The ultimate starting point for understanding hydroponics and vertical farming

Welcome to the complete index of the Tomato+ blog, the most structured and up-to-date guide dedicated to hydroponics, vertical farming and indoor growing.Here you will find over 50 articles organized from beginner to professional level: from the basics of hydroponics to advanced technologies, automation and artificial intelligence applied to plant growth.

This index is designed to help you easily navigate through all the content, quickly find the information you're looking for, and delve into every aspect of growing without soil.Whether you're an enthusiast, grower, professional, or researcher, this is your one-stop shop.

A) Basics of hydroponics

1. What is hydroponics and why it works

2. Differences between hydroponics, aeroponics, aquaponics and traditional growing

3. The benefits of hydroponics: yield, water, nutrients, speed

4. The main hydroponic systems explained (NFT, DWC, ebb&flow...)

5. The essentials of a hydroponic system

6. What to grow in hydroponics: the best species

7. Artificial light: what are LEDs for growing

8. EC and pH: what they are and why they matter

9. Substrates: differences, pros and cons

10. How to start a hydroponic grow from scratch

B) Practical hydroponics

11. How to properly prepare the nutrient solution

12. Common mistakes in hydroponics and how to avoid them

13. How to manage EC and pH on a day-to-day basis

14. Irrigation: flows, cycles and volumes

15. How to read plant needs in hydroponics

16. Nutrients: macro, micro and balances

17. Water temperature: why it is decisive

18. How to choose a truly plant-friendly LED

19. Plant hygiene and cleanliness

20. How to prevent algae, mold and disease in hydroponics

C) Vertical Farming

21. What is vertical farming and why it is different from hydroponics

22. Designing a vertical system: criteria and logic

23. Multi-layer lighting: how to optimize it

24. Growing density: how to calculate it

25. How to manage microclimate and airflow in an indoor system

26. How to predict yield, cycles and harvest times

27. Real costs of vertical farming: CAPEX and OPEX

28. How to scale up from a small plant to a professional one

29. Business models of vertical farming

30. Real sustainability: consumption, waste and recovery

D) Technology, automation and AI

31. Critical sensors for indoor agriculture

32. Data-driven farming: how to read growth data

33. Automation: pumps, valves, controllers

34. How artificial intelligence works in indoor growing

35. Growth forecasts: how to make them and what they mean

36. Integration between plant, software and cloud

37. Dynamic photoperiod: optimization through algorithms

38. Indoor precision farming: concept and applications

39. How to create an optimized growth cycle for each variety

40. Predicting and correcting plant stresses through AI

E) Ultra-technical topics

41. Root analysis in advanced hydroponic systems

42. Effect of light spectrum on plant morphology

43. How to stabilize nutrient solution on rapid cycles

44. Nutrient film thickness: how it affects yields

45. Tunable LEDs and variable spectrum: when they are really needed

46. Abiotic stress mitigation strategies

47. Multilayer optimization: calculations and simulations

48. How to manage hybrid hydro-aero indoor systems

49. Energy balance and cost/lux/PAR ratios

50. How to set up A/B tests in hydroponics to get clean data