Hydroponic Gardening

As the name suggests Hydroponic Gardening refers to the cultivation of plants in water. Since different media or aggregates are used for growing a plant Hydroponic Gardening can be broadly defined as cultivation of plants without soil.

Hydroponic technique has been adopted because of lack of availability of fertile lands. Hydroponic Gardening involves growing of plants in water mixed with nutrients. Although hydroponics was used as a research technique for nearly a century it was only in 1929 that experiments were conducted to determine its commercial feasibility. Commercially it's becoming popular in United States and other countries.

Hydroponics provides the advantage of multiple cropping and hence helps in conserving the space and increasing the yields by growing the crops together. Although there are costs in terms of high equipment cost and personnel training but the advantages of hydroponics outweigh the costs involved. The synonyms used for hydroponics are soil less gardening, chemiculture and water gardening. Hydroponic plants grow faster 30 percent faster than crops grown in other medium.

Advantages Of Hydroponic Gardening

• Hydroponic plants require less space as roots don't spread out in search of nutrients.
• It automates the system and hence reduces the time taken to maintain plant growth requirements.
• No need to worry about watering the plants.
• Can be applied both commercially and for home gardening.

Kinds Of Plant Grown In Hydroponic Gardening

Any crop can be grown through this technique but certain crops grow better as they are space efficient.

• Tomatoes
• Sweet pepper
• Cucumbers
• Herbs and Flowers
• Broccoli and Beans

Types Of Hydroponic Systems

• Top feed system(drip system)
• Nutrient Film Technique
• Air Pump System
• Aeroponic System
• Ebb and Flow