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Flood and Drain systems or ebb and flood as they are also known are popular with beginners and experts alike because they are very simple to use. Kits consist of a base reservoir and a planter table. The planter table is filled with clay pebbles and is flooded periodically when the system pump is switched on. An overflow returns liquid to the base reservoir if the level gets too high and when the pump turns off the entire planter table drains away.
When introducing plants into flood and drain do not put propagation cubes straight into the system, grow them on first in rockwool blocks, mesh pots or small pots of medium. Once roots are balling up on the outside of your transplant medium simply place them into the clay pebbles in the planter table and you're ready to grow.
HINT: Segmental timers are perfect for controlling flood and drain systems because each 15min segment is enough to complete a full "flood" of the planter table. If using clay pebbles try easing plants into the system with 2x15min floods a day and then increase your timings so at harvest you were going with 8<>12x15min floods a day.