A Fresh Perspective on Indoor Gardening

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

For several years, people have been turning to indoor gardening as their favorite pastime. There are many reasons why people maintain gardens indoors: business, pleasure, food and therapy. In recent years, however, hydroponic gardens have become a prevalent alternative to traditional soil gardens a new type of indoor gardening.

In essence, hydroponic gardening (growing plants without soil) isn’t so new. History is rich with hydroponic gardening instances, with the Hanging Gardens of Babylon as one of the finest examples. Today, hydroponics has become more accessible and commonplace due to the recent technological advances. Governments now sponsor hydroponic growing on a large scale, and hobbyists now keep hydroponic gardens in their homes.

Hydroponics is the practice of growing plants without soil. The word “hydroponics” is derived from the Greek language and simply means “working water”. The nutrients are supplied to the plants in a water solution provided to the plant roots; the soil that normally anchors the roots is replaced by one of several available substances. Hydroponic indoor gardening can use natural light, certain forms of artificial lighting, or a combination of the two. The nutrient solution is manipulated and monitored along with the lighting to optimize the growth and yield of the plants.

There is an endless list of benefits of hydroponics. By erasing soil in the equation, plants can be grown in almost any controlled environment – in the dead of winter, in seasons of extended twilight and in places where soil is contaminated. Secondly, hydroponics recycles the water solution over and over as it washes the roots, so it actually reduces water usage by 70-90% as compared to conventional gardening. Third, hydroponics allows for more direct control of the yield of a plant; by changing the amount the nutrients and lighting, one can promote greater foliage, flowering, and fruit. This is, in essence, also educational because all walks of people get a firsthand look at how water, nutrients and light affect plant growth.

The wonderful news is, hydroponics isn’t as expensive and as complicated as originally thought of. There are several different ways to set up a hydroponic system, and some are rather inexpensive and user-friendly. There are also many products available to help make the process simpler. If you’re willing to face a reasonable learning curve, with hydroponics you can learn a whole new method of indoor gardening, one that is both fun and satisfying.

Tags: Basic Hydroponics, Grow Room, Hydroponic Basics, Hydroponics, Indoor Gardening
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Explaining Hydroponic Basics

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

The word “hydroponics” comes from two Greek words that together mean “working water.” Simply put, hydroponic basics entail the method of growing plants in water, without soil.

Hydroponic gardening is founded on the idea of providing plants with the essentials for growth through alternative means other than soil. In order to grow, the following essentials must be present:

* Light
* Water
* Nutrients
* A growth medium (that is, an anchor for the roots)

Plants typically depend on the soil for three of these 4 elements water, nutrients and an anchor. However, the only thing the soil provides directly is the growth medium (water and nutrients come through the soil, but aren’t provided by the soil). This further means that as long as you provide water, light and nutrients to the plants, you do not really need soil in the picture.

In hydroponic basics, plants are anchored on substitute medium like Rockwool and vermiculite. Simple pump-and-recycle systems are normally used in providing the plants with ph-balanced solution of water and nutrients. Add lighting to that (natural, artificial or a combination of the two), and you can grow plants without soil! In fact, when these elements are provided accurately, growth can be even better than that of plants grown traditionally.

Still, some people feel safer with the old, proven ways and would ask: why go through this trouble? The answers to this inquiry are simple:

1. With hydroponics, we can grow plants almost anywhere. As long as we can create a controlled environment, we can grow food; we’re no longer limited to places with soil and sunlight. People in the urban areas who don’t have access to a garden may then be given the opportunity to grow their own food. It also means that we can grow food in the dead of winter, in arctic regions where it’s dark six months of the year, and theoretically, even in space!

2. Hydroponics can be a more viable solution when other growing conditions are hostile. It is obviously better to grow food hydroponically in places where the soil is contaminated. Not only can it protect people from harmful elements, but the plants can also be fed richer nutrients to yield better harvests than growing in the soil of these areas.

In short, hydroponics opens up new alternatives to both individuals and societies. Not only are governments like Holland and Canada using hydroponics to grow food on a larger scale, but with a knowledge of the hydroponic basics, individuals now have the capacity to benefit as well.

Tags: Basic Hydroponics, Grow Room, Hydroponic Basics, Hydroponics, Indoor Gardening
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How to Design your Hydroponic Grow Room

Tuesday, January 5th, 2010

Avid fans of hydroponic growing often design a special grow room in order to cater to the cultivation of several plants. This can be from the size of a wardrobe to the size of a greenhouse. It needs some planning, time and money to create a dedicated farming space, but if done properly, it can pay off in the end.

The space you need, the number of plants that can reasonably grow in the space, ventilation and proper arrangement, plumbing, electricity, insulation, lighting and the type of hydroponic system to be used are but some of the things that you need to consider when creating your grow room. Depending on your level of expertise in these fields, you might want to get some professional help with design and building. Never you mind, however, as your hydroponics supplier would be able to help you out on this.

Plants require different forms of lighting at various phases of growth; good thing that artificial lighting is already available. So along with designing the space, you have to determine the number and types of grow lights you need, and the amount of wattage. To closely replicate the day/night cycle for the plants, it’s a great idea to use timers. You will need to ensure that your electrical system in your grow room can handle the load. Typically, it’s best if your electrical panel can handle 200 amps or more. 240-volts outlets are better – even if 120-volts can very well handle a small space. Be sure you refer to your electrician for things like this. Also, lining your walls with reflective material like mylar or white plastic will maximize lighting and save on energy costs.

