What is hydroponics?
Hydroponics is a method of growing plants without soil, where the roots receive an aqueous nutrient solution enriched with essential minerals.
This technique allows plants to grow while suspended in a system that physically supports them while exposing their roots to a perfectly balanced solution. It maximizes the efficiency of nutrient absorption by the roots, accelerates growth and increases plant yield compared to traditional cultivation in the soil.
Hydroponics is justified by many advantages:
- Grow in urban areas or greenhouses, where space is limited;
- It uses up to 90% less water than traditional soil-based agriculture;
- It eliminates problems in certain soils, such as nutritional imbalances, diseases and pest infestations;
- It accelerates production and improves yields.
Hydroponics and cannabis: what's the point?
Hydroponics is particularly suitable for growing cannabis. It helps control crop variables like nutrients, pH and humidity. It also eliminates unknown variables from the soil and provides a constant nutrient supply directly to the roots.
Next, growing cannabis hydroponically can lead to faster growth cycles. By controlling the environment, especially light, temperature and nutrient solution composition, growers can reduce the time needed for hemp plants to mature to produce several harvests during the year.
Finally, cannabis grown hydroponically generally presents better quality, with a higher concentration of cannabinoids and terpenes.
Clay balls and growing cannabis hydroponically
Clay balls, also known as LECA (Light Expanded Clay Aggregate), are small porous pellets made from natural clay. They are formed by heating clay to very high temperatures, which causes the particles to swell and create a light, airy honeycomb structure.
Clay balls are used in cannabis cultivation to improve soil aeration and drainage. They help create a healthier root environment by preventing moisture accumulation excessive and facilitating access of oxygen to the hemp roots. Their porous structure helps maintain necessary moisture around the roots in drier conditions and helps regulate soil temperature.
In hydroponic cannabis cultivation, clay balls are used as a support for plant roots. Here is how they are implemented:
- Preparation: Before using them, the clay balls must be rinsed with clean water to remove dust and small particles to avoid blockage problems in the system. 'irrigation;
- Setting up: The beads are then placed in pots or containers, and the cannabis plants are installed there. The roots must be in direct contact with the beads so that they can physically support the plant while providing an environment conducive to root growth;
- Irrigation: A drip irrigation system delivers the nutrient solution to the roots through the clay balls. The solution flows through the beads, allowing the roots to draw up necessary nutrients while allowing excess water to drain away, preventing saturation and asphyxiation of the roots.
