#40 - Hydroponics vs Aeroponics vs Soil Growing Systems

As seen in Hydroshow TV SE1.1 EP1 and EP6
If you're looking for more information about growing in aeroponics, hydroponics or soil, see our article in issue 005 of Hydromag here... issuu.com/hydromagazine/docs/h...
Its the 'age old' question, well at least its the question that the hydroponics industry has been asking for the last 5-10 years - which is better, hand watering with soil, hydroponics or aeroponics?
Well, in this video we put the question to Nico at Aquaculture who setup three identical systems in their greenhouse to see if the vegetative growth would shed some light on the question
Enjoy...
See the articles from Hydromag alongside our hydroponic videos @ www.hydroshow.tv

[@rawmark]

I grow indoors all year long using a home made aeroponics system. This way I have fresh tomatoes, green peppers, herbs, lettuce, etc. all year long.

[@Baigle1]

"etc"

[@simonoconor8149]

Never enough etc. man. Never enough.

[@SILVERSTRIPE_]

I bet you do lol

[@99onlyshop57]

COOL

[@TigardMikeR]

Really appreciate the scientific approach it is exactly what I was looking for

[@jonosterman2878]

Love the little cups as prop domes. Can't believe I never thought of that.

[@5h1tfuk]

Empty pop bottles work as well. Cut off the bottom and you even have an air vent 😃

[@EnviroscapeLA-Sustainability]

I congratulate you on a well produced video. The content was superb. The results were astounding. Keep up the great work!

[@dudeu4real]

Very educational for me. Never thought of just putting the seed starter cell in the net pot. I usually rinse the roots off and set them in.

[@hydroshowtv]

+dudeu4real Does save a lot of messing around!

[@voiceforjusticeandproporti5543]

Great video. I would have loved to see energy consumption differences? Any KWh/KJ comparisons?

[@cgpando]

First of all, I'm biased towards aeroponics and hydroponics. This said, I think this study is not really showing any valuable data about vegetable productivity. OK, I admit aeroponics grew taller, but this means very little in terms of eatable mass yielded. For example, if we were to grow tomatoes would they also be better tomatoes, in the same or shorter time? Would they have the same water content as soil-grown? Would they taste the same? As far as I understand Aeroponics are less resource consuming technique for the same results, and this is why you are trying to explain. Right?

[@hydroshowtv]

CARLOS GARCIA PANDO - That's not really what we were trying to show. We think it was even stated in the video that this was more a quick look at how the different systems effected vegetative growth than anything else. You are entirely right that it doesn't show any data concerning the overall production of actual fruit. The time frames that we had from getting it going to broadcasting it didn't allow for that. Showing the data you are after (and probably everyone else) regarding fruit quality over the different production methods would take a lot more time than was available, but could easily be something we do in a future test - thanks for the feedback and the idea!

[@hydroshowtv]

there is a peer reviewed study(admittedly just with lettuce) that shows no difference in taste or quality between the produce over the different methods: Comparison between Hydroponically and Conventionally and Organically Grown Lettuces for Taste, Odor, Visual Quality and Texture: A Pilot Study Food and Nutrition Sciences Vol.2 No.2, Pub. Date: March 31, 2011 Matthew T. Murphy, Fannie Zhang, Yukiko K. Nakamura, Stanley T. Omaye

[@cgpando]

Hi, I understand that these TV things are usually the way you mention. But since Jan 2014 you might have had time to post a follow-up (maybe in the "show more" a little in this "scientific" style. Maybe just adding this study and a little disclaimer as you have just posted as an answer to my question. Anyway, within this closer frame things are still good in favour of investing in aero/fog/hydroponics. Thanks for answering back

[@rexfrost5246]

Why worry about taste? You just flush with a good brand of flush or plain water and there can not be any chemicals left.

[@atomizer2665]

In the case of aeroponic tomato, you gain greater control over the fruit quality, especially the initial fruit. If you use outdoor aeroponic production in areas that are susceptible to blight, you`ll find aeroponics will provide 6-8weeks of additional production over other hydroponic methods and as much as 12weeks over plants that are in soil.

[@overhemd3000]

He finally revealed he has 2 hands at 2:50

[@thebiz5942]

You can use clay balls instead of coco in the drip system.... right?

