Hydroponic gardeningAll about hydroponic gardening information

Growing medium is essentially required in hydroponic gardening to anchor and support the root system. It holds moisture and nutrient solution while providing excellent oxygen flow for the plants. There are various types of growing mediums being used in hydroponic growing. Each growing medium works differently and is favorably for different types of hydroponic gardening systems.

Hydroton

Hydroton is lightweight expanded clay aggregate, commonly known as LECA. It is very stable with pH neutral and it does not affect the pH of the nutrient solution.

Hydroton is a fast draining medium that doesn’t hold excessive water. The grow rocks supply the root zone with plenty of oxygen and they work perfectly well for an EBB and Flow type hydroponic systems.

Rockwool

Rockwool is getting popular as one of the growing mediums for hydroponic gardening though its original usage was in constructions as insulation. The rockwool used in hydroponic growing is of horticultural grade. It is mostly used for drip-style hydroponic systems.

Horticultural rockwool is produced by melting a combination of rock and sand at high temperature. The mixture is then spinned and pressed into different sizes and shapes. As rockwool comes in various sizes and shapes, this makes it the most versatile growing medium for hydroponic gardening. Its ability to retain 10 times as much water and hold more than 15 percent air at all times also make it more favorable in any hydroponic systems.

However rockwool must be handled with care when used in hydroponic gardening. It has a high pH and is sensitive to pH shift. Your nutrient solution has to be adjusted in order to achieve a neutral pH for the root system. Besides that, you should wear dust or particle mask when handling as fibers and dusts from rockwool are hazardous to your lungs.

Vermiculite, perlite, glasswool and sands are among other common growing mediums used in hydroponic gardening. They are stable and do not usually effect the pH of the nutrient solution. Though their tendency of retaining too much moisture might restrict them to only be used with plants that are suitable for this condition.

You can also combine the various rocks, perlite, vermiculite, sand or anything that you could imagine to make your own growing medium. This not only practical but also inexpensive. You may have to experiment each of the combination to get the right growing medium for your own hydroponic gardening system.

By: Oliver Jackson

The idea behind hydroponics kits involves growing plants without using soil but instead in a nutrient-enriched liquid. Sometimes preferred over the conventional method of using soil, this method of gardening is becoming popular because the gardener maintains control over the nutrients and oxygen the plant receives. Under these controlled conditions, the plants grow faster.

Hydroponics systems are, simply put, a method of indoor growing plants using a mineral nutrient solution instead of just a soil. Hydroponics kits are also used a standard technique in biology research and teaching. The process allows for easier fertilization since it is possible to use an automatic timer for fertilizing plants. With hydroponics systems, you can grow more plants in a smaller space since the superior efficiency of the nutrient feeding system.

It isn’t just scientists jumping on the hydroponics bandwagon. With more and more farmers investing in these kind of indoor growing systems, it is easier than ever before for you to start your own hydroponic garden at home. All it takes is a minimal investment.

These grow systems are sold in a variety of hydroponics kits, many of which include a self contained growing reservoir. Each kit includes everything you need to start your homegrown hydroponics garden such as LED grow lights, grow lights, and fertilizer. The only thing you provide is the water.

You’re next step is to pick out plants which will grow well in a hydroponic garden. Some of these include tomatoes and lettuce. These commonly grow in commercial hydroponic gardens so they are perfectly suited for the hydroponics growing environment. You can also try peppers, herbs and cucumbers.

After you’ve picked out the plants you’ll be growing, stop at the store and buy a double-walled hydroculture pot, a ceramic container or an opaque glass container to use as a container. Many gardeners prefer to show off a little displaying a single plant in a colored-glass vase or a jar filled with marbles or decorative gravel. They can match perfectly with your LED grow lights.

Now, hydroponically grown plants need a little support. I recommend vermiculite, gravel or rock wool to anchor the roots. Another option would be to anchor the stems in a small sheet of plastic with the roots dangling freely. Make sure they will work with the grow lights you are using.

