Aeroponics is the process of growing plants in an air or mist environment without the use of soil or an aggregate medium. Aeroponic culture differs from both hydropnics and in-vitro (plant tissue culture) growing. Unlike hydroponics, which uses water as a growing medium and essential minerals to sustain plant growth, areoponics is conducted without a growing medium.

The word “Aeroponic” is derived from the Greek meanings of  ‘aero’ (air) and ‘ponic’ (labor). Aeroponic growth refers to growth achieved in an air culture. For example, in tropical climates orchids develop and grow freely in trees. Laboratory research on air culture growing utilizing vapors began in the mid-1940s. Today aeroponics is used in agriculture around the world.

Aeroponics is an exciting improvement on hydroponics that has been shown to greatly increase yields. The growing environment is similar to a misty rain forest. In Hawaii, orchids are often seen growing freely in the trees due to the level of humidity in the air. Aeroponics strives to recreate this environment at the root zone.

In an aeroponic system the plant’s root zone is suspended into an environment where the roots protrude into an atomized nutrient solution; the leaves and crown, often called the “canopy”, extending above. The roots of the plant are separated by the plant support structure. The lowest stem and root system are sprayed or misted for short durations with a hydro-atomized pure water/nutrient solution. The sprayers break the nutrient into small particles and saturate the roots. The levels of oxygen in the water are kept high by the constant circulation of the water.

Aeroponic growing is considered to be safe and ecologically friendly for producing natural, healthy plants and crops. The main ecological advantages of aeroponics are the conservation of water and energy. When compared to hydroponics, aeroponics offers lower water and energy inputs per sq meter of growing area. Hydroponics, when used commercially, uses one-tenth of the water otherwise necessary to grow the crop, but this can be reduced to as little as 1/20.

Aeroponics is beyond the age we are in now, it is in the space age! Aeroponics’ techniques are being investigated by NASA.

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Get started on your own indoor garden with the AeroGarden and the AeroGarden Pro 100. Manufactured by AeroGrow, International, the AeroGarden is a counter top device that uses aeroponic technology to grow plants. This NASA tested aeroponic technology (space just got a little closer to home!) grows plants in water, nutrients and air so simply and easily that anyone can succeed. No dirt, no weeds, no mess and no green thumb needed. AeroGarden has made indoor gardening easy with this simple self-contained system. The AeroGarden indoor gardening kit includes a base into which water and nutrients are poured and through which the plants grow, as well as an adjustable set of grow lights that make it possible to grow plants indoors even without a sunny window.

This high-tech device is a completely automated making it virtually impossible not to grow the herbs and vegetables. Seeds germinate in as little as 24 hours and flowers may begin to bloom in just a couple of weeks. Some herbs and greens can be ready for harvest in as little as a month. The lights turn on and off automatically throughout the day, nutrient delivery to the plant is also automatically adjusted, and if you’re running low on either the water or the nutrients, the pod alerts you to refill. Just pop in the seed pods, add water and nutrient tablets and press a program button.

TheAeroGarden lets you grow fresh, nutritious greens and vegetables year round no matter where you live. It allows you to enjoy fresh produce without the time or effort of traditional gardening. Such a system is also ideal for people who don’t have yards or don’t want the commitment of a huge backyard garden. Indoor gardening has just become simple! It seems that the future has just arrived.

The Original AeroGarden features:

• Includes the AeroGarden, 2 daylight spectrum bulbs, pre-seeded bio-dome grow pod, time release nutrients, and tending and harvesting guide with recipes.
• Self-monitoring system adjusts for best growing conditions.
• Automatic alerts notify when more water or nutrients are needed.

The AeroGarden Pro 100, with this beautiful AeroGarden, accented with brushed stainless steel, you get all of the features of the original AeroGarden indoor gardening system plus these great enhancements:

• Adaptive Intelligence, which automatically adjusts the amount of water and light your plants need at every stage of growth.
• “Super Grow” 24-hour light cycle. This lets you overide the built-in light timer so you can decided how much light to give your plants.
• Automatic bulb change indicator light that lets you know when it is time to replace your grow bulbs. With this feature you’ll be sure your plants are always getting the right intensity and full spectrum of light needed for optimal growth.

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The ebb & gro system from C.A.P. has been designed to allow you to grow plants in an easy to use multi-pot hydroponics system that requires minimal maintenance. The EBB-1 Ebb & Gro System increases the Oxygen levels around the roots by repeated flood and drain cycles resulting in accelerated plant growth. The ebb & gro multi-pot hydroponics system uses (2) two-gallon buckets and Hydroton as a growing medium. The two buckets are nested one on top of the other, the top bucket holds the Hydroton and the lower bucket holds and catches the nutrient water.

Hydroton pebbles are derived from clay and are considered an ecologically sustainable medium. It is often known by the name LECA – Lightweight Expanded Clay Aggregate . The clay is formed into pellets and fired in rotary kilns at 1200C, causing it to expand inside and become porous. Expanded clay is light in weight, will not compact, and can be cleaned & sterilized for reuse. Hydroton pebbles are inert, pH neutral and contain no nutrients. The Hydroton pellets drain freely and don’t hold excessive water. They provide excellent oxygen levels around the roots. Hydroton is pH neutral and does not degrade. For best results, rinse Hydroton well before using to rid the grow media of excess dust and sterilize in between crops by using a bleach solution.

The lower buckets of the ebb & gro multi-pot hydroponics system have a ½” tubing line connected to the bottom that links the 2 gallon “modules” to the controller bucket. The top bucket of this multi-pot hydroponics system has a series of holes punched through the bottom. These holes allow the water to percolate up through the holes when filling or drain back down when in the drain cycle.

When the systems “fills” water is pumped from the 55-gallon reservoir into the controller bucket. The 3 ½ gallon controller bucket has several float switches installed, which keeps the water at the proper levels during the filling and draining cycles.

As the water flows from the highest point (the controller bucket) to the lowest point (each of the 2 gallon modules) gravity provides the mechanism to ensure that all the buckets are filled to the proper level. As the water enters the bottom of the 2-gallon “catch” bucket under very low pressure, it slowly fills from the bottom of the inner bucket to submerge the roots in freshly circulated nutrient water. In the process, gasses that are expelled by the roots are pushed up and out of the root zone.

Once the water has been distributed to all of the modules, the pump is shut off. A timer controls how long the fill cycle is and how long the drain cycle is.

Ebb & Grow System Documents

Click Here for the Ebb-1 Ebb & Grow Manual

Top Features of the Ebb & Grow System

• Individual pots (modules) allow you to easily move / relocate plants.
• Each EBB-1 controller can control from 6 up to 48 plant sites… plenty of room for expansion.
• A smaller reservoir (55-gal) can be used with less water compared to flood & drain tables.
• Reservoir does not have to be lower than the plants!
• The EBB-1 controller is all you need to control all pumping and level control functions.
• “Active” hydroponics system compared to rockwool resulting in faster growth and larger yields.

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