In vegetable crops, in particular, there are a number of tried and tested advantages to using our Spacers in hydroponic farming. They include providing a means of lifting the substrate away from the drainage stream whilst providing excellent aeration and avoiding a build-up of humidity below the substrate. These advantages have led to Spacers also being used with other applications and in other types of crops.
Spacers on elevated metal gutters
In the first instance, we might refer to use of Spacers on elevated metal gutters. Elevated gutter systems were developed in response to the need to raise hydroponic crops off the floor to allow for aeration underneath plants, in addition to facilitating optimum work conditions above floor level. However, the surface on which bags of substrate are positioned is flat and this necessarily fosters accumulated humidity between the substrate and the gutter. This, in turn, leads to the formation of mould, algae, fungi and so on and this causes diseases in the plants. Since the aforementioned surface is made of metal, it raises the temperature of the substrate base to above ambient temperature. The length of time a hydroponic crop takes to develop and the duration of the cycle do not matter when Spacers are fitted onto elevated metal gutters. The advantages of Spacers supplement the advantages of elevated systems, culminating in improved plant development, increased productivity and improved yield at the end of the cycle.
Spacers in research and development centres
Experimentation and technological development centres in a number of different countries (Spain, Mexico and Canada) are a further example of the uses to which our Spacers can be put. In these centres, work goes into determining which are the best crops for hydroponic farming and the types of crops that can provide the best yield. Spacers are used because of their versatility and because they are so easy to position and use on growing tables, under seedling trays, with crops in bags of substrate or in pots and so on. They reduce the formation of algae and fungi resulting from a build-up in humidity levels, thus avoiding diseases and helping to form strong roots. This is a huge advantage because it means that time and effort can be put into study and observation tasks rather than into combating issues stemming from the diseases and pathogens that would otherwise arise. For this same reason, the results obtained in these centres tend to be timelier and more accurate since our Spacers diminish the aforementioned external variables.
Spacers in nurseries
When Spacers have been used in nurseries, they have helped seedlings to develop. This is particularly true in nurseries with mid-level technology in which there are no elevated growing tables and in which seedling trays are generally placed directly on the ground or on partitions or other similar systems. In these cases, Spacers provide all the benefits of aeration, elimination of humidity and spacing above leachates and this greatly fosters vigorous growth of the seedling.
The uses to which our Spacers can be put in nurseries include strawberry seedlings. In these cases, as soon as the seed germinates and the seedling sprouts, trays are placed on rows of Spacers, allowing seedlings to grow until they have reached the optimum size for delivery to different projects where they are then transplanted and traded. By doing so, both the strawberry producers who buy the seedlings and the seedling producers themselves guarantee an improved product right from the outset.
Spacers in open air hydroponic crops
This is an alternative use, outside greenhouses, to which our Spacers are being put in tree seedling nurseries for reforestation purposes. They are also used with trees, such as avocado trees, that are grown for their produce. In these cases, bags or pots with germinated tree seedlings are placed on Spacers, even in the open air. This allows them to grow whilst avoiding the accumulation of potentially-damaging humidity underneath and allowing air to circulate below.
Spacers in cannabis crops
Spacers are now starting to be used with cannabis crops. The same idea applies: making the most of the advantages of Spacers in terms of space, aeration and elimination of accumulated humidity, initially when cannabis seedling trays are planted and later when developing plants are in bags or pots. The aim is to avoid diseases and maximise crop productivity and yield.
In short, our Spacers achieve their main objective in a range of different environments. That is, they foster controlled production indistinctly in greenhouses and in nurseries, for research work and technological development centres or with open-air crops and so on. They provide space and aeration and they eliminate accumulated humidity, culminating in categorical benefits for hydroponic crops. Clearly, our Spacers are innovative enough to adapt to hydroponic crops of all kinds.