When designing your room, taken into account ventilation too. Plants respirate, or “breathe”, carbon dioxide just as we breathe oxygen, and can rapidly absorb all the carbon dioxide in a room in a short span of time. Plants would won’t be able to function properly and eventually wither if they don’t have sufficient access to fresh air. It’s a must to have a better-ventilated room if you have so many plants. A good ventilating system is essential so you can give your grow rooms plenty of fresh air. Make use of an oscillating fan to help stir the air – thus making you control the airflow and temperature. Further, a carbon dioxide injector would be very helpful.

Indeed, planning is important – this eliminates dealing with and undoing mistakes later. Although you’re using an indoor space to grow plants, your goal with the room is to replicate the outdoors as much as possible; so bear in mind that your room should be dynamic, not static. There needs to be a healthy cycle of light and dark, airflow, and water flow, and the more you can automate things, the better off you’ll be. Design your grow room with these things in mind, and you’ll be setting up a great space for your plants to be healthy and strong.

Tags: Basic Hydroponics, Grow Room, Hydroponic Basics, Hydroponics, Indoor Gardening
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Creating an Alternative Indoor Garden with Hydroponics

Tuesday, January 5th, 2010

Indoor gardens have become prevalent for many years, ranging from large greenhouses to small herb gardens set within flower pots. Interestingly, many people are turning to hydroponics as a fun yet creative alternative to the conventional indoor gardens.

In short, hydroponics is the growing of plants without soil, by directly providing the roots a water-nutrient solution in a controlled lighting environment. At first, the process looks too complex, but in reality, this is quite a simple concept. And because this technique of growing plants in gaining more and more in popularity, it turns out that the number of products out there is increasing as well – thus making the process a whole lot easier.

In short, while soil typically is the medium through which water and nutrients are fed to the plant roots, the only thing soil actually provides directly is an anchor for the roots. The nutrients really are transmitted to the roots in a water solution, which seeps through the soil, but isn’t provided by the soil. Indeed, soil can be easily taken out of the picture so long as you can provide an alternative way of anchoring the roots. In fact, by providing the water-nutrient solution yourself, you actually have a bit more control over the plant’s well-being.

Here are just a couple of advantages of growing an indoor garden with hydroponics as opposed to soil:

1. Hydroponics actually uses 70-90 percent less water than using soil. In soil growing, only a tiny percentage of water actually feeds the plant roots; the rest seeps through the soil and evaporates. With hydroponics, on the other hand, water is recycled over and over again – therefore, this process entails far less water with greater foliage and food.

2. The next benefit of hydroponics is your ability to control the plant’s overall well-being and yield. You can control the elements of the environment at which the plant grows – lighting, nutrient content, to name a few. It’s much easier to make adjustments to the environment when you control the growing elements directly. With this technique, you do not have to be an expert to provide optimum conditions for your plants to thrive, flower and yield a good harvest.

So when considering having an indoor garden, consider hydroponics as one of your options. There is nothing wrong with sticking to the traditional options, but hydroponics, when done properly, is indeed a fun, education and productive option.

Tags: Basic Hydroponics, Grow Room, Hydroponic Basics, Hydroponics, Indoor Gardening
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Basic Hydroponics, The Supplies to Get You Started

Tuesday, January 5th, 2010

Hydroponic growing – the practice of growing plants without soil – needs a lot of supplies before it is set up. If you’re an amateur, a good way to start is to get a hydroponic kit, which will contain all the basic hydroponics you need to get started. If you want to set up a bigger space, a kit might not be enough for you. Good thing that the rising popularity of hydroponics has made available a wide selection of hydroponic supplies. Here are few of the basic things you need to consider as far as hydroponics supplies are concerned.

GROW LIGHTS
Lighting is essential in growing plants – and different combination of lights have different results. Among the most popular lights for hydroponics are: metal halide bulbs (ideal for vegetation growth), high-pressure sodium bulbs (great for the flowering stage), and high-output fluorescent bulbs (great and less expensive alternatives to the two bulbs).

HYDROPONIC SYSTEMS
Hydroponic systems – although they all but have one aim of providing the nutrient solution to the plant roots, draining and recycling the solution and keeping the roots anchored in a certain medium – differ. The most common of these systems are plant growing trays, reservoirs and drainage, as well as water pumps.

MEDIUMS
The primary function of soil is to anchor the plant roots; in basic hydroponics, when growing hydroponically (without soil), plants need an alternate medium to anchor their roots. Among the most common alternatives to soil are Rockwool, perlite, vermiculite, coconut and expanded clay. Hydroponics supplies retailers should be able to give you some help on this.

AIRFLOW SUPPLIES
Plants need good ventilation and airflow to produce well, so fans and blowers are an important element to consider. Never worry, however, as there is a wide selection of these – along with air purification systems and carbon dioxide injectors – available in the market.

NUTRIENTS
Because of the many nutrient combinations and additives available, this part of hydroponics is by far the most perplexing. The important thing to know is what sorts of nutrient blends are best for the types of plants you are growing, and what products best serve those particular plants. Your retailer shall be able to assist you in sorting through this information and give you some recommendations.

As can be observed, there are many basic hydroponics supplies available, and this list just scratches the surface. But these basic components can get you started, and as you fine tune your growing process, you will be able to add and adjust as you need to.

Tags: Basic Hydroponics, Grow Room, Hydroponic Basics, Hydroponics, Indoor Gardening
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