Introduction to Hydroponics: The Basics

Everyone knows we need soil to grow plants indoors and outdoors. But, here we will introduce a process called Hydroponics by which you can grow your plants without the soil even inside your balcony.

Hydroponics is not a new method, water based plants have grown on water alone for thousands of years. It hasn’t been until recently researchers and advanced farming has taken to hydroponics for food production. While there is plenty of science and chemistry behind hydroponics, at the end of the day, it’s basic gardening concepts. Plants WANT to grow when they have their needs met.

We intent to simplify hydroponics and encourage small, scalable hydroponic farms in households and communities that promote sustainable farming.

Yes! It is a fantastic and effective gardening method of giving your plants food and water in a controlled system to grow healthier. In other words, Hydroponic gardens offer a ray of hope, transforming barren landscapes into thriving oases of abundance.

Why is Hydroponic Gardening Important?

With the use of hydroponic gardening, plant output can be increased even in sterile soil conditions. Additionally, the crops that are produced in this way are healthier and less prone to illnesses and pests. In a similar vein, hydroponics facilitates the efficient use of small spaces for farming.

Hydroponics can easily be scaled vertically, a key concept of vertical farming, allowing more crop production in less required area. Additionally, compared to traditional farming, the need for soil tillage and treatment is negated. This prevents soil erosion and ground water contamination caused by industrial farming.

Key Points

● Hydroponic methods make the vision a reality to grow plants where the boundaries of climate no longer dictate and crops can grow in a healthy and controlled environment. The options are endless, we can grow tropical fruits to temperate vegetables.

● Hydroponics offers an exciting method in a world where people are growing more cautious about chemical residues in food. As we mentioned earlier Hydroponic crops don’t require soil so the yield is less vulnerable to soil-borne pests and illnesses.

● In an era of rapidly increasing global food consumption, hydroponic systems are the real problem solver. As compared to conventional soil-based techniques, hydroponic systems can yield up to ten times more food per square foot by maximizing resource use and avoiding waste.

By democratizing access to fresh, nutritious food and empowering communities to become self-sufficient in food production. HIsource aims to provide households and communities with systems that produce high enough yields for personal and community sustainment.

How do Hydroponic Systems work?

Plants need the nutrients and water found in the soil, not the soil itself. The two primary purposes of soil are to anchor plant roots and provide nutrients to the plants. To grow the plants hydroponically, you need to buy a hydroponic system that provides them with a complete nutritional formula and an inert growing medium to attach their roots.

The food, or nutrients, reaches the roots immediately since it dissolves in the water. Plants mature more quickly and are available for harvesting earlier. More plants can be grown in the same amount of area as in a soil garden, and since there isn't any soil, there is no need to be concerned about soil-borne illnesses or pests.

How do you start hydroponics?

You’ve already started! You’ve shown interest which has brought you here. The best advice is to not be intimated by the amount of information that is out there about hydroponics.

Much of the research you find will be aimed at providing the maximum growth your plants can achieve. That is important for industry and commercial farming that are trying feed thousands and make a profit. Our goal is to streamline the information needed to get you growing your own food for yourself and community!

As you continue to look into the hydroponic systems, you’ll find it’s basic irrigation. How must plants be secured in order to receive nutrients without soil, and how can we deliver those nutrients?

Hydroponics is a growing industry, with many companies selling expensive and advanced systems. Many hobbyist create their own systems using PVC, buckets, storage containers, you name it!

Types of Hydroponic systems:

As opposed to traditional gardening, hydroponics uses other grow mediums rather than soil. Popular grow mediums include rockwool cubes, coco coir (coconut husks), grow sponges, and clay pebbles. These grow mediums are important because they do not alter the pH levels of the systems.

Hydroponic systems come in different types to make the customer’s life more convenient and easy. Here we will discuss each type of system. These systems combat traditional farming and gardening because in most cases, they recycle water. Traditional gardening, water is poured into the soil where roots can only utilize so much before needing more water. Hydroponics recaptures water, resulting in 90% less water consumption compared to soil farming and gardening.

