Curriculum

The protocol

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1. Module 01

   Foundations

   Why soil-free works, and how a plant actually eats.

   • 8Why hydroponicsFree previewYield, water, and control — the three reasons production moved off soil.8m
   • How plants actually eatIons, not ‘food’. Roots, not soil. The mineral list that matters.10m
   • Water, oxygen, temperatureDissolved oxygen is as important as nutrients. Warm water kills quietly.9m

2. Module 02

   Systems

   Kratky to Dutch bucket — pick the architecture that matches the crop.

   • The systems mapSix architectures. One decision: how water, air and roots meet.8m
   • Kratky and DWCThe bucket methods: one with no moving parts, one with an air pump.12m
   • NFT and ebb & flowMoving water: a film in a gutter, or a flood in a tray.11m
   • Dutch bucket and aeroponicsFruiting crops in media, and the high-wire act of misting roots.10m

3. Module 03

   The solution

   EC, pH, mixing, and the reservoir as a living instrument.

   • Reading a feed chartTwo-part concentrates, ratios, and why A and B stay in separate bottles.9m
   • EC and pHThe two numbers you will live with. What they mean, and how they lie.12m
   • Mixing a reservoirFrom tap to working solution without precipitating the calcium.10m
   • Running the tankTop-up, dump, temperature, and when to throw the solution away.10m

4. Module 04

   Climate

   Light, vapour pressure and air — the environment around the leaf.

   • Light: PPFD and DLIHow much light a crop actually needs, in numbers you can measure.11m
   • Temperature, humidity, VPDThe air around the leaf decides whether stomata stay open.9m
   • Airflow and CO₂Still air is a disease, not a calm greenhouse.7m

5. Module 05

   Crops

   Recipes for greens, herbs and fruit — numbers you can run tomorrow.

   • Leafy greensLettuce, spinach, kale — the crops that make hydroponics look easy.10m
   • Culinary herbsBasil as a cash crop. Mint as a thug. The difference matters.8m
   • Fruiting cropsTomato, cucumber, pepper, strawberry — longer cycle, higher EC, more pruning.12m
   • A production scheduleStaggered sowing so the bench is never empty, and never all-at-once.8m

6. Module 06

   In production

   Disorders, pests, harvest, and the path from bench to market.

   • Reading a leafMobile vs immobile deficiencies, and the photos you will actually see.11m
   • Roots, pests, hygienePythium, aphids, fungus gnats — prevention is the protocol.9m
   • Harvest and the commercial pathWhen to cut, how to pack, and what a small bench can actually earn.8m

7. Module 07

   Advanced bench

   Source water, ion antagonism, VPD steering, and the biology of a dirty tank.

   • Source water and chelatesAlkalinity, bicarbonates, and why iron falls out of a London tap.12m
   • Ion ratios and antagonismK fights Ca and Mg. Ammonium is a tool. Phosphate is not ‘more P’.13m
   • VPD and crop steeringTranspiration moves calcium. Dry-back and EC decide veg versus fruit.12m
   • Biofilm and root pathogensPythium likes warm, still, dirty. Oxidiser is a tool, not a personality.11m