Technical Methods and Cultivation Management Points for Growing Vegetables on Water

Before growing vegetables on water, be sure to prepare a watertight hydroponic box, then wash the root system of the vegetables to be planted clean, remove the surrounding old leaves, dead leaves, and rotten roots, and sterilize and disinfect them. Finally, rinse once more with water, plant them in the hydroponic box, and add an appropriate amount of nutrient solution. Generally, ordinary water quality is enough for growing them.

Simple method for growing vegetables on water:

1. Building the hydroponic box

When preparing for hydroponic growing, we first need to build the hydroponic box, which is the most basic equipment for hydroponic vegetable growing. A hydroponic box is an opaque water tank; we can use basins, jars, wooden boxes, and foam plastic boxes, among others. The best material is a foam plastic box; then build foam plastic of the same or matching length on the foam plastic box, and drill holes in the foam plastic at certain distances to hold the small bowls or small cups for growing vegetables.

2. Preparing the nutrient solution

Preparing the nutrient solution for hydroponic vegetable growing is the key to vegetable growth and survival. There are now also special nutrient solutions sold on the market, but for growing vegetables on a large scale, the required nutrient solution is relatively large, which would increase the cost of growing, so we need to prepare it ourselves. There are many formulas for the nutrient solution, and the most commonly used one is prepared according to the ratio of 0.568 g potassium nitrate, 0.710 g calcium nitrate, 0.142 g ammonium phosphate, 0.284 g magnesium sulfate, 0.112 g ferric chloride, 0.00284 g potassium iodide, and 0.00056 g each of boric acid, zinc sulfate, and manganese sulfate per 1 liter of water.

3. Raising seedlings in substrate

For vegetables, we can use nutrient soil to raise seedlings, and when the seedlings grow two or three true leaves, they can be transplanted and planted. The seedling-raising substrate is generally made by mixing peat and furnace ash in a 1:1 ratio. Then spread the substrate on the seedling bed to raise seedlings; when the seedlings grow to a certain size, put an appropriate amount of substrate into the planting cup, move the seedlings into the planting cup, and add an appropriate amount of substrate for planting.

4. Planting the seedlings

After the seedlings are placed in the planting cups, we need to add an appropriate amount of nutrient solution to the hydroponic box, then place the planting cups on the foam plastic floating board for cultivation. Each small hole corresponds to one planting cup, and then adjust the liquid level of the nutrient solution well, generally based on just touching the bottom of the planting cup. The nutrient solution should not be too much or too little; too much will cause the vegetables to die from excessive fertilizer, while too little means the vegetables cannot absorb it, which will also cause death.

5. Later-stage management

The later-stage management of hydroponic vegetables directly determines the yield and quality of the vegetables. The management of hydroponic vegetables is actually relatively simple, because it requires neither intertillage and weeding, nor watering, nor fertilizing. It only requires reasonable control of the concentration of the nutrient solution, as well as the growing temperature and light. So we only need to lower the concentration of the nutrient solution when the temperature is relatively high, and ensure that the liquid level of the nutrient solution is kept at the bottom of the planting cup.

The above is the relevant introduction to the technique of growing vegetables on water. I hope it is helpful to everyone.