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Hydroponics gardening is an excellent way of maximizing the potential of plants with very little cost and minimal required space. Start-up and maintenance is made considerably easier than other methods due to the lack of soil in use. Instead, seeds are sprouted and grown using a hydroponics system, purified water, and added nutrients only.

Essentially, ‘hydro’ means water, and ‘ponics’ means to work, toil, or labor (in Greece). So in this case, water does most of the work in hydroponics gardening. Nutrient-rich dosages are added to the water supply while a water pump ensures their delivery to the plants root system.

A hydroponics system could be made out of several home-made systems such as towers, A-frames, trays, or anything capable of holding water and/or other inert, immovable media, as well as provide a place for plants to grow. If you’re not feeling entirely creative or unable to construct one of your own, there are several pre-made options available for indoor hydroponics gardening, as well as outdoor hydroponic starter kits.

There are two main categories for hydroponics systems…

Solution Culture System:

Uses only a solution (liquid) such as water. Plant roots grow directly into the nutrient-filled solution.

Aggregate Culture System:

Uses a medium other than dirt/soil to assist plant growth, such as gravel, sand, coconut fiber or chips, perlite, rockwool, small clay pellets, among others.

Out of these two basic systems, all other methods of hydroponic gardening are borne, such as…

Ebb and Flow Method:

One of the most classic methods of hydroponics gardening, the ebb and flow method typically uses pots or other BPA-free plastic containers arranged onto a drain table, which is then filled with 2-3 inches of water and nutrient solution. The pots or containers should have holes in the bottom to absorb the water and nutrients. After soaking this way for a few minutes, the grow-tray is drained and further water is added automatically with a water pump system (plus nutrient solution added manually), roughly 2-4 times a day

Top Drip Method:

Another highly common style of hydroponics is the top drip method. With this, the nutrient solution is held in a reservoir and pumped through tubing to the base of potted plants. Any excess water and solution that makes it’s way through the bottom of the hole in the pots is then recycled back into the reservoir. This process should be repeated about 2-4 times a day to be sure plants stay nourished.

Deep Water Culture (Bubbleponics) Method:

This method, also known as bubbleponics, uses plants that are suspended on a floating plank (typically Styrofoam). Underneath the plank is a shallow reservoir of nutrient-rich solution that the roots of the plants grow directly into. An aerator at the bottom provides oxygen to the roots by creating bubbles aimed directly at them.

Wick Method:

One of the simpler methods to hydroponic gardening, the wick system does not require pumps, aerators, or timers. Instead, nutrients are fed to plant roots through a cotton wick. For this, plants are potted in a large pot with a wicking mat at the bottom, this then brings the nutrient solution directly to the plant.

There are other, lesser known hydroponic methods available, yet the ones listed above are the most common, widely-accepted ones in use to date due to them being easily accessible and maintained. However any method chosen will also require significant lighting. Especially if growing indoors, be sure there is significant sunshine and/or purchase a specialty lamp (such as metal halide) for growing plants to ensure a proper light source.

As for the nutrients added to the water, this is done because plants do not receive nutrients from water alone, water is the ‘carrier’ of the nutrients, and beings as the plants do not receive the nutrients they usually would from soil, they need to be added manually. However due to the surplus of nutrient-rich water and oxygen to plants in hydroponic gardening, plants typically grow larger and healthier when compared to gardening with soil. As many necessary nutrients for plant growth are either eroded, or washed away in soil before they can reach the plant’s roots.

Typically, a blend of primary, secondary, and micro nutrients are used for hydroponic gardening. These organic hydroponic nutrient blends can be bought online or from a local lawn & garden outlet. Once you get a hydroponics system in place and tighten up all it’s bells and whistles – it basically runs itself. Maintenance costs and expenditure of energy is very minimal, plus plants and crops packed with vitamins and minerals grow quite quickly!

Happy Hydroponic Harvesting! =]

~Recommended: Hydroponics Home Garden, Outdoor Kit, Lamp Light, Organic Nutrient Blend

Sources:

(1) http://hydroponicsgrower.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/2-Ebb-and-Flow-Hydroponic-System.jpg

(2) http://hydroponicsgrower.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/1-Hydroponic-Drip-System.jpg

(3) https://usercontent2.hubstatic.com/335598_f520.jpg

(3) http://greenmattersonline.com/images/HydroTypes/wick-system.gif

Image: http://www.saferbrand.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/hydro_intro_2014_11_04-700×432.jpg

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