Use These DWC Tips and Tricks to Get Higher Yield
What if we tell you that people around the globe are now growing plants without the soil. Well, yes believe it or not it is happening. This soil-less growing technique is called Deep Water Culture (DWC). It has even surpassed the plants growing on soil in terms of quality and yield. But, some people (mostly beginners) find this method a little complicated. Well, don’t worry as we are making this system easy for you to understand with some simple DWC tips and tricks.
People are inventing innovative techniques to produce plants in this era. Every indoor plant’s producer aspires to produce large harvests.
To be honest, we all want to get the most out of our plants with the least amount of labor possible. Many elements can influence your crop’s final yield such as the circumstances of your grow room, appropriate plant upkeep, and even strain genetics can make a big difference. These days, people rely on hydroponics, particularly deep water culture (DWC) technology due to its unique features.
In this article, we’ll discuss DWC tips and tricks to enhance the production of your indoor growing plants. But first, let’s start with a proper DWC system introduction.
What is Deep Water Culture?
Deep Water Culture (DWC) is a plant growing method that uses a water tub rather than a solid growing media. Actually, the DWC setup is suspending plants in net pots over a water tub while ensuring that the DWC roots remain in the tub 24/7. The tub is filled with aerated, nutrient-rich water supplied by a water pump.
You might be wondering if roots remain in water 24/7, then root suffocation may occur. Well No! The air pump is a part of this system that regularly supplies oxygen in the form of bubbles. When these bubbles burst near the roots, oxygen is released. Roots absorb this oxygen and keep on thriving.
The primary premise is to make sure the plants have enough nutrients, air, and space to support their root systems. You will have complete control over the plants and will be responsible for ensuring that they are provided with the required circumstances during the vegetative stage, the initial stage of growth.
Is DWC Suitable For New Growers?
There is still a misconception that DWC is difficult. Yet, this could be further from reality. It’s no more difficult if you follow DWC growing tips. In fact, as it involves very little work and maintenance, a DWC system can be one of the simplest ways to cultivate plants indoors.
If you’re new to this technique, you should follow some DWC tips and tricks. It’s best to start by growing hydroponically with a substrate like coco. This is because Coco is more forgiving than other crops, providing the producer more room for error. Having said that, many cultivators started with a DWC setup and quickly became successful.
Read the following DWC growing tips now and become one of the DWC growers!
DWC Tips and Tricks
Understandably, you may be interested in attempting the DWC approach. To cultivate plants by utilizing the DWC method, you must create your own setup. With these simple DWC tips and tricks, set up a perfect system and enjoy high production.
Prepare the Proper Reservoir
As previously stated, the plants must be suspended over the water. And this is where the reservoir comes in. The light should not reach the roots. So, you should use a thick, black plastic container (reservoir) to keep lights from causing problems.
If possible, try to limit the number of plants in each reservoir to one. Remember that this is the greatest strategy to ensure that the plant receives enough nutrients. If you intend to cultivate more than one plant in a reservoir, make sure they are all from the same parent plants.
The reservoir’s top should be entirely covered with a lid. The cover should be robust enough to support a pot containing a fully grown plant. You want to make sure the lid can support the plant while also blocking off any light. Make sure to cut a tight enough hole in the lid to prevent light from going over the edge of the pot.
DWC Grow Tips for Multiple Reservoirs
You can use this strategy if you want to grow many plants in different reservoirs. Place a huge reservoir in the center of your growing area. You should use tubing to connect it to the smaller reservoirs. The water in the main reservoir can then be supplemented with fertilizers and aeration. The water will subsequently be transferred to smaller reservoirs.
You’ll need a variety of pumps and tubing for this. A food-grade sealer is useful for the locations where the tube enters the other reservoirs. Alternatively, you might insert the tube into each reservoir’s cover. Also, if you do this, you must ensure that no light enters the space where the tube is located.
Use Hydroponic Net Pots
The pots you use in DWC are crucial to ensuring the health of the plants. It is feasible to construct your own alter pots. This DWC hydroponics for beginners tip is useful. If you’re feeling crafty, you can use hand tools to drill holes in plastic containers to build makeshift planters. When drilling holes, you must be extremely cautious. You don’t want your holes to have sharp edges.
The best way to achieve this is to melt holes into the plastic with a hot soldering iron. This should result in rounded edges that are better for the roots. Fill the pots with media like clay pellets or perlite. You simply want to ensure that anything you purchase has excellent water retention characteristics.
Let’s start from the very beginning of plants. Use a starting plug or Rockwool to germinate the seeds. Our guide on how to sprout seeds contains a wealth of information. Two days after the plants grow, carefully transplant them to the net pots. You will need to maintain a deep water culture water level until the roots of the seedling reach the water in the reservoir. You should cease watering the plant at this time to ensure its health.
