Pseudoroot, Alternative Grow Media for Hydroponics

Pseudoroot is a novel approach to agricultural grow media that I invented for my DIY hydroponic setup. For any plant, you need some kind of grow media in order to get from seed to harvest. Pseudoroot, (I named it that because it mimics the form of a mature plant's root system) is the only grow media that doesn't rely on plant roots chaotically spreading out over time - instead, Pseudoroot dictates where the plant roots will grow. Among other benefits, Pseudoroot can potentially 10x the Agricultural Tech industry because with control over the spread of plant roots, along with Pseudoroot's vast pockets of empty space, comes the capability to intersect plant roots. Furthermore, Pseudoroot is the only grow media that leverages algorithms and machine learning.

I have high hopes for Pseudoroot, but as with any big idea, I'm unsure whether it's actually a good idea - it could just be MY idea and that's why I'm excited about it.

Side Note: I've found that a cross section of nylon, rayon, or polyester can germinate a seed to maturity, but I'm hopeful that materials like glass and metal with condensation on the outside can be hospitable to plants as well. The main idea with this hydroponic technique is that a variety of diverse grow media can be introduced below the stem in order to make plants grow just how we want. Like maybe it would work well to grow the roots out, and then compress them, all thinly separated, much like how the materials that go into a capacitor are produced and then thinly separated. Just thought I'd toss that in there.

Anyway, I made all the animations in Blender 3D. Portions of Pseudoroot were inspired by another idea I had, which is linked below:

Also, my portfolio link:

[MakerMindset]

This video was concised, direct and packed with a lot of information!! Great job!

[mrdumb-fqul]

Will be implementing this to test the limits of foliage density in my dwc/nft indoor garden. Will be supplementing 800w led with vertically mounted t5's and may experiment with a modified scrog net concept. Love the concept

[mervuesham]

Very interesting and exciting idea thank you for sharing. I am trying to figure out away to eliminate the need for consumables in hydroponics and minimize the need to transplant. This idea helps with both!

[ironwarbear]

This looks promising! I don't see a 0 space forest as any more feasible than 0 space for chickens. What seems absent from this presentation is a recognition that you are creating highways for the expression of life rather than an accretion of inorganic matter. As we have seen from cage conditions in zoos, chickens, and other slaughterhouse systems, nature needs space to express itself in a healthy way. Yes, it is possible to cram 100 humans into a tiny room and call that "efficient." But do you think plants do not suffer because they do not have a face?

I would encourage a mindful approach. I think your point about mimicking nature/effects of nature is interesting, but you should think it through more. If you ask me, the density application is going too far and throwing out the wisdom of nature baby with the bathwater.

However, that was just one point. The rest looked very promising! I would love to launch some pseudoroot pods into the corners of space. (But perhaps I am guilty of my own warnings)

[kenweston]

Very nice presentation...Kudos. Maybe I'm missing something, but won't the plant roots grow until they reach the nutrient reservoir, then branch and fill the full reservoir volume? At that point, you are pretty much just back to a simple Kratky system, but without the rock wool or clay pebbles. Without those, I'm concerned about algae growth on the exposed string/fabric and mosquito access to the reservoir. These are both problems that must be dealt with when using Kratky or DWC and that seem like they would be more difficult to solve in the Pseudoroot setup.

[TankDaFiddler]

Holy CRAP this is awesome. Are there any how-to's for hobby growers/homesteaders to DIY? I would love to implement and experiment with this and record results to add to the knowledge base!