“Deep Water Culture” (commonly referred to as DWC) refers specifically to the type of hydroponics where plants grow with the roots stretching out into a tub of nothing but aerated nutrient-water. This roots-in-oxygenated-water setup is what gives Deep Water Culture its remarkable vegetative growth speed! Why is it called Deep Water Culture? “Deep Water” because the plants are growing in a deep pool of water instead of in some sort of growing medium, and “Culture” is a word that can also mean “Cultivation”.
What is DWC?
In short, DWC is growing your plant with its roots in aerated nutrient-water (the air part, provided by bubbles, is very important). Like this:
Growing medicinal plants in DWC system
A DWC medicinal plants grow comes in many different styles and adaptations. However the common theme is that the roots are immersed in a bath of nutrients at an optimum pH, often around pH 5.8. Normally medicinal plants roots left in water/nutrients would eventually rot. But the presence of bubbling air (e.g. from a DWC air stone, connected to an external air pump) provides the roots the oxygen they need to grow with great vigour.
The container is often simply a deep bucket (hence the name, DWC) which is often black in colour. The absence of light keeps dreaded slime and algae to a minimum. One plant can comfortably fill the typical 15-20 litre DWC bucket full of medicinal plants roots by the end of the grow. A healthy root ball is a huge white mass of roots.
The benefits of growing medicinal plants with DWC
The main attractions of growing DWC medicinal plants are the fast growth rates and huge yields that are potentially on offer when DWC is done well. For those that delight in the joy of growing their own medicinal plants, there is an undeniable satisfaction that comes from seeing a successful DWC grow really push the medicinal plants right to it’s limits.
Growing in a DWC medicinal plants system isn’t for everyone. But for those that do it well, dry yields of several hundred grams per plant are quite routine. Deep water culture medicinal plants growing pushes hydroponics (soil-free) cultivation to it’s limits. As such, it’s the ultimate thrill and ultimate challenge for many indoor growers. For those that truly enjoy their medicinal plants cultivation there are few more satisfying feelings than seeing a crop grow from seed to harvest. When you harvest your first DWC monster the joy and satisfaction will be remembered forever.
But for someone that has only grown in soil before there are some undeniable added new complexities to consider. You will need a, perhaps slightly noisy, air pump to feed the DWC air stone and you may need to discover the joy of owning and calibrating pH and EC meters for the first time.
Conclusion
Growing medicinal plants in Deep Water Culture doesn’t need to be difficult. It may require some fine-tuning at first to get everything right, but so does any other growing method. Once you have your DWC set up and running with everything in check, it will make growing great medicinal plants easier and quicker than before.
Good luck with your first DWC grow!
Here I want to recommend some best LED grow lights:
ECO Farm 780W/960W Foldable Full Cycle Dimmable LED Grow Light
ECO Farm 780W/960W LED grow light with high-intensity, full-spectrum fixture that is designed to cover a 4' x 4' to 5' x 5' space for full-cycle or flowering growth.
- It has a 120° wide beam angle to provide excellent light distribution and cover a large area.
- Combined with 3 or 4 even-sized parts, each part can be folded. This design helps us do easier shipment packing, and you can store it easier.
- With manual dimming knob and controllable dual-network port R14, suitable for smart light controllers to connect up to 200 LED lights
- Warranty: 5 Years
ECO Farm MS 660W/760W/900W Samsung 301B Chips LED Grow Light Full Spectrum Light Strips
ECO Farm MS 660W/760W/900W full spectrum LED grow light strips with enhanced red for full-cycle grows. Using Samsung LM301B high bin LEDs, efficacy is up to 2.7μmol/J.
No wiring needed, it takes less than 30 seconds to install a fixture.
0-10v auto & manual dimmable control. 2 dimming solutions, manual and automatic dimming are optional.
Passive heat dissipation design (No need for internal cooling fans)
Uniform Light distribution. Each light bar is evenly distributed on the 2 ends of the power supply, and the PPFD value of each point is very uniform, giving your plants the most uniform growth environment.
Save 50% space for the same 660W/760W/900W grow light in the market, thus could save shipping and storage space.
ECO Farm SP Series 420W/630W/840W Dimmable LED Grow Light With Samsung Chips Foldable Light Strips
- High-efficiency full spectrum grow light: ECO Farm SP series led grow light have Samsung LM281B LEDs(3000k+5000k) +RED 660nm+IR 730nm +UV 395nm, provides the plant with the full spectrum from seeding to flowering. Ideal for indoor plants all stages growing, rapid plant response from seed to flower, speeds up flowering time and boost yields
- Market-leading efficiency to 2.6 µmol/J and 2.5g yield per wattage with 30% higher average PPFD
- Realize large-area harvest with LED lighting: Easy to dimming and heat dissipation, waterproof power supply, aluminum housing, long power supply life, suitable for large rooms and commercial places, make your plants get more energy, and get maximum headroom without burning plants
- Optional touch screen controller, an idea for commercial growing (max 100 lights) &timing and dimmable function.
- All in one design, build-in driver, free assemble, save time and shipping fee
-
Low Noise & Low Heat: No fans needed meaning low noise; Ambient heat is very low, so there is no need to worry about burns or damage to your plant
If you have any questions, please contact us and we will respond to you as soon as possible.
Our emails address is: business@ecofarm.ca
Contact: