New 2 Organic Hydroponics? do it in your backyard.

A 7-year timeline in the search for Organic Hydroponics.

Definition of Hydroponics

In Hydroponics you are not using organics [ie manure], but the basic elemental nutrients, to feed the plants directly. This is discussed in Plant Nutrients Blog.

Why you cannot do Organic Hydroponics

The fact is that using full organics – like manure – does not work in a hydroponic system. This is due to microbial life that needs to convert the organics into plants nutrients – three major problems:

• Bacteria need place to grow; in absence of soil they make a ‘biofilm’ that will clog up pipes, drippers, and maybe even pump.
• Organics have no charge; unlike elemental salt nutrients, Organics has no EC [Electrical Conductivity] so no way to measure how much nutrients is in the water.
• Insoluble; most organics will not dissolve in water and hence collect at bottom of reservoir creating anaerobic [no oxygen] conditions, causing bad bacteria and pathogens to proliferate in hydroponic reservoir.

For many years researchers from several countries have looked for an efficient way to achieve real organic hydroponics. Whilst creating organics that can be used in soil is straightforward (manure works fine), reproducing the well-nourished but balanced microbial ecosystem found in the best organic soil, in flowing water, is not.

From Google and online searching one organic mix to use is based on extracts and simple formula:

• 1 1/2 teaspoons fish emulsion
• 1 1/2 teaspoons liquid seaweed
• 1 Gallon water [about 4.5 litres]

You can add 1 teaspoon liquid Guano for Phosphate boost for leafy plants. But you are still plagued by other problems as described above, this organic mixture I think is more intended for drip-feeding or flow to waste system – not a recirculating hydroponic system.

Hybrid Organic Hydroponics

For years done what I called ‘Hybrid Cultivation’, when plant is grown in sawdust as hydroponic media. Sawdust is not a traditional hydroponic media as not inert – but organic. Though it is a high carbon rich media with a low ‘Organic’, or Nitrogen enrichment, so can be used as media. Refer to the Blog ‘Hydroponic Media‘ for more information

Pine sawdust was selected due to being a cheap media alternative. But there are several disadvantages to it – preferable to get ‘old’ sawdust that has been out in the elements for a while so that most of Tannins and Volatiles have been washed out. As it is organic it will be consumed over a while and needs to be replaced periodically. This example is what I call ‘Troglodyte Spinach’, this photo was taken after 3 years and never went to seed.

But this is still a hydroponic system, only with sawdust, hence I consider it a ‘hybrid system’ – between hydroponics and organic agriculture. One little note here, avoid ‘Red Cedar’, this has Anti-Fungal and Anti-bacterial properties – but also hampered plant growth.

The Green Revolution…

The Green Revolution, also known as the Third Agricultural Revolution, was a period of rapid technology transfer (1) initiatives that saw greatly increased crop yields and agricultural production. These changes in agriculture began in developed countries after World War II and spread globally till the late 1980s.(2) In the late 1960s, farmers began incorporating new technologies such as high-yielding varieties of cereals, particularly dwarf wheat and rice, and the widespread use of chemical fertilizers to produce their high yields, the new seeds require far more fertilizer than traditional varieties(3), pesticides, and controlled irrigation.

WIKI

The ‘Green Revolution’ was post WW2, and also heavy influenced by Mechanisation, Urbanisation and Fossil Fuel. Gone were little hamlets with their quant paddocks and hand-tilled [or at least best horse drawn plows] fields. With the ease of transport brought about by the ICE [Internal Combustion Engine] people moved more to the cities and farmers could also till the field with tractors. But lets look above at some interesting points:

1. Technology Transfers; Hydroponics and Hoagland Solution:

In 1929, William Frederick Gericke of the University of California at Berkeley began publicly promoting that the principles of solution culture be used for agricultural crop production. Gericke created a sensation by growing tomato vines twenty-five feet (7.6 metres) high in his back yard in mineral nutrient solutions rather than soil. He called this system Hydros [Greek – Water] and Ponica [Working/Cultivating] or Hydroponics as we know it.

“The Hoagland solution” is a hydroponic nutrient solution that was newly developed by Hoagland and Snyder in 1933. It is one of the most popular artificial solution compositions for growing plants, in the scientific world at least, with more than 19,000 citations listed by Google Scholar. The Hoagland solution provides all essential elements for plant nutrition and is appropriate for supporting normal growth of a large variety of plant species.

This knowledge was conveyed to Agriculture and gave rise to NPK fertilizers [Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium], made from fossil fuels and this spurred massive increase in farm output. Bear in mind that the “Ford Foundation” and “Rockefeller Foundation” was heavy involved with this [Oil and ICE].

