CREATING AN INDOOR GARDEN WITH HYDROPONICS

Indoor gardens have been popular for many years, ranging from large greenhouses to small herb gardens set within flower pots.  However, more and more individuals are finding hydroponics to be both a fun hobby and a creative alternative to the traditional indoor gardens.

In short, hydroponics is the growing of plants without soil, by directly providing the roots a water-nutrient solution in a controlled lighting environment.  This might seem at first like a complicated way to grow things, but the concepts are actually quite simple.  In addition, because hydroponics is gaining traction among the public, there are lot of products for sale that make the process even easier.

In a nutshell, while soil usually is the medium through which water and nutrients are fed to the plant roots, the only thing soil really provides directly is an anchor for the roots.  The nutrients really are transmitted to the roots in a water solution, which seeps through the soil, but isn’t provided by the soil.  So as long as you have an alternate way to anchor the roots, soil isn’t really necessary to having a healthy plant.  In fact, by providing the water-nutrient solution yourself, you actually have a bit more control over the plant’s health.

Here are just two advantages of growing an indoor garden with hydroponics as opposed to soil:

1.    Hydroponics actually uses 70-90 percent less water than using soil. In soil growing, only a small percentage of water actually feeds the plant roots; the rest seeps through the soil and evaporates.  In virtually all hydroponic systems, the water is recycled through the system and can be fed to the plant again and again—so it takes far less water to grow more foliage and food.

2.    Hydroponics gives you more control over the plant’s overall health and yield. You are in direct control of the nutrient content in the water solution, the lighting, and the overall growing environment of the plant.  It is much easier to make adjustments to the environment when you control the growing elements directly. With a little know-how, you can provide optimum conditions for your plants to thrive, flower, and (if you’re growing food) yield a good harvest.

So when considering having an indoor garden, consider hydroponics as one of your options.  You can certainly use traditional methods, but hydroponics can be a fun, educational, and productive alternative to growing in soil alone.