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WHAT IS HYDROPONICS?
"If it ain't Hydro - it's Dirt"
The Professor
The name "Hydroponic" comes from Latin and means "Working Water". In reality hydroponics is the growing of plants without soil, or as The Professor likes to call it: "Dirtless Gardening".
When most people think of hydroponics, they think of plants grown with their roots suspended directly into water with no growing medium. This is just one type of hydroponic gardening, known as N.F.T. (Nutrient Film Technique).There are several variations of N.F.T. used around the world and it is a very popular method of growing hydroponically. What most people don't realize is that there are literally hundreds of methods of hydroponic gardening. We explain the most common basic methods and the pro's and con's of each particular type below, along with a lot of great general information about hydroponics.
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WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HYDROPONIC, ORGANIC AND "REGULAR" FERTILIZERS? |
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HYDROPONIC
OR ORGANIC? WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE? |
WHY DOES HYDROPONICS WORK SO WELL?
That's simply, if you give a plant exactly what it needs, when it needs it, in the amount that it needs it in, the plant will be as healthy as is genetically possible. With hydroponics, this is an easy task, in the soil it can be almost impossible.
Let me explain. With hydroponics the plants are grown in an inert growing medium, the plants do not get anything from the growing medium. The plants receive only what you give them, nothing more, you have complete control over pH, nutrients and the nutrient strength. In the soil you really have no idea what the plants are getting, so gardening becomes a big guessing game. How much nutrient does the soil contain? What about the essential micro-nutrients? Should I fertilize? How much do I apply? How much of what I applied was washed away by the last watering or rain storm? The questions go on and on. Unless you have a very expensive soil analysis run, you just don't know, you have to guess.
Growing medium is simply what the roots of the plants are growing in. This can be a vast variety of materials, including Rockwool, perlite, vermiculite, coconut fiber, gravel, sand or any number of other materials, even air can be a growing medium. The growing medium is an inert substance that doesn't supply any nutrition to the plants, all the nutrition comes from the nutrient solution (water and fertilizer mixed). You can therefore easily control everything the plants receive, the strength and pH of the nutrient solution is easy to adjust so that the plants receive just the right amount of nutrient and water. The watering cycles can be simply controlled by an inexpensive timer so that the plants get watered when they need to be.
WHAT
IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
HYDROPONIC, ORGANIC AND "REGULAR" FERTILIZERS?
Both hydroponic fertilizer and fertilizer intended for use in soil contain the three major nutrients: Nitrogen, Phosphorus and potassium. The major difference between hydroponic fertilizer and "dirt" fertilizer is that hydroponic fertilizers contain the proper amounts of all the essential micro-nutrients that "dirt" fertilizers do not include, (the plants are expected to find these elements in the soil, assuming that the trace elements are in fact present in the soil). Problems can arise for the plants if any or all of the micro-nutrients are not present in the soil or are depleted by successive (or excessive) plantings. Hydroponic fertilizers are usually in a purer form with fewer impurities than the "dirt" fertilizers so that they are stable and are more water soluble. (see below for more information on Micro-Nutrients).
Organic fertilizers are very different (in most cases) than either the hydroponic or "dirt" fertilizer, both in composition and how they deliver the nutrients to the plants. Organic fertilizers rely on the action of bacteria and microbes to break down the material into it's basic elements so the plants can use it. The hydroponic and "dirt" fertilizers supply the plants with these elements "ready-to-use". (for more information about the difference between hydroponic and organic fertilizer, click here for the excellent article titled: "Hydroponic or Organic - What's the Difference?" by Roger H. Thayer).
The micro-nutrients that are required for healthy plant growth are calcium, magnesium, sulfur, boron, cobalt, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum and zinc. These nutrients are essential elements that plants need in very small amounts. Without these trace elements plants can become "sick" and develop all sorts of problems, depending on which micro-nutrient(s) are missing. In the case of food crops, the lack of micro-nutrients in the soil can mean a lack of nutrients in the food, which means at best that the food isn't as healthy as it could be and at worst that people can develop heath problems due to the lack of these essential elements. That is why it is important to use a good quality Hydroponic fertilizer when ever you are growing plants using hydroponics.
HOW COMPLICATED IS HYDROPONIC GARDENING?
Hydroponic gardening can be VERY complicated, with computers and sensors controlling everything from watering cycles to nutrient strength and the amount of light that the plants receive.
On the other hand, hydroponics can also be incredibly simple, a hand watered bucket of sand with a single plant is also a method of hydroponic gardening. Most hobby oriented hydroponics systems are somewhere between the two extremes mentioned above.
The "average" home hydroponic system usually consists of a few basic parts: a growing tray, a reservoir, a simple timer controlled submersible pump to water the plants and an air pump and air stone to oxygenate the nutrient solution. Of course, light (either natural or artificial) is also required.
IS pH IMPORTANT IN HYDROPONICS?
The control of pH is extremely important, not just with hydroponics but in soil as well. Plants lose the ability to absorb different nutrients when the pH varies. (This topic is answered in much greater detail in the "mini-class" on pH in Hydroponics).
The ability to quickly and easily test and control pH in hydroponics is a major advantage over dirt gardening, where testing and adjusting the pH is much more complicated and time consuming.
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