[@guttentag6924]

How much noise / dB with pump and water dripping to reservoir with the areo

[@LetBBB6345789]

What I miss in all these hydroponics and aeroponics demos is any mention of the energy consumption/cost (pumps, led lighting, possibly heating in winter if need to heat). Especially where these systems are shown for home users, it would be a great addition to know if that will add much to the running costs

[@damiensimper]

Sebastian wouldn’t that depend hugely on where you get your power? The pumps are minimal no more than having a couple of goldfish, but lamps are a whole different story and most will tell you the draw power. Check out QB led technology if you’re just starting and want super effective and cost efficient lighting!

[@3poli]

regarding LEDs i think ull be using the same amount whether u use soil, coco or aeroponics so it doesnt make much of a difference m but the output would be alot more in aeroponics

[@eddiehaymore9521]

And I've gotten decent results from all 4, guess I'm kinda a green thumb but there's one method that blew my mind, yup the self watering/wicking system, by far the best, least maintenance, bigger plants, extraordinary growth. Is there any way to show photos on here

[@TheaDragonSpirit]

Does each plant have the same over all nutrients though? I mean does the soil plant have more nutrients packed in to it's leaves because it's smaller? Or do all plants have around the same amount of nutrients over all, in the sense that one leaf from the soil plant and one leaf from the Aeroponics plant, would have around the same nutrient content if measured? Or does one plant have a lot less nutrients in it's leaves, etc, than the others? Basically which grow method ends up with the most nutrient rich produce?

[@palmtreeleebythesea]

this picture seemed misleading as it showed that hand watered garden much lower than the others visually, but not in height? aeroponics hydro, soil best? add salt? Rinse, repeat? Thank you. Love

[@johangulec9513]

which hydropnic system is best for lettuce?

[@devbachu7072]

great fut I will like to learn all about aeroponics an hydroponics great veideo

[@Grimeyknowledge]

How do you change the water in the drip system?

[@kotgc7987]

4:20 what is the watering timer on the aeroponics?

[@eddiehaymore9521]

Well I am but I don't grow it, I really grow my own vegetables, I'm fairly new to it and I'm trying 4different methods to see which one is suitable for my liking. Of course I used the traditional method soil in pots and beds, the bag/ burlap sack method, the self watering method and the simplest form of hydroponic growing, kratky method

[@michaelransom5841]

Strange, the aeroponic grown pepper plants look stretched. much larger internodal spacing, enlarged leaf growth. Looks like the larger plant size is due to cellular elongation rather than improved cellular division; similar to what you would expect from plants grown under a very red dominant light spectrum with very little blue. Improved access to oxygen at the roots should allow for improved metabolic respiration and faster cell division, but that's not what i'm seeing in your test. I have considerable experience with hydro and soil, but I don't remember elongation as being a direct consequence of hydro, but now i'm questioning what i thought i knew hmmmm... time to go back over the literature...

[@ronpaulrevered]

I'm less interested in the increased rate of vegetative growth as I'm interested in potential yield of fruiting varieties in each of these systems.

[@jareks3354]

Hi, could you tell me the name of the company that makes this aeroponics system that you use in your test?

[@hydroshowtv]

+Jarek S Platinium - distributed by IKON in the UK, or Qualiplast in Canada, not sure about USA

[@kevinbehlmaier230]

Where can I find those aeroponic buckets with lids? those are amazing. if you know the brand i would love more info, thank you!

[@hydroshowtv]

+Kevin Behlmaier Platinium - distributed by IKON in the UK, or Qualiplast in Canada, not sure about USA

[@Your-favorite-vr-dude]

You can make one really cheap and easy.

[@jdb6026]

Can we all appreciate the host's beauty? Dang, that hair is gorgeous.

