UNDERSTANDING GENERAL HYDROPONICS

The concept of hydroponics in general is a confusing one for some.  It sounds like an ultra-scientific term having to do with laboratories, something that manipulates a natural process like the growing of plants and turns it into a complicated, artificial process.  So let’s take the idea of hydroponics down to its basic elements.

The word “hydroponics” comes from two Greek words that mean “working water.”  The importance of water to plant growth cannot be overstated, because it’s actually through the water—not through soil itself—that nutrients are fed to the plants.  Hydroponics at its most basic is simply the growing of plants without soil—applying the nutrients directly to the plant roots in a water-based solution.

This might sound a bit artificial, but actually, it isn’t.  There are no genetic manipulations and no chemical enhancements in hydroponics.  Hydroponics simply takes the natural process of plant growth and breaks it down into the basic building blocks.  Plants require four elements for growth: light, water, nutrients, and an anchor for the roots.  All of these elements (except for light, which the sun provides) usually occur through the soil; but as we stated before, it isn’t really the soil itself that feeds the plant roots, but the water in the soil, breaking down the nutrients and minerals and feeding the plant.  The only direct purpose soil has in the process is an anchor for the roots, and a medium through which water feeds them.

In general hydroponics, these four building blocks are taken over directly by the grower, rather than leaving it to the sun and the soil; but all the elements are still there.  This is why it is not an artificial process, just a natural process broken down into parts.  The roots are anchored by a different medium other than soil (often substances like vermiculite or coconut are used), and the roots are washed with a water-nutrient solution tailored for the optimum growth and health of the plant.  Lighting may be natural sunlight, or artificial lighting that maximizes the parts of the light spectrum plants thrive on—or both.

The benefits of hydroponic growing are that by breaking down the natural elements for growth into separate processes, a grower has more control over what the plant needs to thrive, and can make adjustments to maximize the growth and health of the plant.  Yes, it is more complex a process than just putting seeds in soil and watering them; but hydroponic growing can produce some very healthy plants and flowers and food when it is done well.  The general idea behind hydroponics is not to grow things artificially, but to have more control within the natural processes.  But everything grown by a basic hydroponic process will be natural.