The make-or-break of NFT growing systems
Source: HD.com
The greenhouse is always full and always turning over because planting and harvesting are both happening daily. Assuming the production runs as it should, lettuce could take as little as ~20 days to go from a young plant to a harvested head on its way to a buyer.
NFT stands for Nutrient Film Technique, and it's probably what you picture when someone says "hydroponics." As we explained in this article, hydroponics is actually any type of soil-free growing mechanism, including NFT. Crops are, in effect, being watered and given nutrients every second of the day while also using 90% less water than farming in soil.
In the right setup, a single plant can go from nursery to harvest in under 20 days, with mature plants being harvested daily. That's why an NFT system needs its water to be kept around 18 to 22°C: warm enough for healthy nutrient uptake, cool enough to keep oxygen high.
Why this matters: For operators, this is a water-management story. The useful signal is that direct substrate measurements can help cut drain loss materially without giving up yield or fruit quality, which is exactly the kind of controllable efficiency gain a facility can build on.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does substrate sensing matter in free-drain strawberry systems?
Because drain percentage tells a grower what already happened, while substrate moisture and EC data show root-zone conditions directly. That makes it easier to cut water loss without guessing.
What is the operator takeaway from this trial?
If the thresholds are understood well enough, growers can reduce drain water materially while protecting yield and fruit quality, which makes sensing an operational tool instead of a reporting tool.