Once the grow lights are set up to maximize the lighting for indoor growing, fertilize the plants with a product specifically designed for hydroponics. This fertilizer provides the 13 micro-nutrients and macro-nutrients essential for growth. Monitor the pH of the solution with a pH test kit and maintain at a level of 6.0.

Now you know how to start your very own hydroponics system. Next time you have people over for dinner, you can show off your delicious homemade vegetables that you grew. They’ll be thanking you for not only serving them something so delicious but also so healthy.

By: Anne Harvester

Advantages You Can Enjoy with Greenhouse Hydroponics Gardening

When it comes to greenhouse hydroponics gardening, there are a variety of great advantages. Hydroponics is a type of gardening that you can easily customize, especially if you are doing it inside of a greenhouse. If you are not overly familiar with this type of gardening, you may not be aware of all the excellent benefits that come along with it. Here is a look at some of the wonderful advantages that can be enjoyed when you use greenhouse hydroponics gardening to grow your plants.

Advantage #1 : Plants Grow Faster!

One of the main advantages of hydroponic gardening is that the plants you have will grow faster. You’ll find that plants grow two to three times faster than they would if you were using traditional gardening methods. This type of gardening uses a special method of root cutting along with aeration through the water to the roots that is constant. This results in the fast growth.
Advantage #2 : Larger Yields in the End!

Even at their very best, traditional methods of gardening will only end up producing about ? of what you’ll get with hydroponics, and that’s at the very best. When you use greenhouse hydroponics gardening you’ll often get up to 300% more than you would if you were gardening with traditional means.
Advantage #3 :Great Appearance!

The appearance of your produce will be incredible as well. Crops that are grown hydroponically always look great, and you’ll be sure to love the way that your crops look when they are done growing.
Advantage #4: Produce That Tastes Great!

You’ll also find that another advantage of greenhouse hydroponics gardening is that you’ll get produce that tastes great. Produce that is grown this way is quite popular, since this method of growing provides a taste that is different as well as superior to produce that is grown in other methods.
Advantage #5: Growing is Effortless!

Many people love this type of gardening because it’s just about effortless. If you’re using a greenhouse to do hydroponic gardening, it’s easy to use systems and lighting so the gardening becomes extremely easy. Once you implement systems that control the pH and the light, maintenance becomes easy.
Advantage #6: Grow All Year!

When you use hydroponics in a greenhouse, you can grow all year. The plants will be fine, even during the winter and you don’t need to heat the greenhouse to keep it that way. It allows you to have produce that you can enjoy all through the year, which definitely makes this type of gardening well worth it.

Hydroponics greenhouse gardening is a different type of gardening, but it’s easy and comes along with many excellent benefits that you can enjoy. Consider these advantages and then consider starting up a greenhouse of your own where you can grow various plants hydroponically.

By: Whitney Segura

Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) is a water molecule with an extra atom of Oxygen attached (2H2O + O2 = 2H2O2). This extra Oxygen atom is quite easily detached from the water molecule and eagerly combines with any suitable substance that has the room for it. For example it will attack organic blood cells.

Any chemist’s shop will sell you some concentrated 35% Hydrogen Peroxide, which may be diluted with water to give a 3% solution for human use. This diluted solution is good for treating minor cuts and scrapes etc. It is also used for softening ear wax. It works by oxidising the chemical parts that are presenting as having a free space for the Oxygen atom.

When H2O2 comes in contact with these “impurities” it will give a reaction which causes it to fizz. This fizzing is the Oxygen atoms coming out of their bond with the water molecules and bubbling out of the solution. As gardeners, we can use this eagerness to break its bond to help keep our plants free from everyday pests.

In the same way as old organic blood cells are attacked and consumed by the fizzing action of the peroxide, so will any bacteria and small insects be destroyed by a solution of up to 5% H2O2. At this strength it is safe for human skin but lethal to most bugs.

Mix up the following for a weekly preventative spray:

Add to 1Litre of Water:

30ml of 35% Hydrogen Peroxide

20 ml of Alcohol (Old style mouth wash works well)

2ml of wetting agent (Washing up liquid will do)

Use this mixture as a foliar spray to keep your plants healthy and free from bugs.

