When people first hear the term they may think, what the heck is hydroponics? Well as the name somewhat implies, it is basically using water based nutrients as your plants main source of food. Hydroponic deriving from Greek origins for labor and water.
It has many advantages such as less costs in water, more control over nutrients, lowers ground pollutants since the environment is controlled, and allows easier methods of resisting pests and diseases as there is no soil to cultivate mold or insects.
Due to the high usage of water however, a danger is salmonella growth. Although this can be prevented with knowledge and preparation.
There are a couple different methods to hydroponic gardening. Some you may have performed in a small variation as a child. Have you ever put a potato into a glass of water, held in place by toothpicks? That is a form of Static solution culture.
Continuous flow solution cultures are just as they sound, a continuous flow of water. Think of an irrigation system but instead its a cycle, with plants held in place with roots submerged.
A new spin on hydroponics has been growing lately as well, known as Aeroponics. In which a plant is saturated with mist or drops of nutrient solutions instead of being fully submerged.
Hydroponics can use many mediums instead of dirt. Clay, coir, pumice, rock wool, sand, gravel, brick shards, even packing peanuts!
The nutrient solution is the largest part of this method and requires the most attention. It should have calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphates, nitrates, sulfates and several others. There are however many recipes and variations of these mixtures and vary depending on the plant being grown.
If you are interested in creating a hydroponic garden we encourage you to research it and give it a try! It isnt as difficult as it may sound and it can be a new adventure in home gardening as well as indoor gardening.
I bought this item because I was tired of growing my herbs outside and having the voracious squirrels enjoy them more than me. I have three 9″ pots under this one light, and all pots are growing herbs/peppers well. I don’t know what the one reviewer was talking about with the raising/lowering mechanism, it works fine for me. It’s true though that the plants on the edges do grow inwards a bit, but if you grow in small pots like I do, then its not a problem, every week turn the pot and it grows fine. For the price it would be hard to beat this item.
i am an experienced hydroponic gardener and i love this setup. i bought it and all you need is a light water and some ph up and down. i would also recommend a digital ph and ppm meter .i use two of them and going to buy 2 more alot of poeple like me build there own but when you figure hydroton and nutes its well worth the money . mine came with general hydroponic nutrients and thats what i use. great setup and great deal i would also recommend using 2.5 ml of 35% food grade peroxide to avoid root rot if youre res temp get higher than 70 degrees J.