Hydroponic Basics: What It Is, How It Works
The word “hydroponics” comes from two Greek words that
together mean “working water.” To put it in one
sentence—hydroponics is the process of growing plants in water, without
the use of soil.
The idea behind basic hydroponics is to provide plants with the
essentials they need for growth—essentials they normally get through
the soil—through alternative means. In simplest terms, plants
need the following four things to grow:
• Light
• Water
• Nutrients
• A growth medium (i.e., an anchor for
the roots)
Plants generally rely on the soil for three of these four
elements—water, nutrients and an anchor. However, the only thing
the soil provides directly is the growth medium (water and nutrients
come through the soil, but aren’t provided by the soil). So if
you provide an alternative anchor for the roots, you don’t really need
soil—as long as you provide water, light and nutrients to the plant.
In basic
hydroponics, plants are set up in a growing tray, anchored by
some sort of alternate medium, which can be any of a variety of
substances ranging from Rockwool to vermiculite. A ph-balanced solution
of water and nutrients is supplied directly to the roots, often with
the use of a simple pump-and-recycle system. All that’s left is
to provide proper lighting (natural sunlight, specialized grow lights
or a combination of the two), and plants will grow without soil.
In fact, when these elements are provided properly, growth can be even
better than that of plants grown conventionally.
Of course, all of this begs the question from some: why go to all this
trouble when you can just grow plants in soil? There are two
basic answers to this question:
1. With
hydroponics, we can grow plants just about anywhere. As long as
we can create a controlled environment, we can grow food; we are no
longer limited to places with soil and sunlight. This means, for
example, that people in urban areas without access to a garden have the
option to raise their own food using hydroponics. It also means
that we can grow food in the dead of winter, in arctic regions where it
is dark six months of the year, and theoretically, even in space!
2. Hydroponics can be a preferred
solution when other growing conditions are hostile. For example,
in parts of the world where the soil is depleted of nutrients or
contaminated by pollutants, it is preferable to grow food
hydroponically. Not only can it protect people from contaminants, but
the plants can also be fed richer nutrients to yield better harvests
than growing in the soil of these areas.
In short, hydroponics opens up new options to societies and individuals
alike. Not only are governments like Holland and Canada using
hydroponics to grow food on a broad scale, but with a knowledge of the
basics of hydroponics, individuals now have the ability to benefit as
well.
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HYDROPONICS FOR
DUMMIES REVIEW
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For overall excellence, top value
for the money, low entry level pricing, and idiot proof products and
instructions we highly recommend Stealth Hydroponics out of Michigan.
Here are links to take you directly
to some of their fine line of products:
Complete
Hydroponic
Growing
Kits
Grow
Lights
Nutrients
Grow
Tents
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