ABSTRACT
The bucket system of gravel culture was the most common, in which a small bed or bucket of gravel had a bucket attached to a hose joining them (Figure 1.1). A bucket was filled with nutrient solution and then supported above the growing bed to allow the nutrient solution to flow into the bed flooding it from the bottom upward. This was a subirrigation gravel culture system. Within a period of 5 minutes when the bucket completely drains into the substrate void spaces of the bed, it is lowered below the level of the bed and the nutrient solution drains back to the bucket. This is repeated by hand a number of times a day depending upon the water demand of the plants, which is determined by the temperature, light, and stage of plant growth. Although the system is very simple and works well, it requires that the hobbyist spend time during the day caring for the plants’ irrigation needs.
