Library

Parts

• Part A. Foundations: what a plant needs and how it works7 articles
• Part B. The nutrient solution12 articles
• Part C. Systems and media10 articles
• Part D. Environment5 articles
• Part E. Crops and practice9 articles
• Part F. Measuring, building and scaling8 articles

All articles in order

Part A. Foundations: what a plant needs and how it works

1. 1What is hydroponics (existing page; light refresh last) Level 1 Define soilless culture, know its history
2. 2What a plant needs: the seven inputs Level 1 List light, CO₂, water, O₂, mineral elements, temperature, support; explain why soil is optional
3. 3How plants are built: cells, tissues, roots and shoots (coming) Level 1 Name the organs and tissues that matter to a grower and what each does
4. 4Photosynthesis and respiration for growers Level 1 Explain where biomass comes from, why roots need oxygen, what limits growth
5. 5Water in the plant: uptake, transpiration and humidity Level 2 Explain transpiration, why nutrients travel with water, what VPD is
6. 6What plants are made of: the essential elements Level 1 Name the essential mineral elements, the essentiality criteria, typical tissue concentrations, mobile vs immobile
7. 7How roots take up nutrients Level 2 Explain ions, mass flow vs diffusion, active uptake, charge balance, why uptake moves pH

Part B. The nutrient solution

1. 8Water quality: what is in your water and why it matters Level 1 Read a water report; judge Na, Cl, HCO₃⁻, hardness, EC; choose tap, rain or RO
2. 9pH: what it is and why 5.5–6.5 Level 1 Explain pH as a log scale, the availability window, measure and adjust pH
3. 10Alkalinity and buffering: the hidden control of pH drift Level 2 Distinguish alkalinity from pH, neutralise bicarbonate with acid (worked calc)
4. 11EC and concentration: what the meter measures Level 1 Convert EC↔ppm scales, know what EC cannot tell you, set crop EC targets
5. 12Fertiliser salts: purity, solubility, compatibility Level 2 Choose salts, split A/B tanks, avoid Ca–SO₄/PO₄ precipitation
6. 13Reading a formulation: Hoagland, Steiner and modern recipes Level 2 Read a recipe in mg/L and mmol/L, compare classic solutions, understand ratios
7. 14Mixing your own solution: a worked calculation and SOP Level 2 Go from target mg/L to grams per tank, with safety steps and a checklist
8. 15Micronutrients and chelates (coming) Level 2 Choose Fe chelate by pH; know Mn/Zn/Cu/B/Mo ranges and toxicities
9. 16Nitrogen form: nitrate, ammonium and pH control (coming) Level 2 Use the NH₄⁺ share to steer pH; know its risks
10. 17Managing a recirculating solution over time Level 3 Track drift, top-up vs replace, Na accumulation; do a simple mass balance
11. 18Dissolved oxygen in the root zone Level 2 Use solubility vs temperature, root demand, aeration physics; set realistic targets
12. 19Root-zone temperature (coming) Level 2 Explain why solution temperature matters; targets; cooling and heating options

Part C. Systems and media

1. 20Anatomy of a hydroponic system: the design parameters Level 1 Name root-zone functions; classify any system by water, air, support and flow
2. 21Kratky and other passive systems Level 1 Explain the air-gap principle, limits, suited crops
3. 22Deep water culture Level 1 Explain DWC, aeration, sizing, risks
4. 23Nutrient film technique Level 2 Explain film depth, slope, flow, channel-length limits, with real numbers
5. 24Ebb and flow (coming) Level 2 Explain flood cycles, media choice, timing
6. 25Drip irrigation and substrate culture (slabs, Dutch buckets) Level 2 Explain drain-to-waste vs recirculating, irrigation scheduling, leaching fraction
7. 26Aeroponics and fogponics (coming) Level 3 Explain droplet size, pressure, failure modes
8. 27Growing media I: air, water and particle size Level 2 Read a water-retention curve; explain container capacity, air-filled porosity, perched water
9. 28Growing media II: pH, CEC, buffering and microbes (coming) Level 2 Explain CEC, coir buffering, rockwool pH, biofilms
10. 29Choosing a medium: rockwool, coir, perlite, LECA, peat and others Level 1 Compare media on measured properties and cost; pick one per system

Part D. Environment

1. 30Light: PPFD, DLI, spectrum and photoperiod Level 2 Compute DLI from PPFD and hours; know crop DLI targets
2. 31Choosing and sizing grow lights Level 2 Use efficacy (µmol/J) and cost per mol; size a fixture for an area (worked calc)
3. 32Temperature, humidity and VPD Level 2 Set day/night targets; compute VPD; understand tipburn and Ca links
4. 33CO₂ and air movement (coming) Level 2 Know ambient vs enriched CO₂ responses and when enrichment pays
5. 34Climate control: greenhouse versus indoor farm (coming) Level 3 Compare energy, light and control trade-offs

Part E. Crops and practice

1. 35Seeds, germination and propagation Level 1 Germinate in plugs, time transplanting, avoid damping-off
2. 36How long things take: growth timelines for eleven crops Level 1 Plan sowing-to-harvest for lettuce, basil, spinach, kale, tomato, cucumber, pepper, strawberry, microgreens, herbs
3. 37Growing leafy greens and herbs Level 1 Run lettuce, spinach, basil end to end: EC, pH, DLI, spacing, bolting, tipburn
4. 38Growing fruiting crops: tomato, cucumber, pepper (coming) Level 2 Manage long crops: training, pruning, EC steering, pollination, blossom-end rot
5. 39Strawberries and less common crops (coming) Level 2 Adapt systems for strawberries, root vegetables, flowers
6. 40Diagnosing nutrient deficiencies and toxicities Level 2 Use a diagnostic key by leaf age and pattern; confirm by solution test
7. 41Pests and diseases in soilless systems Level 2 Recognise Pythium, algae, fungus gnats, aphids, thrips, mildew; apply IPM
8. 42Hygiene, cleaning and crop turnover (coming) Level 1 Clean and sanitise between crops; manage biofilm
9. 43Water, energy and nutrients: what the evidence says Level 2 State what the "90% less water" claim rests on; compare energy and footprint honestly; link to the sustainable-hydroponics pages

Part F. Measuring, building and scaling

1. 44Meters and measurement: pH, EC, DO, temperature Level 1 Calibrate, store and read meters; know their errors
2. 45Build: a single-container Kratky system Level 1 Build and run one from a metric parts list
3. 46Build: a deep water culture tub (coming) Level 1 Build and run one; size the air pump
4. 47Build: a nutrient film technique rig (coming) Level 2 Build one with correct slope, flow and channel length
5. 48Automation and sensors (coming) Level 3 Automate dosing, logging and alarms; know failure modes
6. 49Vertical farming and plant factories: the economics (coming) Level 3 Reason about light energy per kg, capital, labour
7. 50Dimensioning a system: from crop demand to tank, pump and light (coming) Level 3 Size a small system from first principles (transpiration, uptake, DLI); bridge to PonicLabs tools
8. 51Key numbers and glossary (coming) Level 1 Look up every term and reference value used in the series, each with its source