Our Systems

HYDROPONICS

Hydroponics is an art of growing plants without soil, in a nutrient rich solution. Hydroponics has come a long way in recent years with new techniques and many types of hydroponics growing systems now available. We have been growing with hydroponics ourselves for over 20 years now and also have many years experience as pipe fitters, which has enabled us to design and build several types of hydroponics growing systems that use different techniques for the nutrient solution to be delivered to your plant roots.

Please read below for information about the different techniques for hydroponics growing used with our GS Pot Systems and also read about the systems themselves and how they work.

AEROPONICS

Aeroponics is a technique used for indoor plant cultivation that is highly regarded by many growers around the world as a clean and very efficient way to grow, a technique that has been developed and used by NASA. Aeroponics growing systems are usually made from a sealed chamber or tank that will have a frame or structure fitted to support a plant without any growing media, this method of plant support will allow the plant roots to be totally suspended in the air, inside the dark chamber. Most commonly mesh pots are used and fitted into the top of aeroponics growing systems, for plants to be supported in and grown. This allows for the minimum amount of growing media to be used, and the easiest and quickest way to support and grow plants in aeroponics systems. Plant roots are able to grow freely into the air, inside the dark chamber and will flourish with the high levels of oxygen they receive. Water and nutrients are stored in a tank and can be pumped and delivered at regular timed intervals, or permanently to plant roots through misters or sprayers. Most commonly aeroponics systems will re-circulate all water and nutrients back to the main tank, but there are some aeroponics systems that have been designed to drain water and nutrients to waste. Aeroponics propagators can be used for rooting cuttings from a donor plant, the time taken and higher success rates from these units is amazing, they produce healthy air rooted plants that are less likely to be infected with pathogens, and the air rooted plants can then be transplanted into any growing media, hydroponics growing systems or aeroponics growing system. Aeroponics growing systems will allow your plants to be grown and flowered to full maturity and harvest, in probably the cleanest and quickest way possible for indoor cultivation.

DEEP WATER CULTURE

Deep Water Culture is probably the simplest method for hydroponics cultivation, but also one of the best. This method of growing allows the roots of your plants to be permanently submerged into the water and nutrient. This would normally saturate the roots and cause the death of the plant, but by simply placing an air stone into the water and nutrient to deliver high levels of oxygen, allows the roots to flourish and your plants to survive and grow rapidly. A sealed chamber or tank can be used with mesh pots fitted into the top to support and grow your plants. An air pump is fitted to air stones that are placed inside the tank, the air pump is normally run permanent to keep the water and nutrient highly oxygenated and mixed well. To begin, the water level is kept high so the mesh pot is slightly submerged into the water and nutrient, keeping the young plant moist and fed. As the roots develop out of the mesh pot and into the water and nutrient, the level can be lowered slightly to suit and allow even more oxygen to the roots. Deep Water Culture is an easy and great way to grow with hydroponics.

DRIP SYSTEMS

Drip systems are designed to deliver water and nutrients into your growing media, through pipes, fittings and drippers, to feed your plants. This is a common method for hydroponics, soil and coco cultivation that can deliver great results. There are various designs and sizes of drippers available, but basically they all do the same job, which is to release the water and nutrient slowly into the growing media. Irrigation drip systems can be manufactured with parts, to feed individual pots in your grow room and save hours of hand watering your plants. Pots should be placed onto a tray or lining to catch any excess water that may drain out of the pots. A tank is needed to store your water and nutrients, and a pump placed inside to deliver it to your plant pots and media through the pipe work connected to the pump. The main pipe header can have small outlets connected, so that a smaller diameter pipe can be fitted and have the drippers connected on the other end. The drippers can be placed into your pots and growing media and deliver all water and nutrients directly where it is needed. As long as the excess water and nutrients is not too much it can be left to dry or it can be run to waste. Most drip systems that are available are re-circulating drip systems, that will normally have a tank, and a tray positioned on top or on a frame above the tank, to place your plant pots onto. The pump is placed inside the tank and connected to pipes that lay across the top tray. The main pipe will have smaller pipes connected and drippers fitted onto the ends of the pipes, to place into your media. Excess water and nutrient from pots can fall directly into the tank below and re-circulate. A perfect example of a re-circulating top feed drip system is a Wilma Pot System.

