What is Deep Water Culture and how to get started with it?

If someone is new to growing plants by using the hydroponic technique, the term “Deep Water Culture” might sound like some technical jargon. Compared to the traditional forms of growing plants through soil, hydroponics seems to be much more complex, but reality is anything but. There are many different ways of hydroponic gardening such as deep water culture, nutrient film technique, ebb and flow. These terms are again, very technical on the face value but when you break it down, it is quite simple.

One of the most prominent types of hydroponic gardening technique is called Deep Water Culture or DWC in short.

What is Deep Water Culture?

Before going into the minute details, it is imperative that we look at it from a wider perspective. In the DWC technique, the roots of the plant are suspended in a solution that is full of oxygen and water as well as the essential nutrients. These are the three critical parts of the solution:

• Oxygen: Normally, roots receive oxygen from the soil itself. Since soil is full of pores, that is where the oxygen resides. There has to be an ample amount of oxygen in the solution so that the plants do not die. 
• Water: Every living thing on the planet needs water. The benefit of hydroponic gardening is, that the plants do not need to be watered constantly unlike in traditional, soil gardening. Just water them once and they will not need to be watered again.
• Nutrients: Soil contains many macro and micro level nutrients which are imperative for a plant’s survival. Now, since the set up does not have soil, the oxygenated water needs to be supplemented with artificial nutrients so that the plants can survive and thrive. 

There are two major reasons why it is called Deep Water Culture, the first reason being that these plants are grown in a reservoir that has quite a large amount of water. This means freedom from the hassle of watering the plants again and again.

The other reason is that the roots are submerged in water 24 hours and 7 days a week. Some of the hydroponic techniques suggest that the roots of the plants should be left out (at least some portion of them). DWC has the roots submerged all the time, hence the name.

Benefits of DWC

There are many different ways that can be used to grow plants hydroponically. DWC is just one of the many approaches available. The technique is so popular because:

• It is almost no maintenance once the initial setup is completed 
• Plants grow extremely fast in it. 
• Very little movable parts and assembly are required.

DWC Variations

The traditional method
At Grow World Hydroponics we suggest one of the most brilliant and easy ways to set up DWC. The process is described below:

This is a very rudimentary way of constructing a DWC setup. Usually, the following things are required for it

• 5 gallon bucket 
• Airstone, Airline Tubing, Air pump 
• Net Pots (used to keep plants in place) 
• Hydroponic Growing Medium 

The method is very easy; just simply connect the pump and the tubing which would then be collectively connected to the airstone. The airstone is then placed into the bucket. Bucket should be filled with water, nutrients and the seeds.

Once the plants start the process of germinating, the roots will start to hit the water. Then the explosive growth of the plants will be noticeable. One way of making the process faster is to fill the water to the brim as soon as the seeds start to germinate.

Grow World Hydroponics
1271 Bristol Road South
Northfield
Birmingham
B31 2SP
www.grow-world.co.uk
sales@grow-world.co.uk
0121 448 3155

Posted in: Deep Water Culture,Grow World Hydroponics