Hydroponic Systems Are All The Rage

Posted by | Posted on 12:56 AM

By Leslie Hayden

Many gardeners are beginning to switch to Hydroponics gardening for many different reasons. These types of gardens are small and can easily be grown inside and are perfect for most vegetables, especially the red tomato. Also the equipment required for Hydroponics gardening is not expensive and they are relatively easy to manage.

Hydroponics gardening is the growing of plants without soil, in other words, "dirtless gardening". There are many methods of Hydroponics gardening, most of which work better than regular soil gardening because it is easier to give the plant exactly what it needs when it needs it. Plants will only receive what you give them; therefore you will be able to regulate the pH, nutrients, nutrient strength, water amount, and light amount. This makes it imperative that you research the kind of plants you will be growing so you know what they need to survive.

Hydroponic gardening is extremely simple. In fact, it is much easier than having to fertilize soil and having to weed and control plant eating pests. Like most things in life, you can make it complicated though. For example, if you decide to build a system with computers and sensors that control nutrients, light, and water cycles for the plants then it can get complicated. But most home Hydroponic systems simply use a growing tray, a light source (natural or artificial), a water controlled pump to water, a reservoir, and an air pump to give oxygen to the nutrients.

The growing medium used in Hydroponics gardening can be any number of things, such as Rockwool, perlite, coconut fiber, gravel, sand, vermiculite, or even air. You can get instructions from a gardening store or online or buy separate parts and build your own. There are also kits already assembled for sale in gardening supply stores.

What you do need to pay careful attention to is the amount of nutrients your plant needs. The nutrients are magnesium, sulfur, cobalt, iron, copper, zinc, manganese, and calcium. These micro-nutrients are essential to healthy plants. The wrong amounts of these micro-nutrients can even be unhealthy for anyone who eats from your garden so make sure you buy quality Hydroponics fertilizer.

The biggest advantage that Hydroponics systems have over the traditional soil grown method is the ability to regulate pH balance. The pH balance is what helps your plants absorb the nutrients they need. You can very easily regulate the pH balance in your Hydroponics garden.

There are many different types of Hydroponic systems that you can buy. The six most popular types are: Water Culture, Drip, Aeroponic, Ebb and Flow, N.F.T., and Wick. You are going to love Hydroponics gardening because it is easy, cheap, and you can grow any kind of fruit or vegetable you want at any time of year.

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