Fogponics

Typically any hydroponics system requires some sort of substitute grow medium such as rock wool or perlite to grow plants without soil. Aeroponics, an advanced form of hydroponics, uses cutting edge growing technology which allows growing without any grow medium unlike hydroponic ssystems. In aeroponics system, the plant roots are suspended in a dark grow chamber protected from ultraviolet light. In this protected environment the desired nutrient is sprayed occasionally, directly upon the roots.

Fogponics is a new and advanced form of aeroponics which uses water in a vaporized form to transfer nutrients and oxygen to suspended plant roots. In fogponics, you need to use very little water and energy compare to the conventional aeroponics and hydroponics systems. Thus, you can expect higher yields at the end of the process.

Fogponics has appeared as a very worthy technique in the future of indoor gardening. It is fun to experiment with it and possible to conduct university level research with low micron fogponics. Inside the root chamber of a fogponics system you need to install an ultrasonic fogger. This fogger will run by oscillating at a frequency of 2MHZ or two million vibrations per second. The nutrient rich water of your system will convert into fog with water particle sizes of 3-5 microns. This fog is the ultimate delivery system to roots for optimum nutrient uptake.

Ultrasonic fogger units usually come with 1 to 10 disk heads. The more disks in the fogger unit the more fog you can create. Growers prefer to have pond foggers, which are much cheaper than an ultrasonic unit. The disks in the fogger units have a tendency to get crusted from nutrient, so they need to be cleaned on a regular basis. There are different types of disks available in the market which you can buy. The teflon coated one is easier to clean and also not so expensive to replace.

Fogponic systems come with different types of growing units. They range from the basic single root chamber to 6” tubes setup. In this system, you need to use water chamber to blow the fog so that the plants root can get enough oxygen to grow properly. To maintain humidity of the foliage area, you need to blow nutrient rich fog through the canopy. The fog will adequately wet the roots above your water line to prevent from drying up. If you run ebb and flow system of growing, you can supplement the flooding cycles with short fog cycles.

If you are planning to grow orchids, you need to increase the humidity level around the root zone and your plants. By using fogponic systems of growing plants you can experience faster growth, higher yields with less nutrient and water.

References

Trials using fogponics, have shown that water and energy use is reduced compared with traditional aeroponic and hydroponic systems, and that higher yields are achievable.

See also

• Grow box
• Growroom