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Hydroponics used to refer to the practice of growing plants exclusively without soil. Most commonly, hydroponics cultivates plants in nutrient-rich water. In recent years the technology has advanced so that hydroponics can also be considered to be the practice of growing plants in other aggregates, such as a soil-less bark-based mix, coir, peat, organic soil and rock wool to name a few. Hydroponics is an advantageous method of gardening both for home and commercial use for a number reasons. There are no weeds to deal with, no messes from soil in the house or fungus gnats or other soil born pests and hydroponic plants are typically more healthy, mature earlier, and use less space and watering is usually automated. For urban environments they are a terrific way of growing your own food in really tight spaces.

In addition, because hydroponics are mostly water-based, it is possible to fully automate a hydroponics system. So if you're absent for an extended period of time, the plants will not suffer. This is a terrific feature for people who's job tales them on the road frequently. Once you system is set you can count on coming home to fresh food or beautiful house plants every time! This feature also makes hydroponic systems good for busy offices where there's not enough time to go around and water the plants everyday. The water is also typically reused, as opposed to traditional farming methods where much water is lost through evaporation or runoff and even causes pollution of the water table in extreme cases, although this type of thing is usually associated with synthetic highly soluble fertilizers.

In an indoor hydroponics system, plants may receive sunlight through artificial means such as grow lights. Another consideration for indoor hydroponic gardens is air circulation. This prevents fungal diseases and allows the plants to draw out the necessary carbon dioxide they require. For smaller systems something as simple as a small table fan can be enough if needed.

The most important factor in hydroponics however, is the nutrient solution that must be mixed with water. Standard fertilizers are inadequate because they lack some of the elements necessary that the plants would otherwise derive from the soil. Specially-formulated hydroponic fertilizer mixtures are required. These are available here on our web site as well. Full instructions about how to mix them and apply them are always right on the label. The nutrient solution should be changed every two weeks or as recommended by the instructions with the kit or the fertilizer label.

There are three different ways of culturing hydroponically-grown plants. The simplest one, the nutrient film technique, simply uses a plastic trough as a container. Holes are placed in the top to hold the plants. The trough is sloped slightly, so the solution will flow to a reservoir.

Other methods include aeroponics, which suspends the roots in a mist rather than a solution, and aeration, which uses an air pump to deliver oxygen to the roots that are immersed in the solution.

An aggregate system of hydroponics uses inert material, such as clay pebbles, rock wool or foam chips to surround the roots and provide support to the plant. (We won't sell the foam chips!)The most common aggregate system is the flood and drain method, which fills a container with the aggregate where the container is flooded with the nutrient solution and drained as often as necessary, automatically.

Hydroponics systems are easy to set up for a home gardener, and can produce an excellent yield of quality plants. Equipment is not expensive, and many of the smaller components like plumbing nipples and tubing can be had a your local hardware store should you break or loose a piece now and then. Usually, once you set up your system it requires very little maintenance and last for years.