How to Plant Tomatoes With Hydroponics
Hydroponics is a method of growing plants that is often used in greenhouses, as the plants are not placed directly in a garden. Hydroponic-grown plants, including tomatoes, are grown in small pots floating or suspended above water, allowing the tomatoes' roots to absorb the necessary amount of nutrient-rich water necessary for the tomatoes or other hydroponic plants to grow. To plant and grow using the hydroponics method, an unsinkable support system must first be constructed or purchased. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Styrofoam hydroponics plant trays
- Utility knife
- Potting soil
- Hydroponic waterbeds
- Water-soluble tomato nutrient or fertilizer solution
- Tomato seeds of specified breeds
Instructions
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Purchase hydroponics plant trays for growing tomatoes. Trays with larger-sized holes provide a better support system for full-grown tomato plants (keep this in mind if you want to grow the tomatoes entirely in the hydroponics beds or transplant them into a garden or pot during the warm growing season).
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Use a utility knife to cut larger holes into hydroponic plant trays with holes too small for full-grown tomato plants. Be sure to leave the bottom ends tapered to prevent the root system from falling through and to provide better watering results.
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Purchase or build a waterbed to place the trays. Build the beds from wooden frames covered on the interior with a single, solid sheet or plastic.
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Mix an appropriate amount of nutrient solution into the waterbed. You may want to measure the water as you add it to the bed to make sure you add the correct amount of nutrient or fertilizer solution.
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Fill the plant tray holes halfway full of soil and drop one tomato seed into each hole. Cover the seeds, fill the tray's holes completely, and then set into the waterbeds where the trays will remain afloat at the surface of the water, with only enough of the tray submerged to allow the tomato plant's roots to absorb the necessary amount of water.
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Tips & Warnings
Monitor the growth of the plants. As the plants grow, they will naturally become heavier; if the plants become too heavy to be supported by the trays, you will need to use other materials to support the trays. You do not want the bottoms of the trays to submerge more than an inch deep and risk drowning the root system of the tomatoes. Bricks will work to support the trays and prevent them from sinking too deeply into the water.
