Hydroponic Gardening - General informations

Hydroponic Gardening is simply growing without soil. In a hydroponic garden you provide all of the nutrients your plants need through the water in the system. Plants require water, nutrients, and Oxygen at the root level, and different hydroponic systems will provide these three elements in various different ways.

Hydroponic cultivation can be very complicated, with computers and sensors controlling everything from the watering schedule, the nutrient capacity, and the amount of light the plants receive. On the other hand, hydroponics can also be extremely simple, "a hand watering" and a sand bucket with a single plant. Most amateur-home hydroponic systems are somewhere between the two points mentioned above. The "average" home hydroponic system consists of several basic parts: a) A mounting disc, b) a tank, c) a simple timer with submersible water pump and d) an air pump and an air-stone system for oxygenation of the nutrient solution . Of course, light (natural or artificial) is also required.

The key to success in an indoor garden is to know the requirements of your plants very well, and then to simply provide for them. A crop of lettuce may do very well grown under fluorescent lights, whereas tomatoes and other vegetables require a much more intense light source to guarantee vigorous growth and healthy development.

In addition to nutrient strength and light intensity, every plant has a pH that is preferred. It is also very common for the light requirements and/or nutritional requirements of your plants to change as they grow. For example, they may need a dark photo-period to get them to fruit, or they may require less Nitrogen and more Phosphorus and Potassium as they go from vegetative growth into flowering/fruiting.

Having a feeding plan in advance, tailored to the needs of the plants you are growing, is extremely helpful to getting great results. Once you have a feeding plan, it's just a matter of maintaining your nutrient solution properly on a day to day basis...according to the feeding plan.

Indoor organic and hydroponic gardening can be very rewarding, but the challenges of providing for plants indoors can be overwhelming to a beginner, and can be challenging to even an experienced gardener.