[@jonslg240]

You'll also notice the really quick shot of just one of the plants roots..to keep you from seeing how he's trimmed the rotten bits off ;)

[@hydroshowtv]

Petty

[@lazyh-online4839]

@@hydroshowtv not really petty, it's a serious concern with this type of system. I'm guessing you didn't use any kind of timer with the pump on those plants, in which case you're not using aeroponics, it's simply soil and two different drip systems. Aeroponics exposes the roots to greater amounts of oxygen not just because of the spray/drip (which is the same as nutrient film technique or a good drip system)but also because of the periods in which all the roots are completely exposed to oxygen absorption. The only exception is when the most is fine and thin enough that the roots will constantly get enough oxygen between the fine misting effect of the water source but that's typically only feasible when using ultrasonic misters. Don't get me wrong, you have a good system, but it's only that, good, not great and not true aeroponics. If you had a properly setup drip or nutrient film hydro setup you would likely have similar if not better growth from those plants as your pseudo-aero devices. That being said it's very rude to call a legitimate piece of constructive criticism "petty" especially when it relates to the real world performance of a product that you're promoting. At best that's misleading at worst it's downright fraudulent.

[@jasonjanes3256]

@@lazyh-online4839 Excellent return - Educate rather than bash - Love for Aero - I'm working on a setup that will use a very small micron fog blended with the general or sudo misters that come standard on the Turboclone systems - The water basin needs to stay at optimum temps as well -Thank you again for the extended reply toward a shallow answer that most-likely had people failing at Aeroponics -

[@lazyh-online4839]

@@jasonjanes3256 great to hear other people are getting involved, I built my own setup mostly homemade, just reusing components like high pressure solenoids, push connects, reverse osmosis pumps/tank, and some high pressure misting nozzles to feed the plants. The hardest part I'm working on now is I'm trying to build a custom timer using Arduino as a platform but it's very complicated because I want a modular system that can add on sensors/modules and the like for monitoring or adjusting factors like water temp, pH, nutrient concentration, even tie into the lighting timer of possible, but it's difficult to program something like this for a beginner like myself. If you're interested, I'm planning on trying to make these (the program at least and hopefully a couple Arduino shields as well) available to anyone interested, let me know if you'd like to know more.

[@slambies]

And the roots were bone dry👍

[@davidbostock6776]

Thumb up from me. Valid disatisfaction will likely be commented on, there will always be a few thumbs down, for no reason at all. If all three samples were watered with the same solution and were grown next to each other in the same heat and light conditions, then your comparison is valid. I missed what the name of the plants were that are being grown. Those growing outdoors in soil would do well to look into; soil solar sterilization, epsom salts, all the usual non toxic pest control options and fertilizers, and benificial fungi and composting, including worm composting.

[@hydroshowtv]

Hello. Thanks for the feedback. Very hard to do proper laboratory tests (or should I say expensive!), but we do try to do a fair-ish test. The plants grown we're 'Chillies', isn't very clear, sorry about that. Not sure what variety. HYTV / Pete

[@wateronly9310]

Awesome you guys!

[@hydroshowtv]

Why thank you, one of my favourites!

[@BALLAD911]

I want to buy this kind of aeroponics buckets. What are some international distributors?

[@hydromagazine]

Hello. Currently, only aware of them being sold here: www.platiniumhydroponics.com/gb/594-aeroponic-system However I am sure they're available elsewhere Pete

[@TitusNeeley]

How long do you leave your misters on for the aeroponic system? Is it constant or say 20 mins on 2 hrs off?

[@atomizer2665]

Depends on the system but if you run 20 minutes on its not aeroponic. Typically, a pump driven high pressure system wont exceed 4 seconds on, most of which is needed to get the pump upto speed. If its equipped with an accumulator and solenoid, 1-2 seconds on. If its driven by compressed air, again 1-2 seconds on but you`ll only need 1 or 2 nozzles.

[@billyg1186]

Old post, but I do 1 minute on 4 minutes off in my 4 plant system.

[@atomizer2665]

I use one nozzle with a 1 second on 1-2 minutes off cycle in a small (26 gallon) 8 plant system. The big outdoor units run 1-2 seconds on 5-10 minutes off (day) and upto 30minutes off (night)

[@billyg1186]

Aeroponics for the win! I have the 40 series and I've seen a 30-40% faster growth rate compared to when I was growing organically in soil.

[@hydroshowtv]

Nice to hear some positive feedback on Aeroponics!

[@Tooloud4Public]

Do you have a timer or spray constantly?

[@billyg1186]

@@Tooloud4Public I was using a timer. 1 minute on/ 4 minutes off

[@arahant69]

No mention here of deep water culture or hydrocorn/dripper.

