Nutrients for Hydroponics and Tissue Culture

Learn about hydroponics, nutrient management, study how to make and manage nutrient solution

Course Code: SGH21
Fee Code: SG
Duration (approx) Duration (approx) 20 hours
Qualification
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Learn to prepare and manage different types of nutrient formulations in hydroponics.

Plant nutrition in hydroponics not a fixed science. Nutrient formulas and working strength solutions are tweaked and fine-tuned throughout plant life cycle.

In this course you will be able to :

  • understand different nutrient solutions
  • analyse the components of a solution
  • decide what is appropriate

Lesson Structure

There are 11 lessons in this course:

  1. INTRODUCTION
    • Artificial Growing
    • Tissue Culture
    • Hydroponics
    • How Plants Uptake Nutrients
    • How Plants Absorb and Use Nutrients in Hydroponics
    • Hydroponics Techniques
  2. PRE-PACKAGED NUTRIENTS
    • Using Solid Nutrients
    • Solutions and Precipitates
    • Why Twin-Pack Chemicals?
    • Why Single-Pack Liquid Solutions?
    • Organic Solutions
  3. CHEMICAL COMPONENTS
    • Types of Chemicals
    • Electrical Conductivity
    • The Role of pH in Hydroponics
    • What are Solutions?
    • What Does a Hydroponic Nutrient Look Like?
    • Writing Chemical Names
    • Calculating the Amount of Nutrient in a Chemical
    • Mixing Nutrients
    • Hydroponic Fertiliser details
  4. OTHER ADDITIVES
    • Introduction
    • Allowable Additives for Hydroponic Nutrient Solutions
    • Beneficial Trace Elements as Hydroponic Additives
    • Bio-stimulants as Hydroponic Additives
    • Foliar Nutrition and Foliar sprays
  5. CREATING HYDROPONIC NUTRIENTS
    • Introduction to Basic Mixes
    • Process of Making and Mixing Nutrients from Fertiliser Salts
    • Example Solutions
    • Nutrient Solution Formulation
    • Hydroponic Nutrient Levels
    • Nutrient Ratios
    • Assessing a Nutrient Formulation
    • Suggestions for Beginners
  6. ORGANIC HYDROPONIC NUTRIENTS
    • Brief History
    • Issues with Organics
    • Types of Organic Systems
    • Allowable Nutrient Sources and Products for Organic Production
    • Making Organic Nutrient Solutions Onsite
    • EC and pH Control in Organic Hydroponics
    • Problems with Organic Nutrients
  7. TISSUE CULTURE NUTRIENTS
    • Hydroponics vs. Tissue Culture
    • Nutrient Supply in Tissue Culture
    • A Tissue Culture Medium
    • Other Additives in Tissue Culture and Hydroponics
    • Organic Compounds
  8. MANAGING CONTAMINANTS
    • Water Quality
    • Disinfection Systems
    • Preventing Chemical Contaminants from Leaking into the Broader Environment
  9. TESTING SOLUTIONS
    • Important Tests in Hydroponics
    • Water Quality Tests
    • Water quality test results and interpretation
    • Nutrient Balance Testing: Solution Analysis
    • Plant Testing: Foliar Mineral Levels
    • pH Tests for Hydroponics
    • EC Testing
    • Automatic EC and pH testing and control
  10. NUTRITIONAL DISORDERS
    • Nutrition Management
    • Diagnosing Nutritional Stress
    • Nutritional Deficiencies
    • Macronutrients: NPK Deficiencies and Toxicities
    • Other Common Deficiencies and Toxicities
    • Micronutrients
    • What are the Most Common Symptoms?
    • Key to Detecting Deficiencies and Toxicities
  11. NUTRIENT SOLUTION AND PRODUCE NUTRITION
    • Examples of Nutrient Solution Manipulation and Produce Nutrition
    • Final Assessment

Who is this course suitable for?

  • Commercial growers
  • Fertiliser Manufacturer and Suppliers
  • Home gardeners
  • Hydroponic shop manager and staff
  • Any other suppliers who service hydroponic farms or growers; and who need to develop a greater ability to understand and interact with hydroponic growers.
  • Horticultural consultants, teachers, or anyone else providing advice, who want to expand their knowledge into the area of hydroponics.
  • For someone who already understands the mechanics of hydroponics; or the growing of plants, but needs to learn more about how to provide appropriate nutrients.

 

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Course Contributors

The following academics were involved in the development and/or updating of this course.





Tutors

Meet some of the tutors that guide the students through this course.

Timothy Walker

Timothy is a Botanist, Horticulturist and Gardener. He is an Author, and also a lecturer at Somerville College, Oxford. After training at a number of gardens including Windsor Great Park and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Timothy commenced work at Oxford Botanic Gardens in 1986. Appointed as "Horti Praefectus" (Superintendent/Director) there in 1988, he held that position until 2014. Under Timothy's watch, the garden won four gold medals at the Chelsea Flower Show, and developed 67 acres of MG5 wild flower meadow at the Harcourt Arboretum; a UK threatened habitat. Timothy remains an active practical gardener as well as a highly respected international academic in the fields of horticulture and plant botany.

Andrew Williams

Andrew Williams BSc (Hons), PgDip Eng, MSc, CEng MIET, CMgr FCMI

Andrew has extensive experience across the engineering and building services industries, with specialisms in refrigeration and energy management, with professional recognition as both a Chartered Engineer and Chartered Manager.

This experience includes working in consulting and leadership roles right through to being hands on to deliver projects and outcomes for large scale organisations and within startup and scale up environments.

He has adapted his experience to integrate with new technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) to allow for a data driven perspective to be applied to problem solving and is actively using Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence to solve real world problems.

Gareth Pearce

Gareth has over 25 years of experience in teaching and research in agriculture, veterinary medicine, wildlife ecology and conservation in a variety of colleges and universities in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. He qualified as a veterinary surgeon at the Universities of Melbourne and Bristol, having previously graduated in Agricultural Science and gained a PhD in Livestock Behaviour and Production. He also has post-graduate qualifications in Education, Wildlife Conservation Medicine, Aquatic Veterinary Studies and Wildlife Biology & Conservation.

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