Among the largest misconceptions is that hydroponic gardens are typically used to grow certain controlled substances in secret growing rooms. Internet sources don’t seem to help since they associate the concepts of hydroponics and illegal activity. This can be explained by the fact that those who are spreading those pieces of information know how to use the Internet and not because every hydroponic garden is illegal. In fact, illegal growing comprises a tiny percentage of hydroponic gardening in general. A lot of beneficial plants and vegetables flourish in a hydroponic environment and so, many farmers are resorting to this practice. In fact, countries such as Canada and Holland are using hydroponics to grow food on a large scale. To suggest that hydroponics is a bad thing because people utilize it to grow illegal substances is to suggest that soil is a bad thing for the same reason. Farming is farming; hydroponics is just an alternate method.

Second, a lot of people believe that hydroponic gardening is unnatural or artificial because it foregoes the use of soil. The truth is, there are no genetic or chemical alterations in hydroponics, and no natural processes are interrupted. The natural elements are given to the plants   light, nutrients, water   as is the case when they’re planted in soil. In hydroponics, on the other hand, soil is replaced by other root anchoring techniques and nutrients, light and water are provided in ways that would optimize health and growth. Interestingly enough, plants that grow in hydroponic gardens would typically turn out to be healthier   and this is done without the use of additives. The process is more complicated, but the result is still the natural production of plants and food.

Others erroneously believe that hydroponic gardening is merely an expensive hobby a fad of sorts that has no real point. While hydroponics is indeed a fun pastime (and a growing business) for hobbyists, it can also be very useful. With hydroponics, growing plants and food in almost any setting becomes a possibility   regardless if it’s winter, in the polar regions, in contaminated soils and even in space. More significantly, this alternative method in farming makes the yield and quality of food bearing plants better   as a result, food is made readily available to third world countries and in places where famine is widespread.

So maybe, there is more to hydroponic gardening than meets the eye; there’s absolutely more to it than these common misconceptions might lead us to believe.

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Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about the topic:

‘The two main types of hydroponics are solution culture and medium culture. Solution culture does not use a solid medium for the roots, just the nutrient solution. The three main types of solution culture are static solution culture, continuous flow solution culture and aeroponics. The medium culture method has a solid medium for the roots and is named for the type of medium, e.g. sand culture, gravel culture or rockwool culture. There are two main variations for each medium, subirrigation and top irrigation. For all techniques, most hydroponic reservoirs are now built of plastic but other materials have been used including concrete, glass, metal, vegetable solids and wood. The containers should exclude light to prevent algae growth in the nutrient solution.’

What do I need for homemade hydroponics?

First of all you will need one tote that will work as the nutrients and mineral reservoir; then a water pump will be used for oxygenating the nutrients all the time. An upper container will be used to hold several other smaller plant containers, in the container’s bottom two holes must be made and used in the following way: one hole will support the flood and drain, and the other one must placed for the overflow pipe.

A short tube pipe must be taken from the water pump to the drain fitting, and the water pump must be connected to a clock. This is the basics of an effective homemade hydroponics. The pump must work four times a day about half an hour each time.

If you succeeded in putting together a functional homemade hydroponics then your job is half done, because the other essential part is to learn how to feed your plants, according to the type of crop you are growing certain nutrients and minerals are to be used to achieve a satisfying result.

One of the best ways to prevent failure is to acquire a Ph meter and an EC meter that will both help you in monitoring the amount of nutrients and minerals your system has. As it can be seen homemade hydroponics are not something very easily made, but with determination and a little effort, results will show.

The things you will need for homemade hydroponics

Building homemade hydroponics is neither impossible nor too expensive, you will just need two 32 liter plastic totes, an aquarium water and an air pump. You also need to buy some flood and drain fittings and finally some plastic tubings and a timer. Hydroponics has become quite a hobby for many researchers and the fact is that its importance is recognized even by NASA that use this technique in providing fresh vegetable and recycle air on the orbital space station. Good luck!

