Hydroponics - The greener way to produce

Every heard of Hydroponics??? If not, hydroponics is a way of growing plants without soil. Hydroponics is one of the fastest growing areas of horticulture today. It is used both by hobby gardeners and commercial producers for growing of cut flowers, fruits and vegetables.

Let us look at it this way, what does the plant need to grow??? basically soil,water and sunlight.

• Soil is required to provide nutrients to the plant and a base to grow on
• Water is required to dissolve the nutrients in the soil and let the roots absorb those nutrients
• Sun light helps in photosynthesis enabling the plant to grow

In hydroponics soil is replaced with other inert mediums like rockwool, coco peat, perlite, expanded clay pallets etc. Instead of using water a nutrient solution is used. Sun light or artificial grow lights is used as per the situation at hand.

There are different types of hydroponic systems and new systems are being developed as hybrid systems with the benefits of other systems merged with hydroponics. Some of the most common hydroponic systems are NFT, Water Culture, Wicking, Drip, Ebb & Flow and Aeroponics.

Let us look at some of the most common hydroponic systems in detail.

NFT Systems - Nutrient Film Technique
This is the method the nutrient solution flows continuously along a PVC pipe or gutter. The plant sit on plastic netted pots with their roots dangling in air and water. The plants if larger are supported from above by tying them to some support system.Only a thin layer (film) of nutrient solution flow those this pipes. This method is one of the most commercially used systems. It is ideal for plants like lettuce.