Another advantage of the Peroxide breaking down is that it releases free Oxygen into the area. So, if you were to add some to your nutrient tank, the dissolved Oxygen being released around the root system not only kills any bad root material and bacteria, but also oxygenates the roots with the excess Oxygen produced.

Plants can easily cope with a 5% H2O2 solution and because the mixture reduces to water in a short space of time, the dilutions are not that critical. For this reason, it also makes a great disinfectant for plant pots, greenhouses and grow-rooms.

It may be used at 10% for these jobs, but make sure to only use it if the area is plant free. A really great advantage is that you do not have to rinse it away after use because it will revert to water on its own.

Click the link to see how NASA is planning to use this sanitizing Hydrogen Peroxide system.
http://www.primidi.com/2005/08/29.html

By: John R. Haughton

The word “hydroponics” is derived from two Greek words: cidra, meaning water, and punikos, meaning labor; thus, literally “waterworks.” Contrary to popular belief, hydroponic gardening is an ancient form of agriculture, going back 3,000 years. There are references to the cultivation of plants directly in water in Egyptian records dating back to the time of the New Kingdom and the “Woman-King,” Pharoah Hatshepsut around 1460 BCE.

The best-known hydroponic gardens of the ancient world were the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Also known as the Gardens of Semiramis, the Hanging Gardens are reputed to have been located near Al-Hillah in present-day Iraq, and were regarded as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

The Hanging Gardens were built by King Nebuchadnezzar around 600 BCE. His wife, Amytis, was from Media, whose people were the ancestors of the modern Kurds. The country of Medea was a mountainous one, roughly corresponding to present-day Kurdistan, northern Iran and Azerbaijan. Legend says Amytis became homesick for the mountains and the flora of her homeland; Nebuchadnezzar had the Gardens constructed for her. According to Greek historians of the time, the Hanging Gardens, a water pipe led into a well tower, which supplied water via a number of vaults for fruit trees growing in a layer of asphalt.

Centuries later, Italian traveler Marco Polo, who reportedly visited China during the late 13th Century CE and introduced pasta to Italy, commented on what he called the “Floating Gardens.” Around the same time on the other side of the world, the Mexica – one of the native peoples who later formed the Aztec Empire of Mexico – built a city called Tenochtitlan on the shores of Lake Texcoco. Where Mexico City stands today, the Mexica constructed an extensive urban center that included a type of early hydroponic system upon which plants were cultivated on the surface of the water. These early Mexican “floating gardens” were developed out of necessity, because arable land was at a premium in the area. Called chinampas, they were actually small, artificial islands that were created by scooping up mud from the marshy areas bordering the lakes. This mud was ultimately held together by tree roots; food plants were cultivated on these “islands,” and were amazingly productive.

The modern history of hydroponics actually begins in 1627, when Sir Francis Bacon’s Sylva Sylvarum was published posthumously. In this treatise, Bacon – an English philosopher and contemporary of Shakespeare – wrote about the cultivation of terrestrial plants without soil. Although Bacon died before his theories could be explored, the idea of water culture caught on as an area of scientific study throughout the remainder of the 17th Century. By the 1860s, German botanists Julius von Sachs and Wilhelm Knop had perfected the first nutrient solutions for soilless agriculture, and modern hydroponic gardening was born.

By: Susan Slobac

CONVENTIONAL GARDENING OR HYDROPONICS, THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

Why choose hydroponics over the conventional gardening methods using soil and composts etc.? There are several reasons for considering hydroponics or Aquaculture and these are listed below.

