Would you go to an unqualified Doctor if you were ill? Do you know of any CEO of a Company that isn’t qualified or trained for the position? Many people might regard these questions as frivolous but the same can be said of the application of hydroponics, which is a science all of its own and a meld of chemistry and agriculture. Imagine trying to make a pair of shoes without having been trained in the art.

Full blown advanced courses in hydroponics can take 300 hours of study and generally form part of a Diploma, which will give one a better idea of just how much material there is to the subject.
If one is contemplating setting up a hydroponic venture of one’s own it makes sense to ensure that as much knowledge as possible is accumulated beforehand, in order to avoid costly mistakes on the one hand and also to maximise yields on the other.

Attend a Hydroponics Course

A good hydroponics course should cover the following topics:

• Plants, plant physiology, learning how they work
• EC, ppm’s and pH – what do they mean and how to use them
• Nutrition – learn the parameters for optimal growth
• Systems – the various ways that can be used to grow plants
• Systems ­­– from fully automated to manual controls
• Systems – run to waste or re-circulating systems
• Climatic preferences for the plants
• Site Selection, criteria for optimum yields
• Growing media
• Tunnel coverings – which is best for the climate

– Plastic or shade cloth?

– Tunnels or Gum Poles?

• Pack house and Pump house requirements – do’s and don’ts
• Pests and Diseases – good management, biological controls
• Organics – how to be organic – hydroponic
• Hygiene and Packaging
• Transportation
• GlobalGap
• Setting a Breakeven Point for Your Business

Even a cursory examination of these topics will reveal a minefield of possible areas where costly mistakes can be made, resulting in high school fees arising as crops are either lost, or yields are depressed below breakeven point due to malnutrition, pests, diseases or any other of a plethora of different reasons.

Many of our delegates when finishing the course are significantly surprised by how much they learned and how much they had to ‘unlearn’. This unlearning process is generally caused by wrong assumptions or misinformation they might have gleaned from amateurs contributing to the Internet.

If you’d like to attend a course, or for more information contact:

Or phone John on cell +44 [0]74 6294 1632. Email daisyfreshhydroponics@gmail.com