[@DanielAdams90]

Y didnt u try clay pebbles for the hydroponics (wilma system)

[@hydroshowtv]

True, but coco and clay pebbles are both 'inert' mediums, and quite similar in this instance. The Platinium system we used is very similar to the Wilma, however the Wilma does not come in an aeroponic version, meaning it would have been more difficult to have three identical systems with three different growing methods. Thanks for your comment. HYTVPete

[@venkvelaga]

Yea but how does the food taste? Also about the Aeroponics will support be an issue say if you are growing large tomato plants?

[@hydroshowtv]

+Venk Velaga Definitely need plant supports, as with hydroponics. Yoyo's are used in the uk, about £15 for 10 in the UK

[@mikej1738]

question, have you ever tried to take the aero pot and transplant into a medium? my first attempt is with a dwc setup and from that I have read, the medium like the coco makes or better fruit.

[@hydroshowtv]

Hello. Not sure about this, in fact, pretty sure that there is little evidence to categorically say that transferring in to a medium like coco makes better fruit. Coco is inert, or at least it is supposed to be - it doesn't usually offer the plants anything other than something to plant its roots down in to (unless it is pre-fertilised, and even then that nutrition would be used up by the plant sooner or later, meaning you would need to add more nutrition to the medium). Please do send us a link to where you have read this about coco - would love to read it.

[@mikej1738]

I was referring to medium with a dutch bucket or sorts, sorry for the lack of info. the larger stalked plant will need some support and I don't think the dwc method will work well when they get larger, but maybe I'm wrong there

[@geoffsaunderson3601]

hydroshowtv i did not quit get the daily maintainace that was mentioned on the arioponic system? i imagine the sprayed water collects at the bottom then is pumped back up to the pray heads? is there a great deal of loss? do these need to be topped up daily?

[@hydroshowtv]

Sorry, how do you mean loss? HYTV

[@geoffsaunderson3601]

loss as in water leaving the system through being turned into vapor and leaving the system, hence the need to top up, you said it would need to be checked daily, is this to monitor water loss (as i have described) also to check ppm?

[@Kevin24018]

the video was a bit dark, specially at the beginning, was it that cold that she needed to wear a winter coat? anyway I learned some things, thanks for the info

[@hydroshowtv]

Hi. This was filmed on a very dark, wet, windy day, hence the darkness - but your are the first to complain. And yes, Gemma is always cold and definitely needed the coat that day!

[@kirkwalter5534]

aeroponics is awesome im going to build one I had a small one I bought from a store made to grow plants that only get about a foot tall and I was amazed on how fast they grew. Everyone should stop growing hydro and grow aero great video good info perfect test

[@hydroshowtv]

Thank you Kirk

[@jameshamilton5647]

Where can i buy this aeroponic unit please?

[@rexfrost5246]

If you are in the US there are several places, Growace, Rogue Hydro and a couple of more.. Look on Ebay and Amazon. I plan to get one of the small ones they used in this video. The are very reasonably priced the larger ones are much more for not that many more grow spots.

[@hydroshowtv]

Someone disliked this video - if you have a problem let us know please!

[@Piterszczyk]

Hey there you will have people dissing the vids just for the sake of it, or because they didnt like some detail but they cant be bothered to drop a comment. I suggest you get used to that and dont get emotional about it, instead you could focus on comments with constructive feedback, both positive and negative. Take care ;)

[@hydroshowtv]

True, some people's are good, some bad! But we like all feedback, good and bad! Thought this was a good video if we're talking personally!

[@hydroshowtv]

haha, brave of you to come forward!

[@hydroshowtv]

Hello. We found that the plants grown in soil started quicker than the others, the Coco/Hydro setup caught up quickly, and we expect would have grown faster once established. The consistency was much more uniform which the hydro than the soil too. More info: Google search "Issuu Hydromag Issue 005" - should be the top link.

[@hydroshowtv]

robert13605 Hello. Yes, this can be done. I find that rockwool is better if you're transferring to aeroponics. Soil is probably easier for germinating seeds (beginners?!), but when you transfer soil grown seedlings in to Aeroponics, you can get a little discoloration in the roots (from the soil) - which is a little annoying, specially if you're trying to achieve some good root porn ;)

[@joshuasanchez7513]

Should’ve used clones to limit possible variations in growth patterns due to environment

[@MsRio123456]

Mate what about who produces more ???????

