Hydroponic Gardening
Hydroponic Gardening is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions instead of soil, and plants are grown with their roots in only a mineral nutrient solution, or in a sand, gravel, vermiculite, rockwool, perlite, peatmoss, coir, or sawdust medium. In the conditions found in nature, soil acts as a mineral nutrient reservoir but the soil itself is not actually needed for the plant to grow. Simply put, when the nutrients in the soil dissolve into water, the roots of the plant absorbs them and Hydroponic Gardening allows you to provide the required mineral nutrients within the water supply artificially, making the soil unneccesary. Almost any plant will grow using Hydroponic Gardening, although some plants will thrive better than others. Hydroponic Gardening is also very easy to do, and the available Hydroponic Systems literally suit any budget, as seen below. Hydroponic Gardening allows you to grow approximately two to ten times the normal growing yield in less than half the space and half the time, making it very popular among Indoor Gardeners.
Hydroponic Gardening can be separated by two categories which include the solution culture and the medium culture methods, depending on which of the Hydroponic Systems you use. The solution culture method does not use a solid medium for the roots, just the nutrient solution, and the medium culture method has a solid medium for the roots to grow and is named for the type of medium. Within most modern Hydroponic Systems, the reservoirs are built of plastic and the containers block the light to prevent algae growth in the nutrient solution which can introduce disease to the growing plant. The Hydroponic Systems are further broken down by the open - once the nutrient solution is delivered to the plant roots it is not reused, and the closed - where the surplus solution is recovered, replenished, and recycled.
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General Hydroponics pH Control Kit Sale Price: $13.00  |
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Proper pH control is important to allow all plant nutrients to be available in nutrient solution. Having nutrient solutions that are too high (basic) or too low (acidic) can lead to nutrient deficiencies or toxicities, depending on the element... |
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Luster Leaf 1601 Rapitest Soil Test Kit List Price: $14.91 Sale Price: $10.89 |
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Helps gardeners grow greener lawns and more abundant flowers, fruits, and vegetables. Testing the levels of pH, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash takes just 3 easy steps: 1) mix soil with water, pour off liquid after soil settles into the chambers of the color compactor, 2) dissolve tablet, and 3) compare the color for test reading chart that is included in the kit... |
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EarthBox RB-SS-TRC Staking System In Terra Cotta for the EarthBox Garden Kit List Price: $34.99 Sale Price: $28.21 |
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Tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers, beans and other vines or tall plants need support. The EarthBox Staking Kit is the perfect solution for your plant staking problem while using the EarthBox. Install the staking system and run string between the vertical stakes to provide the support your plants need... |
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General Hydroponics Flora Kit 1 Pint each Sale Price: $24.95 |
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We bet that if you try this nutrient system you and your plants will love it. Get all three required General Hydroponics Flora nutrients and experience what science has done for plant foods. FloraGro NPK Formula: 2-1-6 FloraMicro NPK Formula: 5-0-1 FloraBloom NPK Formula: 0-5-4 |
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General Hydroponics pH Test Kit Sale Price: $5.50 |
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It's easy to test the pH of water with this complete test kit. Includes plastic test tube, 1 oz. indicator fluid and color chart. Five drops per test. Essential for all hydroponic gardeners. |
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Hydroponic Gardening is defined as gardening in an inert, sterile growing medium and fed a mixture of water and nutrient and the principle is very basic. Plants grown in soil have to continue to develop root balls in the search of water, as well as nutrients and air, so the majority of time plants spend is on there lower root development. This restricts there upper growth but with hydroponics, the water, nutrient and air is directed towards the root ball, and frees the plant to use its available energy in its upper leaf, fruit, or flower growth. When you introduce the fact that each plant in any of the Hydroponic Systems available has all the nutrients, as well as all the air and water it might want, it grows at an exponential rate. When plants are grown in Hydroponics Systems they can be given exact and specific doses of nutrients and the crop raised during Hydroponic Gardening will develop optimum levels of appearance, yield and flavour. Because the roots of plants grown in a soil-less medium they do not need to constantly grow in search of the nutrients, and more plants can be grown in a smaller area within each of the Hydroponic Systems causing the indoor gardener to make the best use of whatever space is available. 