2. Green Revolution lasted till the 1980’s

This was when the ‘Oil Embargos’ were put in place, oil/petrol costs rose extensively – and fertilizer costs and availability too. Unscrupulous use of fertilizer also led to ground contaminations, etc. Well with the end of oil now with us, more than ever we need to go back to nature or organic farming, especially as there is also a gluttony of agricultural waste just been dumped. Besides the fact that oil is being depleted, contributing to global warming, etc. The fact is that we are also misaligning nature, with plants now not having natural microbial protection layers, so Pesticides were ever increasing. Which is also, you guessed it, manufactured from Oil/Hydrocarbon. So the ‘Green Revolution” maybe should be better termed the “Black Revolution” as was a wonderful market for the oil companies. Tons of fertilizers were added to field, and then hundreds of litres Pesticide to protect the crops… a vicious circle.

3. High Yielding Cultivars – or GMO

The other side of the Green Revolution besides increasing the nutrient levels for plant availability in the field, was genetically modifying organism [GMO], to increase plant outputs itself. So not only was hydroponic principles implemented, but the plants themselves were modified genetically to give higher yielding crops. And as “The Little Shop of Horrors” this is not natural, and do not know what come of it.

Organic Hydroponics

A lot was learnt from the “Green Revolution” and now “Controlled Environment Agriculture” with Hydroponics making a big return. Yet you still got a one-sided affair as the Hydroponic Nutrients used are man-made currently, but as long as interest is there better minds may come up with solutions to make them cheaper and more sustainably. For me though this nagging concern with Hydroponics was enforced after a recent road trip around South Africa. We literally circumnavigated our country , and I was looking for Calcium Nitrate all over and couldn’t get it. Supposedly a supply shortage as imported, ironically I found it back home…

Anyway back to the quest for Organic Hydroponics; with the Oyster Mushroom farming going from strength to strength wanted to incorporate the spent mushroom substrate in [SMS]. For gardening advised to add 40%, by Volume. First dry the SMS out before using, else will get odd mushroom growing, this is no real problem but the mushrooms are irresistible to slugs and snails.

BioPonics Intro

This term found on search for using Chicken Manure Pellets – and used in India where they combined Chicken manure in hydroponic system – with a biofilter. On Google Search also a registered product name for ‘Terra Aquatica’.

You can read more on Bioponics and the papers in the Blog on Aquaponics on SouthPoint eShop.

My take on Bioponics was to mix 30% SMS by volume with sawdust, later changed to 33% SMS : 33% Sawdust : 33% Coco Coir in Hydroponic Dutch Bucket System. Just as easier to mix one part each…

This did not work so well, got produce – but was plagued by several issues – as can see in image above:

• Media was consumed quickly
• Exposed roots
• Anaerobic conditions bottom of Dutch bucket and sludge [and worms]
• Closed loop so disease can be spread quickly

Organoponics

Organopónicos or Organoponics is a system of urban agriculture using organic gardens. It originated in Cuba and is still mostly focused there. It often consists of low-level concrete walls filled with organic matter and soil, with lines of drip irrigation laid on the surface of the growing media.

WikiPedia

The story of Cuba is interesting as with the fall of the Communist Bloc they suddenly had no access to oil, pesticides or fertilizers. They turned to Organic farming and have some of the largest Vermicomposting operations.

But not all was lost in the ‘BioPonics’ experiments – by using bottom fed methods plants typically not associated with hydroponics such as root vegetables were grown. This is Elephant Garlic from corm seed for first year grow to form Solo Garlic. The following year the Solo Garlic then get planted in larger grow bags [or in my case StumbleBloc’s] with Organoponic Media to form cloved Elephant Garlic and bottom fed, or ‘wicked’.

BioPonics was though a trial phase, and the idea really was an introduction of plants into an automated hydroponic system, without chemical nutrients. Basically, you plant the seedlings in the organic mix and just use water with a bottom feed system until adult/fruiting. Then you can give them the hydroponic nutrient mix for fruiting phase – if applicable. The future though taken a sudden left turn with the discovery that worms are mad about SMS! And a sudden right turn that BioACt makes a perfect media from Coco Coir for organic media base, replacing the unwanted Sodium [Na] ions with Calcium [aka buffering] – and the self-sterilized organic starches make a haven for Mycorrhizal fungi and Microbial life.

So has been a bit of a tumultuous season, with a lot learned, and a major growing Paradigm Shift made. In Mushroom Farming and Hydroponics, we have split the two kingdoms of Fungi and Plantae, but there is a third kingdom that also plays an important part – Monera, or Bacterial Kingdom.

Vermiponics – Vermiculture in Hydroponics

The Bacterial kingdom plays a vital, often overlooked, part in both Fungi and Plantae. In mushroom cultivation bad germs give contaminations, like ‘Wet Spot’ to grain spawn [which is a Bacillus spp], but the Bacillus Subtilis [aka Hay Bacillus] is what makes it possible to grow on pasteurized straw and maintain substrate ‘Selectivity’.