Time The most obvious benefit of Hydroponics is the saving in time and effort. You do not have to spend as much time attending to the preparation and maintenance of your garden on a regular basis, so a simple Aquaculture system can be much more time efficient than a conventional soil based one. Weeds Growing in soil involves keeping your planting area weed free. In order to give your plants the best possible chance of thriving, they must be able to absorb their optimum nutrition from the surrounding soil. If the area has lots of weeds then your plants have to fight for their place, their roots competing with those of all the weeds. In the Hydroponics Garden, because the growing medium is sterile, there should not be any weeds appearing. This means that your plants can devote all their energy to production and not have the stresses of competition. Health No soil and sterile growing media coupled with the correct nutrients means healthier plants. The absence of parasites and pathogenic bacteria in the growing media ensures that your plant roots stay healthy and disease free. Any infections or pests above ground can be monitored and treated quickly and efficiently because the growing area is more compact. Light Outside, in the conventional garden, the sunlight is never predictable in either intensity or duration. Inside, under lights you have complete control and can supply your plants with a constant unchanging environment. Growth Optimum nutrition and water requirements having been satisfied, your hydroponically grown plants will develop a massive but compact root system. This means that your plant will not have to use extra energy either searching for sustenance or transporting nutrients and sugars long distances. The net result of this is quicker growing, faster maturing and greater yielding plants. Stress Your plants will not be stressed through changes in conditions of light, temperature or water as is the case with plants grown by the conventional gardening methods. This in turn will lead to stronger more resistant plants. Yeild Your plants will yield considerably greater crops than conventionally grown ones because of all of the above factors. The greater storage capacity within the root system and the shorter stems give rise to an increase in plant efficiency of up to %30, with a corresponding increase in crop. Cleanliness Hydroponics Gardening is in essence a clean occupation. There is no soil, so very little dirt. For this reason it is ideal for indoor gardening, utilising the spare room, or perhaps a conservatory. On top of this there are no more grime encrusted fingernails!

By: John R. Haughton

Topics will include:
What are hydroponics? How hydroponics systems are operated. Recommended lighting for your plants. Reputable hydroponic retailers.
What are hydroponics?

Hydroponics is a form of gardening that uses water, nutrients, and lighting. Basically, there are 3 phases included when growing with hydroponics and a few components.

First, you will need what is called a grow box or a hydroponic system. The grow box, or hydroponic system acts as an ecosystem to your indoor garden. Although you can place the grow box outdoors, the system is concealed from outside weather, therefore, it is always considered to be indoor gardening.

The components needed are the outer shell, the lighting system, the hydroponic bucket (to hold plants), and a ballast. The outer shell is a cover and ecosystem so that the lighting is not wasted and is focused on the plants themselves. The lighting acts as sunlight to your plants in the grow box. The hydroponic bucket is your main source of hydroponic activity. This bucked needs only water and nutrients.

How hydroponic systems are operated.

There are 3 phases in hydroponic gardening.

The first phase is the mother/clone area. This is where your first 3 plants are placed. You must grow these plants in soil and place them in this area. This area has it’s own lighting conditions in the grow box. What you need to do is take cuttlings from your mother plant and place them in the clone area. Your clones will develop and turn into tiny plants. The mother can be reused over and over again.

The 2nd phase is the vegetative stage. This is where your tiny plants become baby sized plants. They sit in this area for a short time until that are mature enough so that the roots are at least long enough to be put in the flowering stage. This area also has it’s own lighting system. The grow box has 3 different areas for growth – mother/clone, vegetative, and flowering stage.

The 3rd and final stage is the flowering stage. The baby plants (with roots dangling) are put in the flowering area. This area of the grow box also has it’s own lighting. The plants sit in this area for about a month until they are fully grown. Although a month sounds a bit fast, you will soon discover using hydroponics grows your plants much faster than traditional gardening.

And finally, your plants grow to maturity and you can harvest them. After harvesting, you should have other plants in the vegetative stage that can be placed in the flowering stage.

Recommended lighting for your plants.

The lighting is one of the important aspects of any grow box. In the older days, people used powerful lights that sucked up power, used too much energy, and gave off too much heat. Now, the best type of lighting is HPS. This is high pressure sodium. The reason for this is that HPS lighting is just as powerful and gives off very little heat, and uses very little energy. A full 6 foot grow box system should only take as much energy as a refrigerator or living room television. Grow boxes today typically use a 400w or 600w HPS lamp. This ensures low power usage and gives off a very small amount of heat.

