What is hydroponics
One important area where cavies differ from rabbits is that of feeding. Unlike rabbits rats, mice and most other mammals, cavies need a supply of Vitamin C all the year round. In this respect they are like ourselves.
hydro means soil-less growing. In our case the grass grown purely from the seed and using it`s own roots to form a slab. Many summer shows are at agricultural venues and at Royal Bath & West Show in 1989 we spotted a series of machines in the horse area devoted to the production of barley grass using a hydro system. We were back at the stand in 1990 and we went away and placed an order for two 'Aquacrop' 20 units. They and their successor (a `LazyGrazer` machine) have now been running for about 25 years. Our machines both use mains water pressure instead of a pump for watering. We have it 'plumbed' into the end of the garage on Dexion type steel racking. Quite an easy operation as the incoming water connections are simply flexible automatic washing machine hoses/connectors. The water then departs via simple plastic wastepipe connections to a drain. In terms of what space is needed, our Aquacrop machines were 48" wide x 36" front to back x 24" high (roughly) and you must have available a power point (to run the fluorescent lamp, timer and underfloor heating coil), a mains pressure water supply and a drain. The newer LazyGrazer machine which has roughly the capacity of two of the original Aquacrops measers 36" x 36" square by 42" tall (roughly the size of a medium size fridge). The LazyGrazer has a `control` box on the side which has the timer and a fan heater which pushes warm air into the bottom of the main unit and an external strip light.
Next, our `routine`. Initially 2 kilos of barley seed is placed in a bucket, covered with water and left to soak for eight hours. This is then drained and stands till it is time to start tomorrow`s bucket. Next day, same routine, starting another bucket and refilling the first with water to just re-wet the seed which is then drained again immediately. By the end of the second day the contents of the first bucket are 'chitting' (i.e. just starting to sprout). At this stage they are tipped into 'seed trays' and are put into the machine. The seed trays sit on a slight slope and have drainage slots at their edges to allow water to run away. Each day the same routine operates. Start a new bucket and put the 'oldest' bucket into the trays in the machine. After five to six days in the machine the 2 kilos of seed has become about 30 pounds of fresh green grass and root mat ready to serve up to your pigs. Day after day another 30 pounds weight comes off.
The machine is made in a number of interlocking parts, some are plastic, some glassfibre some aluminium. The base is a sealed plastic unit which contains a sloping drainage channel to take away water that has been sprayed onto the growing seed. Sitting on top of this is a `greenhouse` consisting of an aluminium frame supporting double-walled transparent plastic walls/ceiling which is grouted in using bathroom waterproof grout. This has water spraying nozzles to ensure that all five trays in the machine get watered properly every 4 hours. A neon strip light, the timer and the electrically controlled valves which switch the sprayers on live outside the main box for safety and ease of access. The sprayers are simply agricultural spray nozzles and utilise mains water pressure - the timer opens a valve for three minutes when it is time to spray. We leave the strip light on 24/7 as this helps the grass to green up. Not very complicated at all. Simply a central heating type timer, a switch to spray manually (for cleaning) and that`s it. The machine is essentially idiot proof. Every 4 hours it automatically sprays the seed trays for three minutes.
Maintenance is also fairly routine, but important. It consists of washing out the seed trays and spraying them with a little diluted bleach after taking out each day's crop and before refilling them and putting them back into the machine. Once a week it is essential to spend 15 minutes thoroughly washing down and sterilising the machine with dilute bleach solution. Failure leads to a growth of black mould on the roots of your crop or a yellowishbrown bacterial slime on the floor of the machine. And trouble. So there it is. Ten minutes in the morning, ten minutes in the evening and fifteen minutes at the weekend. And right through the winter you get lots of fresh green grass, enough in our experience to give every one of our 40-odd pigs nearly a half pound slab daily.
Even during the -10 degrees week during the winter of 1991 or the 30+ degrees throughout the summer of 2009. We would certainly buy a replacement without hesitation for the security it gives and indeed, we did, because we replaced our original 2 Aquacrops with a LazyGrazer when we found the more modern model. Where can you buy them? Well, that`s the $64,000 dollar question! As far as we know no-one makes them any more. We certainly know of no manufacturer but from time to time second-hand units become available for sale in the small ads in horsey or goatey magazines and they seemto get snapped up quickly. As a last resort you could operate on a small scale by buying a `seed germinator` from a garden centre quite cheaply I think but that would only feed you `special` pigs.
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