Hydroponics

If one has ever wondered how a plant like the common money plant grows in soil and in a bottle full of water. Why do some plants like the water lily grow in water without soil? Well this in a nutshell is the basis of hydroponics. That is the science of growing plants in water and not using soil for providing support to the roots, other alternatives like stone sand or fiber are used to provide the roots support. The science of growing plants in water and providing them the nourishment that they need through the water that their roots are washed with is hydroponics. It was during the eighteenth century that this experimentation was started by trying to grow lettuce and tomatoes using this technique.

Hydroponic agriculture has become quite successful and some farmers have turned to it and some gardeners are also using this methodology of growing plants. The reason for that is that the plants roots get the nutrients that they need in the water which has the required nutrients diluted in it. So the roots don’t need to search in the soil for the water that contains the required nutrients and then suck them in. now by supplying the roots the food they need if it is supplied by the water directly the plant will nourish. Of course all this may sound pretty simple but it is not. Whereas the roots are getting the nourishment that the plant needs but they cannot be soaked continuously in water as that would cause them to rot. And if they are overfed again the plant will die. So hydroponics is not all that simple. The plants grow faster and bear fruit faster but all this has to be done in a properly controlled environment. If anything goes wrong the plant will die.

If one wants to try growing plants by hydroponics at home one should be a gardener or at least have some knowledge about plants and their growing methods. To build a homemade hydroponics system is not difficult. Take a large glass tank paint the inside black and leave a vertical strip unpainted. This strip should be narrow enough to see the water level inside the tank. Now get a Styrofoam or wood sheet that should be slightly shorter then the inner dimensions of the tank so that it can easily float in it. Cut holes in it to the size of the pot holders. Make sure to leave enough space between the pot holders for the plants to get light. Cut an extra hole for the air pump tube as one will need to give air to the roots to breadth. Now fill the tank with the nutrient solution start pumping the air in the tank and watch the plants flourish. Of course when one has to change the solution one would have to take out the Styrofoam or wooden plank and use a pump or a tumbler to empty the tank. The other simple solution is to immerse a tube in the tank and then suck the solution till it starts to flow out.

People have started growing hydroponic strawberries and some are quite successful where as others are having problems. But this way of growing strawberries is catching on and hydroponic strawberry farming is also being done. Marijuana is also being grown hydroponically and is quite successful. However one has to know the female plants from the male!

There are home hydroponic kits and designs that are quite freely available on the net and lettuce and tomatoes are being grown quite successfully using this methodology. However if one is doing using this technique on a commercial basis there is a lot of technology involved as over feeding, aeration, environment everything has to be controlled and any small breakdown can cause a loss of the entire crop.