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Flood & Drain or Ebb & Flow is a very popular method of growing especially for first time growers as it is easy to gauge the moisture within the cubes and making it easier for the grower to coax the roots out without over watering.

The best medium for Flood & Drain tables undoubtedly  is PH stable expanded clay pebbles, which can be laid directly on the bed or put in pots. You will need to cover the table to exclude light or algae will be a big problem.  Flood and Drain uses two cycles to feed oxygen and Nutrients to the roots.

These are the Flood Cycle, and the Drain Cycle.

FLOOD CYCLE.

You flood the roots with nutrients, and expel all "dead air" from around the roots.

DRAIN CYCLE.

After the Flood Cycle (2 to 15 mins) the nutrients drain quickly to draw or "suck" fresh oxygen into the roots as the nutrients drain out and at the same time, leaving the roots damp with nutrient.

Sound Complicated? It's as easy as Pump on and Pump off!

We usually would advise people to keep an eye on their plants.  If the stem and leaves wilt, then increase the number of floods.  If the leaves wilt with yellowing of the leaves; you may have too many floods and the roots are drowning or rotting.  Immediately increase the amount of time between flooding.

Nutrient Changes should be performed regularly, if you have no electronic test equipment.  Flush the expanded clay every 4-8 weeks with water, just in case any nutrients build up on the expanded clay.  This can occur if the plants use a lot of water, and leave the nutrient behind.  This is called salt build up.  Some people get this problem, some don't.

Clean the filter if the system is not draining quickly.  Flood and Drain is a very high powered system, and will give you much higher yields than similar systems. You will have fun with Flood and Drain.