Deep water culture

Deep water culture (DWC) is a hydroponic method of plant production by means of suspending the plant roots in a solution of nutrient-rich, oxygenated water. Also known as deep flow technique (DFT), floating raft technology (FRT), or raceway, this method uses a rectangular tank less than one foot deep filled with a nutrient-rich solution with plants floating in Styrofoam boards on top. This method of floating the boards on the nutrient solution creates a near friction-less conveyor belt of floating rafts. DWC, along with nutrient film technique (NFT), and aggregate culture, is considered to be one of the most common hydroponic systems used today. Typically, DWC is used to grow short-term, non-fruiting crops such as leafy greens and herbs. DWC was invented accidentally in 1998 by a legacy cannabis grower who goes by the name of “Snype”. This occurred because “Snype” and his (unnamed) associate had to take a trip to Amsterdam and needed a way to feed their cannabis crop while they were away. They built nutrient and water reservoirs that would keep the plants thoroughly fed in their absence, and thusly the DWC system was born. They revised this system in 2010 to create RDWC. The large volume of water helps mitigate rapid changes in temperature, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and nutrient solution composition.