Get Growing With Hydroponics Gardening
Does your garden grow with fresh air, sunshine and rich, black soil? Not if you’re one of the countless gardeners who have found the many benefits of hydroponics gardening.
Also called the cultivation of plants in water, the popularity of hydroponics gardening is booming, partly due to the shrinking water supplies and scarcity of fertile farmland.
There’s nothing new about hydroponics gardening. This method of growing has been abound for thousands of years, and can be traced to the famous Hanging Gardens of Babylon. This ancient wonder of the world was created with a form of hydroponics. Since those ancient times, researchers have proven that a number of different aggregates or media could be used in place of black earth to support plant growth. Hydroponics gardening is just one of many alternatives to traditional soil growing.
Benefits of Growing with Hydroponics
People use hydroponics gardens for different reasons. For many, it’s because of the space-saving benefits. With a hydroponics system, apartment dwellers and homeowners can enjoy fresh vegetables and plants grown in the smallest of spaces, even on tiny patios and balconies. These space-saving benefits have also caught the attentions of many commercial greenhouses.
It’s been found that, when properly grown, hydroponics plants can actually be healthier and more vigorous. There is no soil used in hydroponics gardening, so the nutrients are more readily available to the plant. Plants are able to mature faster and yield an earlier harvest of flower and vegetable crops.
The convenience of hydroponics gardening is enhanced by the ability to automate the entire system with a timer. This reduces the actual time it takes for the home gardener to maintain the overall plant growth requirements. Through automation, the gardener enjoys greater flexibility, and can be gone for periods of time without having to worry about watering the plants.
Healthy Hydroponics Plants
All plants, whether grown with hydroponics or in a traditional soil garden, require the same basic elements: nutrients, water, light and air. When grown in a traditional garden, your plants will obtain their nutrients and water from the soil. The nutrient uptake is a little slower, because the soil can impede the roots’ abilities to access what they need.
Without soil, hydroponics gardening is cleaner and easier. That’s one of the simple joys of this type of gardening. There is always water and nutrients available, so your plants will never become stressed. You can build a hydroponics system outdoors to provide natural air and sunlight, or assemble it inside with artificial lighting and air circulation. Either way, your plants will enjoy optimum health.
To provide artificial sunlight, many hydroponics gardeners use metal halide lamps and sodium vapor lamps in conjunction with incandescent light bulbs. Specially-designed grow lights or fluorescent bulbs may also be used.
Like all living things, plants need oxygen to stay alive. Healthy, white roots are responsible for delivering all of the nutrients for the plant. If the roots die, it is impossible for the plants to survive. Even if all of the other growth requirements are in place, they will be useless if the plants are not able to access nutrients through the roots. Therefore, your hydroponics system will require proper aeration through a means of supplying air circulation. This technique mixes the air throughout the nutrient solution, allowing the plant to draw out the carbon dioxide necessary to carry on photosynthesis.
Finally, a sterile medium is required. There is a selection of media available on the market, from simple gravel to specially made formulations. Due to the lack of soil, a definite joy of hydroponics gardening that’s particularly exciting for home gardeners is the lack of weeds to pull. There are also no soil-borne pests to worry about, so diseases caused by these pests are minimized, if not entirely eliminated.
If you love fresh produce but you’re short on time, short on space or simply don’t like getting your hands dirty, discover the many joys of hydroponics gardening.
