How do hydroponics work?

[Gas]

Never really understood how to grow these plants indoors, any help?

[M.K.]

Hydroponics:
A tray that acts as a soil surrogate, with much higher fertility than any natural soil.
NEEDS to be powered at all times. Loss of power is immediate loss of crop.

If used Indoors, you need to illuminate the plants with a grow lamp. They must show "100% light" for the plant's location.

That is it, really.




You can use a Hydroponics tray outdoors, but that makes almost no sense. Your crop will still die immediately if you lose power (such as during a solar event), plus you have less growth due to natural light fading near dawn & dusk.

You normally want to use high-quality, fast-growing crops. Both to get best benefit of the increased fertility, and to reduce chance of complete crop loss due to power outs. Potatoes are NOT the right thing for hydroponics. Rice is.

Some crops simply do not fit in a hydro tray, for example you cannot plant trees in them!

[Gas]

Do i place it around the growth area or covering the whole area?

[M.K.]

The hydroponics tray *is* your growth area.

[Confused Dragon]

You don't have to use hydroponics, I rarely do. The few times I've needed indoor growing I just made a room to fit a grow light or two and a heater. Then plant in the ground(do not put down a floor). If you want to use hydroponics basin they need to be hooked up to power. Put your sunlamp in the middle and then surround it with the hydroponics basins. Anything outside the range of the light will not grow.

[GeoffSmites]

How does Babby form???

[AlP]

Originally posted by M.K.:

Your crop will still die immediately if you lose power (such as during a solar event)

They don't die immediately, they simply start taking damage until they either die or the power is restored.

[illyB]

think of a greenhouse, you'll want to keep the room warm and roofed, build a hydro light in the center of the room, stack trays around it. Lower grow area but super fast grow times, also eats up power, so make sure you plan ahead for that. Start small with a few trays and grow as you need!