Hydroponic GardeningThis post has been submitted by one of SGA’s Cuttingsreaders. See the bottom of this post for info on how you toocan contribute to our website.

Gardening can be a lot of fun and getting your hands dirty is part and parcel of working outdoors.However conventional gardening can be hard work – raking, tilling, hoeing and weeding are justsome of the strenuous jobs that come with being a gardener. There are also the pests such ascutworms and soil borne diseases and pesticides needed to combat them. However there is analternative and it is called hydroponics.

How Does Hydroponics Work?

Hydroponic gardening involves growing plants in a nutrient solution rather than soil. The advantageof hydroponics is that you can avoid many of the problems that affect soil grown plants such ascutworms and soil-borne diseases that can ruin your crop. This means herbicides and pesticides canbe avoided. Also you have more control over the nutrients that feed your plants. It is easier to varythe nutrients that the plant receives at various stages of its development ensuring optimum growth.

Instead of soil, a porous growing aggregate is used. This can include sand, vermiculite, gravel,coconut coir, clay balls or perlite. This allows air and nutrients to circulate more freely allowing abetter distribution of oxygen and food to each plant. Nutrients and water are fed directly to the rootswhich enable the plant to spend more of its energy growing above the soil rather than pushingthrough soil to compete for nutrients. Because the roots are smaller the plants can be grown closertogether thereby conserving space. This can mean everything grows faster and produces higheryields within a smaller space. Hydroponics is so versatile that NASA has explored the use ofhydroponics in their space programs and possible use of hydroponically grown food on planets suchas Mars.

Hydroponics isn’t new – the Ancient Babylon’s built the hydroponically-engineered ‘hanging gardensof Babylon’ in the palace courtyard located just outside of present day Baghdad, Iraq. Also thefloating gardens of the Aztecs of Mexico and those of the Chinese. Archeological evidence showsthat when soil isn’t ideal for agriculture, hydroponics’ was often a viable alternative.

Lighting

As with all gardening artificial lighting is not required if you are growing outdoors in sunlight. Themore you substitute for nature the more complicated any system will become. However if you chooseto grow indoors you should use a grow light. You should also consider a grow tent with a reflective

inner surface to ensure the plants receive the maximum amount of light and so ideal growingconditions are maintained. Many grow lights for plants are inefficient and expensive to run. Howeverdue to advances in technology grow lights have become more efficient, longer lasting and powerful.

Hydroponic Nutrients

Nutrients dissolved in a water solution are often called nutrient salts and these should contain themicro and macro nutrients required for plant growth. You can make your own nutrient solution usingwater and fertilizer salts or you can buy one ready-made. The nutrient solution is than mixed withwater to provide the correct concentration for the plant and then poured over your aggregate, orpumped through the hydroponic system. Some ready-made nutrient solutions also contain microbes,enzymes, vitamins, amino acids, crop enhancers such as root boosters, non-ionic surfactants and PHstabilizer and buffers. However all of these additional nutrients are not necessary. Also the ready-made solutions containing these exotic ingredients can be expensive. To make your own nutrients allyou require are some fertilizer salts containing the macro and micro nutrients plants require.

Hydroponic Systems

To grow plants with a nutrient solution you require a hydroponic system. A hydroponic system isrequired to ensure that the nutrients and water solution are replenished and the roots can absorboxygen.There are many different types of hydroponic growing systems. The most common hydroponicsystems are the Ebb and Flow system, drip method, Aeroponic growing system, Nutrient FilmTechnique, the wick method and water culture system. You can also make your own DIY hydroponicsystem which is cheap but still affective.

Ebb and Flow system

One of the most adaptable hydroponic systems is the Ebb and Flow system. It involves a pump torelease nutrient solution into a grow tray. The pump is controlled by a timer which floods the growtray. The solution is then drained away back into a reservoir several times a day.

Hydroponic Drip Method

Probably one of the most widely used methods in hydroponics. A timer is used to control asubmersed pump that releases nutrients onto the base of each plant. This can involve either arecovery drip system were excess nutrient solution is collected and reused or a non-recover dripsystem that does not collect and re-use the nutrient solution.

Aeroponic Growing System

The aeroponic growing system is one of the most high tech and usually involves the roots beingsuspended in air and misted with nutrients every few minutes. The rate at which the plants aremisted can be controlled with a timer.

The Nutrient Film Technique

Another common hydroponic system is the N.F.T system. This involves a constant flow of nutrients.It does not require a timer but does involve a pump which draws a nutrient solution into a grow traywhere the plant roots are held in plastic containers with the roots hanging in the nutrient solution.The solution is then drained away back into the reservoir.

Wick System

This is probably the simplest and most versatile hydroponic system as it can be set up on a small orlarge scale and does not involve any moving parts. A wick releases a nutrient solution into the growtray where it is utilized by the roots. The wicks cannot supply large amounts of water so it is moresuited to smaller plants rather than larger plants that require more water.

Water Culture System

This is another simple method but a less affective way of distributing nutrients and air to plants. It isonly suitable for some plants such as leaf lettuce. It involves a Styrofoam platform whereby theplants float on the nutrient solution and air bubbles travel up from the bottom of the reservoirthereby supplying oxygen to the plant roots.

Whatever system you choose to use hydroponic gardening is the most efficient and productivemethod available for growing plants indoors or outside. Once you’re setup the system doesn’trequire the same level of work that conventional gardening requires and you can make your ownhydroponic system and nutrients making it a cheap and sustainable alternative.

Note from SGA - Simon runs a fantastic hydroponic website. For loads more detailed informationon everything Hydroponic, head to www.buyhydroponic.net

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