FLOOD AND DRAIN

Flood and Drain is a very simple technique used for hydroponics cultivation that works very well. The system floods with water and nutrient, covering your media and plant roots, and then it drains pulling loads of fresh oxygen into the media and plant roots, it is that simple. Flood and drain tray systems will have a tank for your water and nutrient to be stored in and a tray placed on top to support your growing media and plants. The top tray has two holes, one is connected to a pipe that is fitted to the pump and the other is fitted with an overflow pipe to prevent flooding onto the floor of your grow room. When growing in trays with flood and drain, you can either use shallow pots to hold your media and plants and place them onto the tray, this will allow you to move the plants around on the tray if you need to, or you can fill the complete tray with media, but once you have planted you cannot move your plants as you will disturb and damage the roots. The pump is placed onto a timer to flood the tray at certain times, and when the tray is flooded and the pump switches off, all of the water and nutrients will drain back through the pump and into the main tank. There is also flood and drain pot systems available that work on the same principle as the tray design. Your water and nutrient is stored in a tank and pumped into the grow pots to flood them, when the pump switches off the water and nutrients are returned to the main tank, either by gravity or another pump and timing equipment. Clay pebbles are normally the growing media used for flood and drain systems, as they allow the plant roots to grow freely through them, and they will also stay moist from the flooding for quite a while, whilst providing loads of oxygen to the roots.

GS AEROPONICS DEEP WATER CULTURE

We have combined two of the best methods for indoor plant cultivation into one system. The GS Aeroponics and Deep Water Culture systems are designed for one large plant per pot to be grown. The bottom pots of the system are all connected together and fitted to a header pot. This allows them to act as the reservoir for the system, water can be poured into the header pot and gravity will level it out into each bottom pot of the system. An air stone is placed into each bottom pot and connected to an air pump, keeping all water and nutrient mixed well and highly oxygenated. The top pots of the system fit halfway into the bottom pots, allowing them to sit just above the water level stored in the system. The grow pot lid has a filter fitted to allow the air to exchange in the top pot, and a 3" mesh pot is fitted for the plant to be supported in and allow the roots to be suspended in the air inside the top pot. A 3" root cover is provided with mesh pots and will help to seal the top pot of all light and protect root growth. The delivery pump is placed into the header pot and connected to the irrigation delivery system, the water and nutrient is pumped through the pipe work and delivered from above into the top pot of the system through two inverted sprinklers. This method of delivery ensures there will be no entanglement with any roots and also gives total coverage inside the pot. The top pots have large drain holes to allow the water and nutrient to drain and re-circulate back into the bottom pot, but also to allow the roots to develop into the bottom pot and the highly oxygenated solution. When the delivery pump is turned on, it will re-circulate all water and nutrient around the system, so the solution can be maintained easily and EC and PH levels can be adjusted. In this system it is possible to start from seed or cutting, and then grow your plants to full maturity and harvest with aeroponics and deep water culture. This system gets your plants off to a flying start with the aeroponics, and when your plants are well established the deep water culture will help to sustain large flowering plants and deliver maximum yield.

GS AEROPONICS

The GS Aeroponics systems are designed for one large plant per pot to be grown. The grow pots are placed onto moulded sloped pot stands to elevate them above the water tank, this allows the water to drain from the grow pots and re-circulate back to the water tank. The tank is not connected to the system, and can be emptied, cleaned and re-filled in no time at all. The outer grow pots are all connected in rows at the base of the pots with pipe and fittings to allow for drainage. The inner grow pots have small drain holes to allow water and nutrient to drain but keep the plant roots contained in the pot. The grow pot lid has a filter fitted to allow the air to exchange inside the pot, and a 3" mesh pot is fitted in the lid for the plant to be supported in and allow the roots to be suspended in the air inside the inner pot. A 3" root cover is provided with mesh pots and will help seal the pot of all light and protect root growth. The delivery pump is placed into the water tank and connected to the irrigation delivery system, the water and nutrient is pumped through the pipe work and then delivered from above into the grow pot through two inverted sprinklers. This method of delivery ensures there will be no entanglement with any roots and also it gives total coverage inside the pot. The water and nutrient can drain freely from the inner pot allowing the roots to be permanently suspended in the air and not sitting in any water. In this system it is possible to start from seed or cutting, and then grow your plants to full maturity and harvest with aeroponics. This system provides a very quick, clean and efficient way to grow, with no growing media to buy and far less nutrient required, in the long run a great saving.