Ebb and Flow System:

An ebb and flow system is also called a flood and drain system. It is frequently controlled by a time-controlled pump. The nutrition solution is poured into the grow tray and then drained back. Plants fill their nutrition requirement from the grow tray. These systems often grow large yields and benefit from water and nutrient recycling. Recycling water is one key factor in sustainable hydroponics. Compared to growing in soil, soilless gardens use 90% less water!

Water Culture or Depp Water Culture (DWC) Hydroponics:

The water culture system is unique compared to the other types of hydroponic systems. In this system, plants grow net pots and float at the surface of the water and nutrients. The roots of the plants dangle beneath and reach in the nutrient-rich solution. Many variations of this method of hydroponics can be used. For simplicity, this can be the Kratky method, using a single reservoir and single plant. The plant remains in the reservoir through its entire life using the nutrients provided. Adding to this method, growers implement air stones to provide high oxygen levels to the water. Higher oxygen levels promote root health and growth.

It is possible to combine multiple buckets for large scale crop production, using a single reservoir. This method may be seen as RDWC, for Recycled Deep Water Culture.

Drip System Recovery:

The drip system works with the tube and drip lines. It is an active method of hydroponics and is also called a micro-irrigation system. Roots get a nutritional feed with each precisely timed drop, guaranteeing ideal growth and development. This system is most similiar to traditional drip gardening. Plants grown in this system aren’t typically grown in a “system”. The grow medium used can be coco coir, clay pebbles, perlite and more. Growers can use conventional planting boxes with a drip system set up.

The benefit a hydroponic drip system has over traditional gardening is that growers can maximizes nutrient absorption to their plants. Whereas in soil, the plants are bound to the soil nutrients.

Nutrient Film Technique (NFT):

NFT systems are great for growing hydroponic lettuces, herbs, and small plants like strawberries. Similar to a Drip recovery and Ebb and Flow. NFT systems provide running nutrients to plants roots that are in an NFT channel. NFT methods are favored for commercial hydroponics farming due to it’s ease and scalability. Plants can receive constant nutrient feeding in NFT systems as the water is recycled and oxygenated as it moves through the system. NFT systems can be built vertically at low costs, which increases the yield per square foot. Popular systems include Crop King NFT system. Other designs incorporate DIY hydroponic principles such as the HI-Source Vertical NFT system.

Hydroponic Grow Towers

Rising in popularity for their modularity and vertical growth, Grow Towers use minimal space to grow hydroponic plants. With the rise in popularity, grow towers have been innovated to provide artificial grow lights, smart timers, Wi-Fi enabled features and much more! Grow towers recycle their water in their reservoir which is often the base of the tower. Water is pumped up and gravity pulls water down to feed plants.

Commercial farms have been seen setting up rows of towers, fed from an external reservoir. Similar to a RDWC system, except water is pumped through a vertical tower instead of buckets.

Aeroponics

Aeroponics is the most advanced form of hydroponics. The roots of plants are suspended in the air to absorb the maximum amount of oxygen. To receive nutrients, fine mist particles feed the plants. The outcome is plant roots receive high nutrient and oxygen intake that allows them to produce higher yields. As advanced as these systems are, our DIY Aeroponic kit focuses on simplicity without compromising core principles. One of the challenges of aeroponics is creating mist. Our industrial pressurized pump creates fine mist that roots are ready and easily absorb. As plants mature, our containerized tote design uses deep water culture method in addition to aeroponics. Roots are provided with the maximum nutrients they can absorb, the pump and mist brings fresh oxygen a timed basis.

Conclusion

Hydroponics is a modern technique to grow plants and fresh veggies in your home without any hassle. Its amazing ability to maximize the resource efficiency and minimize environmental impact provides the ways for a resilient and greener future.

At its core, hydroponics is still growing plants, just without soil. Systems and methods are often interchanged to maximize growth and efficiencies. Don’t be discouraged about starting, plants want to grow! We connect beginners and experienced growers to great products to improve and empower their hydroponic growing.


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