[@moffepolle]

Mate they said the aeropinics cuz you have a faster growth due to fast nutrient uptake by the roots

[@TechieTard]

@@moffepolle it's actually due to the oxygen to the roots.

[@JohnGuest45]

Nice production, i`ve seen a lot less professional and informative stuff on the BBC ;) If you plan to do more testing in the future i`d recommend including an NFT system, a sprinkler based aeroponic system and an aeroponic system that delivers short pulses of very fine, fog like mist. You`ll find the performance of the sprinkler based aeroponic and NFT is very similar but neither will come close to the mist based system. If you use pre-rooted cuttings in netpots filled with hydroton for all, that will provide a level playing field.

[@hydroshowtv]

Hello. Thanks for the heads up. This was a very rough test. I guess this is not 'true' aeroponics, but more what has become known as 'aeroponics' in our industry. Undoubtedly the methods you talk of will offer different results, and we hope one day to put this to the test too! Keep watching. :)

[@JohnGuest45]

hydroshowtv There`s nothing wrong with low pressure aeroponics/sprinklerponics, its effective and the least costly. High pressure aero offers better mist quality and greater control for a price. Air atomised aeroponics represents the ultimate in mist quality and control but its also the most expensive.

[@HimanshuGupta-fu3im]

No cups it's coops guys 🤣🤣🤣😜

[@lereveure]

What type of light used? what type of nutrients used? how many hours of lighting per day? Just saying, some important data is missing to really have anything meaningful about this

[@petebig]

Hi. These were grown under daylight in a green house supplemented with T5 strip / tube fluorescent lights. The nutrient used was Vitalink Grow. All plants were grown under the same light, using the same nutrients. This is not a definitive scientific experiment of course. In the video description there is an article to supplement the video which goes in to much more detail. Have you read it?

[@repo3673]

He was late up and fuck combing my hair

[@chrispricetheoutdoorsfamil9585]

This guy needs to cheer up a little bit looks like somebody forced him to be on TV LOL

[@joekunedo]

That woman is fine.😁

[@mulol]

What's the name of the Aero system ?

[@hydroshowtv]

That was a Platinium (looks like Platinum, but has an extra "i" in it. Lots of other similar systems available in the market though.

[@mulol]

THX :D

[@cryptic7s721]

Wow she came back 8 weeks later even more pretty. I was tripped out.

[@Indoorharvest]

Replace those low pressure sprinklers with high pressure nozzles and reduce the droplet size to 50 microns and you'll see even faster growth. NASA aeroponics was 50-80 microns. This isn't exactly aeroponics per say..

[@hydroshowtv]

Hello - yes you're right (I mentioned this on a comment below), however this does demonstrate the importance of air in the root zone and how it can increase growth rates massively.

[@MikeKleinsteuber]

I think the girl adds nothing and it would have been better for a good presenter to do PTCs and give a little more info with more shots cut in. Also get rid of the dribbly music in the background

[@hydroshowtv]

+Mike Kleinsteuber Thanks for your contribution. Perhaps we should get a Hollywood director and have a top DJ do the background music... if money was no object!

[@ematt1603]

+Mike Kleinsteuber The girl is fit!!! maybe in a tiny bikini for the follow up!

[@FeedCrackercom]

+hydroshowtv yeah, Mike Kleinsteuber is a dick

[@matildajames5809]

The drawback to hydroponics is you will need to buy "plant food" or nutrition and supplements that can be more costly.

[@matildajames5809]

Aquaponics combines the most beneficial aspects of Hydroponics And Aquaculture which means greatly reduce cost and improve efficiency. You'll find the best aquaponics plan right here: help1.info/best-aquaponics-plan

[@hydroshowtv]

Matilda James True, however the drawback with Aquaponics is that you need to wait for the water solution to be ready before you can put fish or plants in - hydroponics can be grown in straight away, correct?

