Hydroponics - Explained

Introduction:

If you've ever placed a plant clipping into a glass of water in the hopes that it will grow roots, you've practiced a form of hydroponics. Hydroponics is a branch of agriculture where plants are grown without the use of soil. Plants just like humans need nutrients to survive. Nutrients are chemicals which are used by an organism to survive or grow. The nutrients that the plants normally get from the soil are simply dissolved into water instead. Depending on the type of hydroponic system used, the plant's roots are suspended in, flooded with or misted with the nutrient solution. This way the plant gets the elements it needs for growth.

­­As the population of our planet gets larger the land that is available for growing food declines. Hydroponics allows us to produce crops in greenhouses or in multilevel buildings dedicated to agriculture. Already crops are being produced underground, on rooftops and in greenhouses using hydroponic methods.

Benefits of Hydroponics Systems:

So why go through all the trouble of setting up a hydroponics system? After all, people have been growing food just fine for thousands, if not millions of years using good old-fashioned dirt. Hydroponics offers some significant benefits over traditional farming. First, hydroponics offers people the ability to grow food in places where traditional agriculture simply isn't possible. In areas with arid (very dry) climates, like Arizona and Israel, hydroponics has been in use for decades. It is also useful in very cold climates.

Growing food with hydroponics also offers significant environmental benefits. Hydroponics systems use only about 10 percent of the water that soil-based agriculture does. This is because many hydroponics systems recycle and reuse nutrient solutions, so no water is wasted. Hydroponics also requires little or no use of pesticides and only around 25 percent of the fertilizers needed by plants that are grown in soil. This represents not only a savings of money but also benefits the environment because fewer chemicals are being released into the air. Finally, hydroponics allows food to be grown locally so it doesn’t have to be transported as far cutting down on greenhouse gas emissions.

Hydroponics also takes less time to grow plants than soil-based agriculture. Plants grown in hydroponics systems have direct access to water and nutrients and don’t have to develop large root systems to allow them to find the nutrients they need. This saves time and produces healthier plants in about half the amount of time as traditional agriculture.

The Science Behind Hydroponics:

Before we can take a look at how hydroponics works, we must first understand how plants themselves work. Generally speaking, plants need very little to grow. They can live on a simple blend of water, sunlight, carbon dioxide and mineral nutrients from the soil. Notice that soil itself is not required for for plants to grow. The plant simply needs the minerals it gets from the soil. This is the basic idea behind hydroponics -- all the elements required for plant growth are the same as with traditional soil-based gardening. Hydroponics simply takes away the need for soil.

Hydroponics Systems:

Let's take a look at some parts of hydroponics systems. The most important part of any hydroponic system is the nutrient solution used. The nutrients solution is made up of the minerals the plant requires that are dissolved in water. Different nutrient solutions are used depending on what type of plants you're trying to grow and what type of system you are using.

The material that a plant lives in or on is called its medium or substrate. The medium supports the roots of the plant. Normally, for most plants, the medium is soil. Hydroponics growers use other things to support the roots to prevent the plants from drowning. One of the most popular mediums used in hydroponic gardening is rock wool, because it is affordable and offers easy drainage. Other popular mediums include clay, perlite, vermiculite, sand and gravel. Anything that can support the roots of the plant can be used as a medium.

Another critical aspect of hydroponics is the use of light. Plants require light in order to perform photosynthesis. In areas where natural light is not available or plentiful, plant grow lights are used instead. Finally, any successful hydroponics system must be monitored so that pH levels are regulated. pH is a measure of how acidic or basic the growth environment is. The pH of the system must be kept within a certain range, depending on the plant and the medium used.