OurHydroponics

Hydroponics is a technology for growing plants in nutrient solutions (water containing fertilizers) with or without the use of an artificial medium (sand, gravel, vermiculite, coir, or sawdust) to provide mechanical support. Liquid hydroponic systems have no other supporting medium for the plant roots: aggregate systems have a solid medium of support. Hydroponic systems are further categorized as open (i.e., once the nutrient solution is delivered to the plant roots, it is not reused) or closed (i.e., surplus solution is recovered, replenished, and recycled).
Plants form smaller roots and grow in inert grow media (i.e. gravel, sand, water or even air). If you haven't seen it for yourself, you will be amazed.

Growing medium is the material in which the roots of the plant are growing. This covers a vast variety of substances which include Rock-wool, perlite, vermiculite, coconut fiber, gravel, sand and many more. The growing medium is an inert substance that doesn't supply any nutrition to the plants. All the nutrition comes from the nutrient solution (water and fertilizer combined). You can therefore, easily control everything the plants receive. The strength and pH of the nutrient solution is easy to adjust so that the plants receive just the right amount of food. The watering/feeding cycles can be controlled by an inexpensive timer so that the plants get watered on schedule, as needed.

The hydroponic market accounts for a great variety of systems. Let's look at the main ones and some of their features. They all perform to a greater or lesser degree the basic function of hydroponic in that they deliver water and nutrient to the roots of plants and allow a degree of aeration.

However the mechanics and the methods of this delivery are widely divergent. The following are listed in an order that carries no particular significance other than a possible order of complexity in either construction, operation or maintenance. Even this may be open to debate. We will attempt to show their main features, advantages and disadvantages.

1. MANUAL FEED AND DRAIN
2. SELF-WATERING SYSTEMS
3. DEEP WATER CULTURE
4. DRIP TO WASTE SYSTEM
5. NUTRIENT FILM TECHNIQUE (NFT)
6. FLOOD AND DRAIN SYSTEM
7. AERO-PONICS (A recycling system)

Both hydroponic fertilizers and those intended for use in soil contain the three major nutrients, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The major difference in hydroponic fertilizers is that they contain the proper amounts of all the essential micro-nutrients which fertilizers intended for use with soil do not. The plants are expected to find these elements in the soil, assuming that the trace elements are in fact present. Problems can arise for the plants if any or all of the micro-nutrients are not present in the soil or are depleted by successive (or excessive) plantings.
Hydroponic fertilizers are usually in a more refined form with fewer impurities making them both more stable and soluble for better absorption. Organic fertilizers, in most cases, are very different than either hydroponic or soil fertilizers both in composition and how they deliver the nutrient to the plants.
Organic fertilizers rely on the synergistic action of bacteria and microbes to break down nutritional substances for easier uptake by the plants. Hydroponic and soil fertilizers provide nutrients in a ready-to-use form. While once, they were mutually exclusive, in recent years a number of outstanding organic fertilizers have hit the market in formulations refined enough for use in hydroponics. For more information click on the excellent article below.

It can be but it doesn't have to be. Hydroponics can be as incredibly simple as growing a single plant in a hand watered bucket or nursery pot, using any number of inert growing mediums. No automation, electricity or grow lights required.

Of course, the potential to go high tech is limited only by your imagination and budget. Virtually every aspect of garden management can be automated and should you so desire, monitored and controlled with your laptop or cell phone from the other side of the world. Dare to dream.

Most hobby oriented hydroponic systems are somewhere between the two extremes mentioned above. The average, home hydroponic system usually consists of a few basic parts: a growing tray, a reservoir, a submersible pump to water the plants, a simple timer and an air pump and air stone to oxygenate the nutrient solution. Of course, light (either natural or artificial) is also required.

For several years, people have been turning to indoor gardening as their favorite pastime. There are many reasons why people maintain gardens indoors: business, pleasure, food and therapy. In recent years, however, hydroponic gardens have become a prevalent alternative to traditional soil gardens a new type of indoor gardening.

In essence, hydroponic gardening (growing plants without soil) isn't so new. History is rich with hydroponic gardening instances, with the Hanging Gardens of Babylon as one of the finest examples. Today, hydroponics has become more accessible and commonplace due to the recent technological advances. Governments now sponsor hydroponic growing on a large scale, and hobbyists now keep hydroponic gardens in their homes.

In hydroponic gardening, plants are grown without soil. The word "hydroponics" is derived from the Greek language and simply means "working water". The nutrients are supplied to the plants in a water solution provided to the plant roots; the soil that normally anchors the roots is replaced by one of several available substances. Hydroponic indoor gardening can use natural light, certain forms of artificial lighting, or a combination of the two. The nutrient solution is manipulated and monitored along with the lighting to optimize the growth and yield of the plants.

There is an endless list of benefits of hydroponics. By erasing soil in the equation, plants can be grown in almost any controlled environment - in the dead of winter, in seasons of extended twilight and in places where soil is contaminated. Secondly, hydroponics recycles the water solution over and over as it washes the roots, so it actually reduces water usage by 70-90% as compared to conventional gardening. Third, hydroponics allows for more direct control of the yield of a plant; by changing the amount the nutrients and lighting, one can promote greater foliage, flowering, and fruit. This is, in essence, also educational because all walks of people get a firsthand look at how water, nutrients and light affect plant growth.

The wonderful news is, hydroponics isn't as expensive and as complicated as originally thought of. There are several different ways to set up a hydroponic system, and some are rather inexpensive and user-friendly. There are also many products available to help make the process simpler. If you're willing to face a reasonable learning curve, with hydroponics you can learn a whole new method of indoor gardening, one that is both fun and satisfying.

Hydroponic culture is an inherently attractive, often oversimplified technology, which is far easier to promote than to sustain. Unfortunately, failures far outnumber the successes, due to management inexperience or lack of scientific and engineering support. Thus, interest in hydroponics has followed a roller coaster ride since its conception. However, in recent years, extensive research and development programs in Europe have vastly improved hydroponic production systems. These new technologies are today being successfully transferred to the United States, proving hydroponics a technical reality in the high light regions of the desert southwest.
The technology of hydroponic systems is changing rapidly with systems today producing yields never before realized. In the last four years, nearly 40 ha of greenhouses have been built in Colorado, Nevada, and Arizona. Many more hectares are planned, not only in the Southwest, but in Mexico. The future for hydroponics appears more positive today than any time over the last 50 years.