levels below 50 ppm.

• Reduce total alkalinity level in irrigation water to 50 ppm to allow some buffering, but avoid excessively high pH levels. Reduce excess alkalinity by adding mineral acid, such as sulfuric acid, to the fertilizer tank before adding fertilizer.
• Use fertilizers made from high-quality raw materials that are highly soluble and free from contaminants, like trusted Peters water-soluble fertilizers. If mixing multiple fertilizer components in a common stock tank, be sure they’re compatible before you mix.
• Study fertilizer labels to ensure they’ll deliver all required nutrients at the correct ratios. Your local ICL Territory Manager can help you construct fertilizer programs to deliver target nutrient concentrations and fit your operation’s specific needs.
• Do frequent on-site testing for soluble salts levels (EC) and pH to make sure your system keeps operating as expected. Include irrigation water, fertilizer concentrate tanks, solution being delivered to crops, and your return solution.
• Monitor the efficiency of your nutrient program with solution and leaf tissue testing through a qualified analytical laboratory such as the ICL Lab Services testing lab. With ICL, you get expert insights and advice to help you interpret results and adjust your program.

As horticulture and specialty agriculture technologies evolve, we’re committed to providing simpler, more sustainable, more innovative solutions to help you succeed. From soil to hydroponics, we have the expert advice and trusted products you need. Give us a call or send us a note. We’re here to help you achieve the goals you aspire to reach.