You can grow beautiful and tasty vegetables with hydroponic gardening. It will give you twice as much yield as with a soil garden. It also takes less space than a regular garden. You can also grow herbs, flowers and plants.
A hydroponic garden uses water, nutrients and a medium to grow plants without soil. Since the plants don’t need to compete with each other or seek food in the soil they have more energy to use for growing. These plants grow 30-50 percent faster. The nutrients go directly to the roots with watering. They are much less likely to have bug infestation, fungus and disease than a soil garden. The garden can be grown indoors or outdoors.
The environment benefits from the use of the hydroponic system as well. The topsoil remains untouched and less water is used than in a traditional soil garden. A different medium is used in the pots. Plants can actually be grown with no medium, it is called an Aeroponic system.
The mediums used to grow the plants are sand, gravel, vermiculite or just plain water. These are the less expensive ones but they work well. The only downside to these is that they tend to hold on to too much moisture. Hydroton is a popular medium made with shale. It is clay that drains fast and is light and airy. This allows plants to a get lot of the oxygen they need to grow.
Rockwool is a popular medium but is not good for using repeatedly as it breaks down easily. It does hold 14 times more water than soil will. It also holds 20 percent air. It starts with volcanic rock and limestone that is melted down and spun quickly. It is then pressed into blocks, cubes or sheets for use.
The garden needs nutrients mixed with the water to grow. These come in liquid and powder form. They can also be chemical or organic. The organic nutrient can often clog a system that uses pumps. The liquid nutrient is easiest and fastest to use as it dissolves quickly in water. The powder takes more time to dissolve so must be mixed thoroughly. There is nutrient for growing and one for blooming plants.
Maintaining proper pH levels is important. There are simple inexpensive tests available. If pH is too high or low your plants will not be able to absorb the nutrients it needs to thrive. The ideal range is 5.8 to 6.8 pH. If it needs to be lowered phosphoric acid is usually added. Potash is added to raise it.
There are several hydroponic gardening systems for growing. These can be purchased or built. Most of them use submersible pumps to move the water and nutrients. There is the ebb and flow system, the continuous drip system, or wick system. The first two can reuse the same water and nutrients repeatedly. The wick system is a passive system and cannot reuse its nutrients and water. No matter what system you choose it will take considerably less time, work and space than a soil garden.
Hydroponic gardening supplies are easily found in gardening shops and boutiques on the Internet. Choosing the right lighting equipment can be quick and easy by taking advantage of an expert LED grow light review and comparison.
