Flood and Drain or Ebb and Flow Irrigation for Cannabis Production

Flood and Drain or Ebb and Flow Irrigation for Cannabis Production

Professor DeBacco


Ebb and Flow Basics
Plants are grown in typically an inert substrate that is within a container located in a growing tray where nutrient containing water is pumped from a reservoir into the growing tray.
This essentially floods are tray allowing the substrate and roots to absorb some of the nutrient solution before the water slowly drains back to the reservoir.
This process also aids in the aeration of the rootzone.



Why Growers Like it
Ebb and flow systems are easy to automate and are easy to set-up and require minimal parts/equipment.
This system is scalable meaning it can be used for 1 or 100’s or 1,000’s+ plants



Drawbacks
A disadvantage to this system as well as many other hydroponic systems in general is that if something goes wrong (even for a short period of time) the entire crop could be lost.
Careful monitoring is essential this includes nutrient concentrations and also pH values
Typically nutrient solutions are changed every 7-10 days
The system should be cleaned between grow cycles



Equipment Needed
Reservoir with lid
Growing tray to support the plants and hold the flooding cycle
Tubing with required fittings
Water pump (sized appropriately for size of tray)
Timer
Plants potted in an inert growing substrate that will allow for absorption of nutrient solution

Frequency and Duration
How to best run your set-up will depend on a few factors such as…
Size/age of plants
Substrate plants are growing in
General growing environment conditions (Ex. Temp. and Humidity)
However a starting point would be…
Frequency: Two irrigation events per day during the light cycle
Duration: 30min flood cycle





Link to Lecture Slides: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TEgi...


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