And in the animal kingdom we also have a natural ‘pasteurizer’ in earthworms, or red wigglers in particular, as the worms eat the decomposing matter and bacteria – and poop out the good bacteria. Vermicast (also called worm castings, worm humus, worm poop, worm manure, or worm faeces) is the end-product of the breakdown of organic matter by bacteria, then pasteurized by the earthworms. Vermicompost have been shown to contain reduced levels of contaminants and a higher saturation of plant-available nutrients than the organic materials before vermicomposting.

The net result of the BioPonic experiments was that worms ‘luv’ SMS, often the 5L Dutch bucket would be only half full within two weeks – with nothing planted in it yet! On repotting of plants when media was gone the sludge/gravel would be full of worms and the concave area below bucket be filled with several worms…

Vermiponic Substrate

Buffering Coco Coir though with BioACt at 6% had a remarked improvement in the Raised Bed system just installed. Time will tell of the efficacy of this method. A simple walkthrough of an Organoponic Urban cultivation setup will be:

• Growing mushrooms on Straw/hardwood pellets
• Using the SMS [Spent Mushroom Substrate] in worm box to make Vermicompost, can add buffered Coco Coir, or shredded paper, for bedding mixed with sand for grit.
• Adding the Vermicompost to Raised bed or bottom fed [or wicking] hydroponic systems

Vermiponic Hydroponic Substrate DIY mixture:

• 6 parts Hydrated Coco Coir [Buffered]
• 2 parts Vermiculite
• 2 part Vermicompost

This can also be used as Potting Soil, etc. In the Vermiponic Dutch Bucket systems we place gravel in bottom of pot [1-2″].

Bottom Feed Organic Revelation

One way to do Organic Hydroponics is to install a biofilter as in Aquaponics, which acts as a breeding place for the good bacteria [and easy to oxygenate] which will break down the organics and convert ammonia to nitrates that plants can absorb.

The first hydroponic system built, refer to Soda-bottle system, came through big time. Then also using Vermicompost in place of the SMS [Spent Mushroom Substrate] giving a microbial boost as all the good microbes already in it. If using Coco Coir then ensure to get properly buffered version.

So Organic Hydroponics is possible by not pumping water through the Organic Media mix – but by pumping the water below the containers. In bottom feeding the containers, the media will naturally wick the water up as required by the plant, and later on the plant roots will be in the water stream, almost like NFT. This is a simple solution to keep the organics in the Media and the media itself becomes a ‘bio-filter’ for microbial growth to break the organics down for plant nutrients.

Vermiponics – Lessons Learned in Organic Hydroponics

Cultivating CEA [Controlled Environment Agriculture] like hydroponics can now be considered “Organic”. But still there is a big misunderstanding in the world concerning this – and that is “Soil”. Basically Soil is Sand and Organics, soil is not used in hydroponics, and Fredericks first definition back in the 30’s was a ‘Soilless’ agriculture method. But I think this definition should be rather “Organicless”, or without Organics.

And then it was only in the ’80s that discovered that Plants cannot consume organics and need fungi to do this for them, and now this has been extended to include microbes [or bacteria]. In 1982 Dr. Higa at the University of Ryukyus, Okinawa Japan, discovered a specific group of naturally occurring beneficial microorganisms with an amazing ability to revive, restore, and preserve. He named this group E.M. (Effective microorganisms). Effective Microorganisms (EM) are mixed cultures of beneficial naturally-occurring organisms that can be applied as inoculants to increase the microbial diversity of soil ecosystem. They consist mainly of the photosynthesizing bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, yeasts, actinomycetes and fermenting fungi.

So lets cut to the chase, basically microbial life [both fungi and bacteria] breaks up Organic material into nutrients for plant uptake, and in return the plant provides the microbes with excess sugars from Photosynthesis. The Microbes, or EM, also protect the plants from other Pathogens, diseases, etc.

This is where Vermicomposting comes in to the picture. Basically the microbes break up the organics into water-soluble plant-available nutrients. Then worms, or “the Earth’s intestines” to Aristotle, consume the microbes and decomposed Organics – to literally “pasteurize” this soup. The nett outcome is that the worms rid the Microbial load of bad germs, or Pathogens. A further result of the worms is the “Vermicast”, or worm droppings, which is rich in worm mucus. This mucus gives a “time-release” aspect to the Vermicast. What the Rockefellers made billions of in “time release” fertilizers – the worms are doing insidiously and timelessly right now. Vermicast is also rich in growth hormones.

The nett result is that the Vermicompost is considered 7 times as potent as compost by the Argentinians – and opposite the world by the Australians. You literally use 7 times less, in our Vermiponic setups we only use 10% Vermicompost by volume.

Our results to date have been astronomical in outcome compared to the inputs. As a seedling mix the GI [Germination Index] is close to 100%, even on small seeds like Celery, do not know what to do with them all!? Suppose this would also make an excellent Microgreens substrate. As can see above the Elephant Garlic also responding well, the image above is 2 weeks after planting!

With Vermicomposting there is also a Zero Waste philosophy as after the season the Organic Hydroponic media get added to the Worm bin as bedding. In such a way your whole back yard becomes an efficient model of nature.