| There are many advantages to hydroponics, the | | | | to the plant roots, allowing them to feed and |
| popular soilless gardening system. It is a way to | | | | oxygenates the liquid as well. |
| practice indoor gardening when gardening outdoors is | | | | You can have one bucket or several buckets linked |
| not an options, such as in remote locales like | | | | together in deep water culture gardening. When |
| Antarctica, outer space, or even in an apartment | | | | several buckets are used, the water is typically |
| building high above your city. Because hydroponics | | | | recirculated through all of them using spray nozzles, |
| uses no soil, plants are not bothered by diseases that | | | | which helps to aerate the liquid. |
| incubate in the soil, and neither are they crowded out | | | | 2. Aeroponic gardening kits |
| by weeds. Because the environment is strictly | | | | Aeroponics is a subset of hydroponics where plants' |
| controlled in order to produce the best results with | | | | roots, rather than being suspended in the liquid |
| the plants being grown, hydroponics gardening usually | | | | nutrient, are instead suspended in air. The roots are |
| uses less water, energy and fewer pesticides while | | | | regularly misted with nutrient, as an alternative to |
| requiring less space than conventional outdoor | | | | floating in solution typically found in hydroponics |
| gardening. Hydroponic kits take all the guesswork out | | | | systems. Plants grow very quickly using this type of |
| of growing indoors, because all of the major | | | | growing system. |
| components are included. | | | | 3. Ebb and Flow kits |
| What are some of the different hydroponic kits | | | | This method of hydroponics was inspired by large |
| available? | | | | farms that use irrigation as a means for watering |
| 1. Deep water culture | | | | outdoor crops. With ebb and flow kits, there is a pan |
| One method of hydroponics is deep water culture. | | | | of nutrient solution and above this pan is a tray that |
| The crown of the plant is suspended over the | | | | holds plants that are planted into some type of |
| nutrient solution by a net. The net is placed in a hole | | | | growing medium, such as rockwool or coir. A pump is |
| in the center of a plastic lid, which fits on top of a | | | | called into play to fill the tray holding the plants with |
| plastic bucket. The roots remain in the solution to | | | | nutrient solution, and after it fills the solution drains |
| soak up nutrients, which is the plant's food. In order | | | | back down into the pan. Because of the movement |
| for plants to thrive with this gardening method, the | | | | of the solution into and out of the tray, ebb and flow |
| solution must be aerated in some manner, because | | | | provides its own means of aeration of the nutrient |
| the movement of the liquid helps to bring the nutrient | | | | solution. |