Make Sure To Use The Proper Growing Techniques
When using the Deep Water Culture technique, temperature, pH balance, and nutrients are all crucial factors to consider. The temperature in a DWC system should be between 17 and 20 degrees Celsius (62 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit). Outside of this range, there should be no variation. This is why this method is only for indoor cultivation. When you control the temperature in general, regulating the temperature range becomes considerably easier.
If the temperature falls below 17°C, you can use an aquarium heater to bring it back up to temperature. If the temperature rises beyond 20°C, you can use an aquarium chiller (or even a frozen bottle) to bring it back down.
Moreover, smart DWC growers keep observing DWC water levels too. Neither too much nor too little water is good for plants. Too much water can cause root rot disease. Too little will lead to poor growth too.
Maintain pH balance
For good growth, the pH of your reservoir water is crucial too in addition to the appropriate water level. You should strive to keep your readings between 5.2 and 6.2. If the pH balance shifts above or below the specified range, the plants may have difficulty absorbing nutrients. This will cause problems with the plants’ growth. Check the pH levels regularly to ensure that nothing is amiss with the pH. Use a pH meter or pH strips for this purpose.
You should also run enzymes through the reservoir(s) to prevent waste materials or unneeded nutrients from accumulating.
Ensure Proper Airflow
Aerating the water in which roots are growing is critical to plants’ success. How air flows into the reservoir is critical too. You must ensure that your reservoir receives adequate air in the DWC system. The greatest answer to this problem is an air pump.
It can ensure that the reservoir has the right amount of air. How? Well, the air pump provides oxygen in the form of bubbles. When these air bubbles burst in the water, oxygen is released. Roots absorb this oxygen to survive. Fortunately, most air pumps are reasonably priced. They can also survive a long time if properly maintained as well.
Deep Water Culture Nutrients
You should follow the DWC nutrients guide for the better growth of plants. Organic Nutrients are essential for plants to grow. Without them, the dream of getting a top-quality plant can never be achieved. As we have mentioned before, Soil is not used in the DWC system. So, how do nutrients are supplied to plants grown in this system? Well, plants get their required nutrients from the “Nutrient Solution” that is supplied to the roots.
DWC nutrient strength is immense. This solution contains all the essential deep water culture nutrients needed for proper growth. The best tip here is that you use the Best DWC Nutrients for robust growth.
Choose Your Strain Carefully
There are some DWC tips and tricks to consider to ensure that your growth is a success. Selecting a best-performing strat is among these tips.
It is preferable to select a strain that grows well indoors. You should ensure that the strain can withstand pH fluctuations, greater humidity levels, and potentially increased nutrition levels.
Many Indica strains thrive in these settings, but it doesn’t mean Sativas won’t produce a significant yield utilizing this method. It is largely a matter of personal preference. Also, because Sativas grow taller than most Indicas, training them might be difficult. If you’re not sure which strain to go with, search for one that does well in indoor hydroponic grows. You’ll want something tough and able to withstand the conditions described in this tutorial.
Wrapping Up
All in all, we all want to get the most out of our plants with the least effort. Growing plants in Deep Water Culture can perform this task. DWC is an extremely fast-growing medium as compared to soil. It may take some fine-tuning at first to get things just right. Once you have your DWC up and running and everything is in order, growing quality plants will be easier and faster than ever before. Just follow the DWC tips and tricks we have mentioned in this article for the better growth of your plant. Best wishes on your first DWC growth!
FAQs
How often add nutrients to DWC?
Usually, add/replace nutrients at least once a week. Also, You should change the vitamin at least once a week in a deep water culture medium. In other types of DWC, such as the Kratky Method, you can store it for up to 3 weeks. Although, it’s best to monitor the solution frequently. You can replace nutrients in the DWC medium when the pH is too low or too high, or the DWC nutrient strength solutions entirely change their color.
What nutrients are needed for DWC?
There are two types of nutrients DWC requires that is macronutrients and micronutrients. It is no secret that Macronutrients are Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium. Micronutrients are Iron, Boron, Chloride, Copper, Manganese, Molybdenum, and Zinc. Meso-nutrients are secondary macro-nutrients like Magnesium, Calcium, and Sulfur. All these nutrients are very important for the proper growth and maintenance of plants.
Can you overwater in DWC?
No, you should not overwater your deep water culture medium. Each reservoir should hold up to 15 liters because it is the volume required by a plant to complete all of its growth stages. This is a general estimate, the capacity of the reservoir varies from plant to plant.
The reservoir in DWC can be filled to the brim with a nutritional solution. As a result, the growing media is soaked all the way through rather than just damp at the bottom. If the wrong growing medium is utilized and retains too much moisture, it can damage your indoor plant. This leads to diseases like root rot.
How do you maintain a DWC?
To maintain your DWC medium, you should maintain proper nutrient solution temperature. It’s important to keep your nutrient solution at between 65-75 degrees. Moreover, change out the water regularly. Also, Provide Proper Aeration and clean the filter. You should also check the PH and EC of your system regularly to maintain the health of your indoor plants.
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