How Do Hydroponic Gardening Systems Work?

How Do Hydroponic Gardening Systems Work?
The idea of hydroponic gardening (gardening without soil),
has been around since the time of King Solomon. There are a
few advantages with hydroponic gardening over traditional
gardening -for example the rate of growth of a hydroponic
plant can be up to 50% faster than a soil plant grown under
the same conditions.

And the yield of the plant is also greater!

The reason for this is that the plants get their nutrition
fed directly into their roots from nutrient rich water.
Since this water is so high in nutrient content, the plant
does not need large roots to search for nutrition.  And
since the plant expends less energy in growing roots it has
more energy available to be productive above the rootline!
Hydroponically grown vegetables are healthy, vigorous, and
consistently reliable. This form of gardening is clean and
extremely easy, and it requires very little effort.

Hydroponic gardening is also beneficial to the environment.
For example hydroponic gardening uses considerably less
water than soil gardening because of the constant reuse of
the nutrient solutions. And also, fewer pesticides are
necessary in hydroponic crops -they are not as necessary.
And topsoil erosion is not even an issue since hydroponic
gardening systems use no topsoil.

How exactly does a hydroponically grown plant get its
nutrition -nutrition it normally gets from the soil? Well,
these nutrients come in liquid or powdered mixes and can be
purchased at a hydroponic supply store.  And like soil,
hydroponic systems can be fertilized with organic or
chemical nutrients. But you should know that an organic
hydroponic system can be considerably more work to maintain
since the organic compounds have a tendency clump.

Hydroponic systems are normally categorized as passive or
active. An active hydroponic system moves the nutrient
solution with a pump. A passive hydroponic system relies on
the capillary action of the growing medium or a wick.

In a passive system the nutrient rich solution is absorbed
by the medium or the wick and passed along to the plant's
roots. But a downside with this method is that they are
usually too wet and do not supply enough oxygen to the root
system for the best growth rates.

Hydroponic systems are also characterized as recovery or
non-recovery. In recovery systems, the nutrient solution is
re-circulated for reuse.  In a non-recovery system however,
the nutrient solution is not recovered.

You may be unsure of whether to buy or build a hydroponic
system. If you have an 'engineering mind' and want to build
one, consider buying one first just to get familiar with
the inner workings.  Buy a system which does not cost a lot
of money.  It will give you a better understanding of how
hydroponics works and the hands-on experience can be worth
the cost of the system as you will be able to reuse the
parts when you decide to build one.

Hydroponics gardening is a popular and growing hobby and
many are finding this to be fun, exciting, and easy to get
started.


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Author Tony Buel
http://www.hydroponics.com-afl.com
Growing Hydroponics can be a fun and productive new way of
gardening for you. We have tips and resources to get you
started fast! Full Article on Hydroponic Gardening Systems:
http://www.hydroponics.com-afl.com/How-Do-Hydroponic-Gardeni
ng-Systems-Work.htm

Hydroponic Gardening -The Pros and the Cons

When it comes to some of the problems we are facing in the
world with regards to food production, hydroponic gardening
offers some promising solutions.  In the poorer countries
where the terrain or climate is inhospitable to
agriculture, hydroponics offers a means of growing healthy
foods easily.  Also, in those areas where the soil has lost
its nutrients or fertile land is hard to come by,
hydroponics can produce healthy foods using minimum space
and resources.

As with all things though, it is not all good news. There
are many pros and cons any grower should weigh before
deciding to commit to hydroponic gardening.

First, the pros. In comparison to traditional farming,
hydroponic growing can be more productive in two ways.  For
one, hydroponic gardening saves space. Plants can be placed
much more closely together than in traditional fields
because of the way nutrients are provided to them.  As many
as four times as many plants can be grown in same amount of
space using hydroponic techniques! Secondly, hydroponics
minimizes many of the problems associated with traditional
farming which means less sickly, damaged, or wasted crops.

Because hydroponic growers customize their own nutrients
mixes, it takes the guess work out of figuring out which
field has the best soil and proper nutrition for which
crop. The nutrient mix is the right one for the particular
plant, in the right ratios, every time. Also, soil based
diseases are virtually eliminated because there is no soil.
These two factors alone make hydroponics an extremely
efficient method for producing food.

Benefits accrue to the environment as well.   The water
consumption in hydroponic growing is significantly less
than traditional methods. In many cases, hydroponic crops
use just one tenth of the water! Also, the water that is
used is used more effectively.  For example weeds cannot
come in and steal part of the crop's water supply.  And
because the crops are in a controlled environment and not
in a field, there is no pesticide run-off water to
contaminate the surrounding ground.

The benefits are not without their costs however.  The
expense of hydroponic growing is an area where improvements
need to be made.  The nutrient mixtures and growing mediums
used can be expensive.

Hydroponic growing also requires an increase in energy
consumption.  Much hydroponic growing happens in
greenhouses, where significant amounts of electricity are
used in order to give the hydroponic plants all the light
they need.

While research is happening to try and bring the costs down
(such as in the field of aquaponics), hydroponics can be
financially prohibitive for those areas where it is most
needed.

Research in the field of hydroponics is filled with promise
and much research needs to be done.  Many of the problems
are being addressed however, and many farmers and amateur
gardeners are eagerly awaiting new developments in this
promising field.


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Author Tony Buel
http://www.hydroponics.com-afl.com
Full Article
http://www.hydroponics.com-afl.com/Hydroponic-Gardening--The
-Pros-and-the-Cons.htm