Getting Water To Your Crop

Hydroponic operations can be run with one of several irrigation systems. This article examines micro-tubing, drip irrigation and gravitational flow.

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A number of irrigation systems are available to the hydroponics grower. These range from handheld watering systems to fully automated systems.

Micro-tubing

Micro-tubing is relatively inexpensive and easy to set up. Also known as spaghetti tubing, it consists of fine plastic tubing, 1mm in diameter, connected directly to the water pipe through holes punched in the water line.

A weight is attached to the end of each tube to keep the tube in the growing bag and to break the flow of water. The weights can be made of old 15mm or 20mm PVC pipes cut into smaller pieces.

If you opt for this method, use micro-tubes of equal length (0,5m) as the flow rate depends on the length as well as the diameter of the tube. For example, a low tube with a small diameter will result in a decrease in water pressure and flow.