GS DEEP WATER CULTURE

The GS Deep Water Culture systems are designed for one large plant per pot to be grown. The grow pots are connected together at the base of the pot with pipe and fittings allowing them to act as the reservoir. Each grow pot has an air stone placed inside which is connected to an air pump which sits on the floor next to the system, this keeps the water and nutrient mixed well and highly oxygenated. All air pumps are silent and require very little power, so they can be left to run permanently, no timing equipment is needed. Grow lids on our DWC systems have an air filter fitted to allow the air inside the pots to exchange, and a 3" mesh pot is fitted for plants to be supported in and allow the roots to be suspended into the water and nutrient. Root covers are supplied and will neatly fit into the top of the mesh pots and seal the grow pot completely, making it totally dark inside the grow pots. A clear tube is fitted externally to a grow pot on the system to allow viewing of the water level easily and the systems can be topped up through an access hole in the lid when required. In this system it is possible to start from seed or cutting, and then grow your plants to full maturity and harvest with deep water culture, a most reliable and easy method for hydroponics cultivation.

GS DRIP SYSTEMS

The GS Drip systems are designed for either one large plant per pot to be grown, or two small plants per pot to be grown the choice is yours. These top feed drip systems are great and can be used with soil, coco, clay pebbles or Rockwool grow cubes for the growing media. We recommend a layer of clay pebbles is placed into the grow pot first and your chosen media on top. The outer grow pots are placed onto moulded sloped pot stands to elevate them above the water tank, and are connected together in rows with pipe and fittings for drainage. The drainpipes can be fitted to re-circulate all water and nutrient back to the main tank or they can be fitted to run all excess water and nutrient to waste. The water tank is not connected to the system, and can be emptied, cleaned and re-filled in no time at all. The inner grow pots have small drain holes to keep your growing media and roots contained, but allow the water and nutrient to drain into the outer pot and re-circulate back to the main tank through the pipe work. The design of this system allows the inner pot and growing media to drain easily and sit above any puddles of water that remain in the outer pot, keeping the media and roots moist and not saturated. The delivery pump is placed in the water tank and connected to the irrigation delivery system. The feed lines are connected to the grow pots and the drippers placed into your media. The water and nutrient will be pumped through the pipe work and drip into your media to feed your plants. The excess will drain freely and re-circulate back to the main tank.

GS FLOOD AND DRAIN

The GS Flood and Drain systems are designed for one large plant per pot to be grown, or two small plants per pot to be grown. The systems are also laid out with access between the rows of grow pots for you to easily tend to your plants. We have designed these systems to use gravity for the water and nutrient to drain, so they require no expensive timing equipment, just a 15-minute segmental timer to do the job. The grow pots are placed onto moulded sloped pot stands to elevate them above the water tank, and they are connected together at the base of the pot with large pipe and fittings, the pipe is connected to the irrigation delivery pump in the water tank. The tank is not connected to the system and can be emptied, cleaned and re-filled in no time at all. Maxi Jet pumps are used on all GS Flood and Drain systems, a quality pump that allows low levels in the water tank so the systems can be checked every few days instead of daily. When the pump switches on the water and nutrient is pumped into each grow pot and floods the grow pot and your media to feed your plants. At the top of the grow pots is an overflow system fitted that leads back to the main tank, this prevents the system from flooding onto your grow room floor and allows the pump to run continuously. We need the system to drain, so that is why we use the 15-minute timer with the delivery pump, to control the time and length of the flood periods. Inside the grow pots there are two filters fitted to protect the pipes from the growing media blocking the flood and drain process, one at the bottom entrance and one at the top on the overflow. The water and nutrient can move freely in the system, but the media will stay in the pot. The grow pots take 18 litres of growing media to fill them to the correct level, and they will need seven litres of water and nutrient delivered into each pot to flood them to the overflow system. When testing these systems, we used no growing media at first, we simply filled the tank with water and switched the pump on, we continued to fill the tank with more water as it emptied into the grow pots, so that the water completely filled each pot to the overflow system, we then left the systems to run permanently for 24 hours to see if they would at all flood, of course they didn't or our shop would have been a mess. This is the reason the systems require no expensive timing equipment or additional pumps, just the simple laws of gravity.