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Hydroponic Systems can promote conditions (presence of fertilizer and high humidity) which can result in an environment that promotes salmonella growth. Pathogens attacks, such as damp off due to Verticillium wilt, can be caused by the high moisture levels associated with hydroponics and over watering. High humidity in your growing environment can lead to foliar fungus problems/mold. Proper aeration or the supply of air or oxygen to the plants’ roots can be an issue depending on the type of hydroponic system used. Feeding frequency  the simpler the system, the more often you will have to be around to add and monitor the nutrient solution. Timing   how often to pour nutrient over the aggregate/growing medium. Volume –how much nutrient solution to be poured over the aggregate when using a light proof container system. Another common problem is stock water that is too cold when using stock tank systems.

Sounds intimidating? Fortunately most hydroponic systems are not nearly as difficult when done on a small scale. Just remember that your system may be as complicated or as simple as your abilities and needs dictate. You are the one in charge.

Cleanliness matters. Always cut off dead leaves and remove them from your grow room. Decaying organic matter attracts fungus gnats plain and simple. Remove diseased plants immediately to prevent any infections spreading. Clean the plant box well using a 10% bleach solution  before putting it back to use. Rinse/scrub with fresh water – lots of it. When changing water in your stock tank, wash the tank well using a 10% bleach solution. Should you use big trays for blocks and slabs, strongly consider washing these too. Flush irrigation lines with a hydrogen peroxide solution. Make sure your humidity is less than 60% during dark cycles when humidity can be the highest. Air circulation is an essential – a fan takes care of that. Increasing plant resistance to mold problems by adjusting potassium levels higher is an effective preventative measure. Look at your plant spacing and make sure that the plants do not touch the walls of your growing space.

Spending an extra couple of dollars and getting a timer will help with the feeding cycles your hydroponic systems use. Avoid salt built up by top watering your plants once a week if you use the Ebb& Flood method. Look at putting a heating element in a tank to 21oC (70oF). Try allowing a greater difference between night and day temperatures to promote the setting of flowers/fruit. Should you be in mid crop, try using garden sulfur in a foliar spray. Ready made sprays are available and always follow the manufacturer’s directions carefully. The most effective solution to any problems is prevention and experience. Common sense really. So get growing!

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The first thing you need to decide when using hydroponics is whether you are planting indoors or outdoors. Other than the season you are planting in, the considerations you need to make have to do with the amount of rain and moisture that will be in the air. Hydroponic growing environments provide all the water and moisture the plants will need in order to survive. If they are in environments where there is too much moisture in the air, you might over saturate the plant and cause it to die.

The next thing you need to decide is which plants you will be growing in your hydroponic system. It is possible to set up different systems in the same area. Keep in mind most plants will grow better with different nutrient compositions. Growing herbs with a low nutrient content will allow your plants to grow best. If you use a high nutrient content, your plants will not be able to grow correctly. Many of the herbs will require special nutrients in order to grow their best. Basil needs magnesium levels to be at 80 parts per million. Check with the nursery in order to get the right nutrient content for your soil.

If growing indoors, make sure your plants are getting all the light they need. Plants like Basil will need to get at least 8 hours of direct light a day. The recommended amount of light to give your plants will depend on the individual plant. When planting indoors, you can use artificial sunlights in order to control the exact amount of light they get every day. If planting outdoors, make sure the only plants which are exposed to direct sunlight are those which will respond well to it. You can use sunscreens in order to provide shade for those plants that respond better to indirect light.

When growing outdoors, using a greenhouse system is a great way to extend the season for growing. You will not be able to extend the days for the plants that require a lot of light, but being able to retain heat will allow the plants to grow well into the first frost. Greenhouse systems can be as small or as large as you want for them to be. You can easily construct a greenhouse, which is nothing more than glass mounted in wood. When it gets too cold, you can either move plants inside, or harvest and use cuttings in order to replant next year.

