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THE HYDROPONIC ORCHARD OR « WATER ORCHARD »

This is an example of the expertise available at PSH. This open field cultivation facility was developed during a collective team project. It was designed to grow trees (peach trees, poplars) above ground, using recirculating nutrient solutions in an NFT (nutrient film technique) type system without a physical substrate (soilless culture). During the course of our research projects on the peach species, outdoor cultivation for one year (including the wintering period) was required. A cultural system usually used in greenhouses was adapted to the constraints of the outdoor environment. The project benefited from specific infrastructure developed in our workshop, such as an equipped belowground laboratory, allowing the gravitational collection of nutrient solutions and their temperature regulation with the help of a cooling/heating unit. The use of the Totomatix device allowed us to precisely control the nutrition of the trees.

 « TUBULTURE » (The Art of Growing plants in tubes)

This is another example of the team's expertise for growing woody plants in hydroponics. For these species, we have developed a soilless culture system (strictly hydroponics), in which the roots are fed continuously by a rapid flow of a controlled nutrient solution. The nutrient solutions are stored in PVC tanks of adapted shapes and volumes and most of our growth units are made with PVC tubing. This cultivation technique allows manipulating the temperature around the roots, the ionic concentration, the pH and the volume of the nutritive solutions supplied to the plants. A powerful pump ensures the mixing, oxygenation and permanent recycling of the solution to the plants. To secure the setup, flow alarms are included in the device in order to monitor the gravitational return of the solution to the storage tank and limit the technical risks of water shortages.