Reputable hydroponic retailers.

Serious growers should buy grow boxes, NOT grow tents. Grow tents are much less effective than an actual grow box. If you are serious about growing, then you definitely need a high quality grow box that does the job.

The biggest and most reputable online retailer for these grow boxes is a company called Dealzer.com. Dealzer’s website is seperated into 3 sections:

Commercial hydroponics, professional hydroponics, and discount hydroponics. The average user usually buys from the professional category. Professional grow boxes are usually used to make money. People grow veggies, plants, and herbs and then sell the products. Commercial systems are used for large distribution. Discount systems are mostly for personal growth and are sometimes also used for retail.

Dealzer, being the largest grow box retailer, has over 50 models. The best of the grow boxes are listed on their home page. The super closet deluxe is their best selling model. If you are unsure what you want, buy the deluxe. You won’t go wrong with it.

Dealzer operates 7 days a week, has live chat, and has a toll free phone number; 888-HYDRO-81.

If you are going to buy a Grow Box it is important to buy from a reputable company. Dealzer.com is highly recommended and has won awards on their systems for the past decade. A 3 years warranty and telephone support are included with every order.

By: Albert Farajian

Have you ever dreamed of having a year-round, low-maintenance garden that you do not need to spend too much time on? Well, dream no more, because with hydroponics gardening, it is very much possible to have a blooming garden and have flourishing life outside it too!

One of the biggest challenges every gardener must face is never having sufficient time to take care of their garden. A garden being a living thing, there are always weeds to pluck out, garden pests to get rid of, and other steps to ensure your plants’ healthy survival. And then there’s the matter of watering the plants, which takes even more time on an almost daily basis.

So, if you badly want a garden, but are not very keen on investing too much time on it, hydroponics gardening is your best option. Hydroponics gardening has many time-saving advantages over conventional gardening practices. Because of this, it has become increasingly popular among gardening aficionados.

In hydroponics gardening, plants are reared in nutrient solutions instead of in the earth. In other words, it is gardening without the use of soil. In this new method, plants are cultivated in water in which necessary nutrients have been dissolved. It seems complicated at first, but it is, in fact, even simpler than conventional gardening.

Like conventional gardening, hydroponics gardening still requires water, light, nutrients and humidity, but with the right hydroponics gardening equipment, it can be done indoors. Plants prosper in the water and nutrient solution because the roots still absorb the nutrients, even without soil.

For hydroponics gardening, you will need, of course, an area or room for your garden. You will also need the following basic equipment: a hydroponics system; lighting system; growing medium, like rockwool and perlite, to support the roots; thermometer; pH control kit; nutrients (in concentrated liquid, pre-mixed, or powder form); extension sockets; timer and timer control.

The equipment can be costly at first, but once you’ve set your hydroponics garden up, you can start reaping the many benefits of using this method:

o You don’t have to do any weeding. Since plants are grown in nutrient solutions, you don’t have to worry about weeds. This saves you plenty of time–and a lot of backaches.

o You will have fewer problems with pests and diseases. Growing plants hydroponically, you have fewer pests to deal with.

o You don’t have to water your plants. Hydroponic gardens have an unlimited supply of water, and a system in place to gauge the amount.

o You don’t have to dig your garden anymore. In conventional gardening, prepping the soil involves loosening the soil to get oxygen in for plants to absorb. This is a time-consuming task you won’t have to do for your hydroponic garden because the roots get their oxygen from the nutrient solution. The most common equipment for this purpose is the aquarium bubbler, which helps put oxygen back into the solution.

o You won’t need too much water. You only need enough to deliver the nutrients.

o You won’t need too much space. You can grow plants very near each other, so you maximize space. With little parcels of land, you can get high yields.

o You can cultivate plants all throughout the year because you have more control over the environment.

o You don’t have to worry about diseases carried by the soil.

o You can produce plants of superior quality because you can manage the surroundings well.

As you can see, a hydroponics system may take some time and additional expenses to set up, but its benefits are well worth the effort.

By: Shawn Woods