Growing herbs with a hydroponic system is a great way to be able to grow without having to worry about soil conditions or pests being able to lay eggs in the soil bed. After your first hydroponic harvest, you may not want to go back to a regular method of growing again. Taste the difference in your herbs in order to decide if you like the results and then decide for future plantings.

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A hydroponic plant is started from seedlings in a soil-less mixture such as peat moss or rock wool blocks. Once the seedling emerges or germinates, the peat moss or rock wool blocks will be transferred to larger growing cubes. As the root system of a hydroponic plant develops, the growing cubes may be placed inside larger growing cubes in a pot in pot system. Also the roots of the plants are never confined and never allowed to touch one another because if the roots touch at all, the plant is considered to be overcrowded.

In cases when plants become leggy from being overcrowded, their growing blocks may be transplanted in a specific process. The process involves the turning of the growing blocks upside down where in the plant’s stem is made to bend into a U shape. This way, the plant will grow new roots from the parts of the stem that are underneath the peat while the plant becomes stronger and healthier. This process is commonly used in hydroponic plant such as tomato vines since it works well with it.

Hydroponic plant just like soil grown plant needs nutrients for them to grow and develop. Nutrients such as carbon and nitrogen are absorbed by the roots. The roots are simple axial organs that produce lateral roots, and sometimes buds, but bear neither leaves nor flowers. Elongation usually occurs in the root tip. For soil grown plants, their roots may be very long because roots eventually elongates or extends to where nutrients are highly available. But in the case of hydroponic plant where nutrients are already made available in significant quantity, there is no need for their roots to grow very long. The roots of a hydroponic plant are usually short and compact, because unlike soil grown plants, where their roots are the ones moving towards the nutrients, with hydroponic system it is the nutrients that are made to move towards the roots.

The spacing of hydroponic plants may be much denser than in soil. A space of two square feet is ideal for the root system of plants in order to avoid overcrowding. There is also a significant effect of sunlight to hydroponic plant spacing. The more sunlight a plant receives the more compact the root system will be. So there is a tendency for plants that are grown in low lighting conditions of having their root system spread out further thus causing overcrowding.

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Usually pieces of porous material with high absorbent power like nylon ropes are used as wicks. One end of the wick is placed at the bottom of the growing container, and the other end is left hanging down the nutrient solution. The wick draws the water and nutrients from the reservoir up into the growing medium in the container.

While you can basically use any types of growing medium in the Wick hydroponic system, it is recommended to use growing mediums that can retain more water and nutrients for example, perlite, vermiculite, and / or coconut fiber. A mixture of perlite / vermiculite in the ratio of 1:1 works great in the Wick system, though the combination of perlite and coconut fiber is common too.

As the Wick system does not have proper aeration for the roots, it is usually wise to install an external air pump to supply oxygen into the nutrient reservoir. Run an airline from the air pump into the reservoir with the other end attached to an air stone. This will slowly oxygenate the nutrient solution in the reservoir. When nutrient solution is supplied to the root zone, it allows the roots to breathe.

There are few issues you need to consider when using the Wick system:

1. It is hard to achieve the correct moisture level for the plants as the wick used might not be able to pull sufficient water and nutrients to nourish the roots. You need to constantly experiment with different types of wick and growing medium in order to get the right growing environment.

2. The plants may use up the nutrient solution faster than the wicks can provide if the plants are big or if they take up large quantity of water.

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Organic essentially means growing of plants in a medium derived from the compost of plant and / or animal. If the growing mediums used in hydroponic gardening derived from composted plants, then these can be claimed as organic. These include the using of coconut and tree bark material like coconut fiber, cocotek, coco peat, coco chips.

While in other hydroponic growing mediums, inert mineral materials are used such as perlite, rockwool, hydroton, silica rock and etc. These are not organic.

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There are five main benefits of using Hydroton as your growing medium in a hydroponic gardening.

