Hydroponics Explained
Hydroponics is a system of gardening and farming that uses a carefully balanced nutrient solution to feed plants instead of the traditional soil. All the types of hydroponic systems share basic traits. Does this Spark an idea?
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Hydroponics Versus Soil
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Because hydroponic systems keep the plants in a well-balanced mixture of nutrients and oxygen, the plants grow larger, faster, and packed with more nutrients than those grown in soil, according to the Easy Hydroponics website. Hydroponic plants can also be grown in any season, even winter.
Growing Media
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These systems use a growing medium to keep the plants' roots propped up while letting the nutrient solution reach them. The growing medium might be gravel, pellets of clay or fibrous materials like perlite or vermiculite.
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Types of Systems
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The simplest systems are the water culture system, which suspends the growing medium directly in the nutrient solution, and the wick system, which has wicks slowly pull the solution into the growing medium. Other common systems, such as the drip system and the ebb-and-flow, use pumps to bring the solution to the growing medium at preset times.
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