The Nutrient Film Technique of Hydroponics
by John Yazo
The nutrient film technique of hydroponic gardening is a method that provides a continuous flow of a nutrient solution over the plants root system. It is the system that comes to mind first when hydroponic gardening is mentioned.
This system consists of a reservoir for the water, nutrient solution, a pump to transfer the solution to the plants root system, a long trough with a means of anchoring the plants. When setup the pump transfers the water to the trough from the reservoir and it drains back on it's own. The plants need to be anchored or supported because there is no media used in this method. The water is feed continuous keeping the root system of the plants at all times. If there as no water the root system of the plants you are growing would dry out. It can be a complex system to make on your own, but can be done with a little though.
There are some disadvantages with this system, especially for the home gardener. It is not a compact system by any means, due to the long trough that is needed for the plants to grow in. Not having any media to support the plants can be a task when trying to anchor them in the trough. The plants need a steady water supply, if they run out of water the root system will dry out and kill the plant. This can be a problem even if power is lost and you can't run the pumps to feed the water- nutrient solution to them. Root systems of the plants can easily grow large, this can clog the trough and stop the water flow through the trench, maintenance needs to be keep up on the plants root systems to prevent this from happening.
This method is one that is designed more for the commercial grower than it is for the home gardener.
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