1. Hydroton is reusable.
Most growing mediums wear out over time and you have to replace them. Hydroton can be used year after year and need not to be replaced. It saves a lot of money because growing mediums are expensive to replace. The only thing that needs to be done with Hydroton is that the pebbles need to be rinsed with hydrogen peroxide to clean them each year.

2. Hydroton is very stable.
Hydroton is not only a stable growing medium, it also retains water much better than any other medium. This is important because as to insure that the plants are getting all of the water and nutrients that are essential for healthy growth.

3. Hydroton is pH balanced.
Most other growing mediums can change the pH levels of your plants. This is important because adding nutrient solution tends to alter the pH level. Being too acidic or too alkaline can damage the plants.

4. Hydroton provides plenty of aeration.
It is important for oxygen to be able to get to the roots so that they do not rot. The tiny pebbles are loose and provide plenty of space for oxygen to reach the hydroponic roots system.

5. Hydroton is the most affordable growing medium.
The final benefit of using Hydroton is probably one of the best. It is priced very cheap, it will help if you are financially strapped. You can still have your hydroponic garden and not have to pay through your nose for expensive growing medium.

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Seed propagating is when you start your plants from seed. The easiest way to do this is to use growing trays. Once you plant your seeds, water with just plain water. Keep the cubes damp and not soaked. Too much water will drown the seeds and you will not have any luck. Once your plants start to sprout, it is now time to add nutrient solution to them. Dilute the nutrient system by half with water accordingly. When your seedlings acquire their first true set of leaves (not the feeder leaves), it is now time to transplant them into your hydroponic system. Just pop the seedling out of the cube and place it into the system.

If you did not use a growing tray and just planted in straight soil, then you need to rinse the soil from the roots before you add it to the hydroponic garden. Once added to the hydroponic growing system, you just treat it like all of the other plants. Add the nutrient solution just like you do to all of the others and watch your little seedlings become full grown fruit bearing plants.

Propagation from cuttings is easy as well. First, you pick a healthy plant and cut a small section that includes two stem nodules. When cutting the stem, you should cut it like you do the stems of roses, at a diagonal angle. This increases the exposed stem area. Then you should dip the bottom of the stem in a rooting powder. These are available at most lawn and garden stores. Then put your clipping in some soil and water with diluted nutrient solution. Once the cutting begins to grow, you can remove it from the soil, rinse the roots of excess soil, and place it in your hydroponic garden system. Sit back and watch your garden grow. Propagation is a simple but effective way of expanding your hydroponic garden.

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Light is very important in hydroponic gardening. Sunlight is generally always the best, but it is not always available. Therefore many people use hydroponic grow lights. Using hydroponic grow lights tends to produce bigger, juicier, and tastier fruits and vegetables than regular sunlight. This is because hydroponic grow lights put off an electromagnetic spectrum to enhance plant growth. This spectrum is said to better the effects of photosynthesis in plants.

Another great part about using hydroponic grow lights is that you can grow your plants at any time throughout the year. Hydroponic gardening can be done all year long both indoors and outdoors. So you can have garden fresh vegetables every day straight from your own garden.

There are different types of bulbs that are used in hydroponic lighting. The ones that are most commonly used are high-pressure sodium lights (or HPS lights), and metal halide lights (or MH lights). These bulbs are good for use in hydroponic lighting because they are very efficient and very powerful. These lights tend to encourage the process of photosynthesis, which encourages quick and fuller plant growth. Hydroponic lighting and gardening also encourages fuller and bushier plants. This is because the plants do not have to search for light or nutrients. It is all readily available, and plants that are grown in a hydroponic garden grow faster than plants grown in soil.

Hydroponic gardening is the way of the future. So if you are concerned with the chemicals being used on your store-bought fruits and vegetables get some hydroponic lighting and start your own garden. It can be as large or as small as you want. You control the hydroponic lighting and the area that you want your garden to cover. You also control the fact that there are no chemicals. The end result is a very beautiful, time efficient, cost friendly and nutritious garden full of wonderful fresh fruits and vegetables available all year round.

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