Nutrient Film Technique as a Hydroponic System: A practical guide to grow your own plants easy, healthy, fresh and low cost

Of the most important problems that face humans in the current era, is the access to clean, healthy and safe food. This is a result of the widespread use of fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture and which led to the contamination of the soil and made it pathological environment. For this reason scientists were always looking for better methods to produce healthy and secure food. From here came the idea of cultivation without soil (Hydroponics) in order to get rid of this problem and get the clean food. The beauty of hydroponic systems that it can be used in the narrowest places and without any need for agricultural soil. The system can be placed on the terrace or on rooftops or in the house back garden, and thereby produce healthy, safe and fresh food from the system to your salad dish directly. Hydroponic is the science of growing plants without soil as a supporting and nutrients supplier medium. Nutrient film technique (NFT) system is one of the hydroponic divisions. Basically, NFT is a continuous stream of nutrient solution pumped from a solution container and flows over the plant roots and then proceeds back to the container. The idea of NFT is simple; the plant roots develop on a surface that has a maximum of 1 mm of nutrient solution flowing gradually across it. The term Nutrient Film Technique is used as the nutrients solution is moving as a film on the bottom of a plane surface. The Advantages of the nutrient film technique in glasshouse crop production are countless. For instance, low capital cost, Rapid turnaround between crops, Simplicity of installation and operation, precise control of nutrient, Conservation of water by use of a cyclic system rather than an open system and easy adjustment of nutrient solution. Generally speaking, NFT system is cheap to run, simple to operate, needs little maintenance, and commonly problem free. NFT is a very good technique for both beginners, and highly developed growers.