[@jokibud-sm1kr]

if testing anything for growth u need to use cuttings from the 1 plant.as there is a difference betweenseeds .the word is pheno.come on get it rite.but worth wachin.thanks

[@hydroshowtv]

Hello, strictly speaking you're right, it would be a more accurate representation with cuttings, however the genetic differences between each seed isn't too drastic, and it still shows the principle behind difference in growth. Using cuttings would elimate any genetic drift between plants that might skew results, but the obvious differences between the growth we think can easily be attributed to the systems rather than genetic difference

[@jonslg240]

lol this is far from an experiment. They're all 3 getting the same nutrients, but two of them are in coco which has a different CEC (cation exchange capacity, look it up). Having grown in both, if done right, you will see almost no difference in growth, but a large difference in how much maintenance (and headaches) - which is substantially increased in an aero grow. This isn't even accounting for what may have been purposely done to skew the results, which is probably likely as well. Remember, the whole point of this video is to try and sell you something. Misrepresentation shouldn't be needed to sell a truly good product. But hey, if you don't trust me, you can always do the coca cola challenge. Just be sure you know what you're doing when you do it, because this guy obviously doesn't (else he'd know you can't use the same exact nute solution and expect fair results) and is trying to sell people who don't on aeroponics. If I fed a soil, coco, dwc and aero system with a nute solution best suited for coco, guess which would win?

[@hydroshowtv]

Another keyboard warrior, misinterpreting the purpose of the video, and not reading the article referenced in the video description. (If you had read the article, you would have more of an insight and you wouldn't be making these comments). Firstly, two of them are not in coco - that's fairly clear. One is soil, one is coco, the other is aero. Nothing was done to skew the results (chopping of roots? really?). Nobody is trying to sell anything in this video. We didn't receive any money from any sponsor for creating it. We never stated this "proves" anything. We said, the results from this test "suggest" that aero increases growth rate in the vegetative period. Nice to have your feedback, however make sure you have the facts before you criticise please sir. Peace xx

[@SuperCconroy]

Let's be honest everyone here cos they're weed heads haha ain't nobody growing chilis here apart from you mate

[@geoffsaunderson5766]

Chris Conroy perhaps they should of grown weed for the camera and got them selves shut down in days! Tip...don't go into your local hydro shop shooting your mouth off about weed, it's a good way to get your self banned! Use some etiquette...they know, you know your not growing tomatoes, but let's just call it tomatoes shall we.

[@cannabisenthusiast8351]

Chris Conroy got me here bud

[@johnmartinez9220]

I can't afford any of it! Lol

[@MrJesusHKrist]

Nico likes her I wonder if they made babies Hydroponically, areoponically or in soil

[@marceloariasfernandez8658]

I can't see any signs of energy anywhere on this video? Are u two guys stoned?

[@solehrlich8300]

'

[@poser8587]

Yes I know I am replying to an old video. These people are wearing coats as if they are cold so whats with the plant in the background. Plastic, dead or dying? Does not speak well for the intended audience.

[@Paschok007]

Руки с карманов вытащи когда что то показываешь 😅

[@JuneBugJoe]

Good info for people, i like the mini humidity domes ;) .... althouhg, You guys host, (the guy not the girl (she sounds sweet n lively) ) is very, ummm blah... I love horticulture and feel it is very exciting and needs some more energy vibrant people! We want to see speakers sounding more interested in what they are talking about. This guy is falling asleep trying to explain things. Is he hung over?

[@hydroshowtv]

Hello - he is not a presenter or used to being in front of a camera, hence he is probably a little nervous! Thanks for the nice comments though.

[@po3tik1]

He gave information clearly and concisely. I think it was informative without being too over the top :)

[@hydroshowtv]

Thanks for that, we'll pass the message on!

[@cgpando]

Yes, until 2.40 I thought he did not have a left hand!

[@hydroshowtv]

Carlos Garcia Pando that's our Nico trying to look cool, calm and collected with one hand in his pocket!

[@greggruger589]

I was going to watch this but the girls voice right from the start is beyond annoying!

[@edplow5917]

+WHAT ABOUT THE GUY WITH THE SOCK IN HIS MOUTH?

[@danielxxgadd]

Fuck sake . I smell Desperate SEO

[@hydroshowtv]

Nope, have you watched the video, does exactly what it says in the title and description!

[@anonymous8324]

Похоже на начало порнофильма.

[@thatswhatshesaid1]

Can you set me up with the girl?

[@motonegros]

For real!, Shes a doll.