Gardening Murielle Freegard on 08 Feb 2008
Year-round Gardening Is Easy With Hydroponics
Today’s farmers face brutal challenges. One season they deal with fierce drought, the next year it’s torrential rain. Then there are diseased crops and insect infestations to worry about. One solution that has brought both peace and profit to the modern farmer is year-round gardening with hydroponics.
In times when natural rainwater, fertile lands and ideal growing conditions are scarce, hydroponics is considered by farmers to be some kind of heaven-sent miracle. No longer are farmers at the mercy of Mother Nature. They can grow healthy crops throughout the year, and yield full harvests, no matter the season or the weather. This the most important benefit of gardening with hydroponics.
The earliest documentation of plants growing and surviving without soil as the source of nutrients can be traced to the 1699 records of a fellow named Woodward. However, it’s believed that hydroponics gardening was practiced in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
The roots of hydroponics methods in modern agriculture were evident back in the 1840s. At that time, researchers discovered that a formula could be developed to contain all the essential nutrients that plants need for growth. These nutrients include nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen dioxide. With these in place, the need for soil could be completely eliminated. A number of German botanists adopted this idea and soon developed the basic nutrient formulas and growing techniques that are still in use today.
Hydroponics gardening requires as little as 10% of the land used in traditional farming and less than 10% as much water. Farmers may reduce the amount of water even further by re-circulating the water used for hydroponics gardening.
Many popular types of produce are successfully grown using hydroponics gardening. Growers who practice year-round hydroponics gardening enjoy broccoli, cabbage, celery, chard, cucumbers, eggplant, flowers, grapes, lettuce, melons, onions, peppers, pole beans, radishes, tomatoes and strawberries.
Rarely is produce grown hydroponically affected by the insects that typically thrive in soil, or the diseases caused by soil microorganisms. This is one of the main advantages to hydroponics gardening. In turn, farmers are less inclined to use insecticides to prevent pest infestations. As a result, the crops do not carry traces of insecticides. Further, the produce can be picked ripe and enjoyed immediately, eliminating the need for chemical preservatives. That’s a huge benefit for people who like their produce pure and clean.
Another important and attractive bonus of hydroponics gardening is water conservation. This type of gardening can produce huge yields in dry climates where precious water must be re-circulated. Farmers can also quickly grow larger amounts of produce in a relatively small area. It’s not unusual, in fact, for farmers to grow four heads of lettuce in the same amount of space it would take to grow one lettuce head with traditional soil gardening.
There are various techniques of year-round gardening with hydroponics:
* Water Culture
With this type of hydroponics gardening, the roots are held in a large waterproof tank. The plants are supported with mesh or string, and the roots dangle freely in a liquid solution. This water contains nutrients, so the roots absorb everything they need for the plants to grow and thrive.
* Gravel Culture Hydroponics Gardening
This is a more costly system to install and maintain. Hydroponics systems using gravel culture involve a waterproof bench that has been filled with inert pea-sized gravel. This is used to support the roots of the plants. A solution containing all the essential nutrients required by the plant is then pumped into the gravel from a holding tank. When the bench becomes filled with the solution, the pump is turned off and the solution drains back to the holding tank.
Both types of hydroponics gardening methods are effective, and you have to remember to replenish the nutrient solution with both methods. You’ll also need a good, constant source of proper lighting. Many hydroponics growers use several grow lights that are set with automatic timers to deliver appropriate amounts of light to the plants.
You can easily find the materials and supplies needed to build and maintain a hydroponics system. Visit your local gardening center and you’ll be on your way to enjoying year-round hydroponics gardening.