Is It Worthwhile Switching To Hydroponic Gardening?

By Author: Isabella Whitmore
Total Articles: 106
Comment this article

Hydroponics is water-based gardening. Instead of using soil, plants are grown in nutrient-rich water solution to survive. It sounds strange but you’ll realized how it is possible when you understand the purpose of soil in plants. Soil retains water and nutrients which plants need to survive. This is why plants naturally grow in soil. However, when the nutritional demands of plants are directly supplied in their root systems, soil becomes unnecessary.

Removing soil in gardening allows plants to grow faster and better. This is because they skip the process of searching for nutrients in the ground. In hydroponics, plants’ roots are submerged in fertilized water allowing them to absorbed unlimited water and nutrients without exerting much effort. Unlike in conventional gardening in which plants have to exert energy to grow longer and larger root systems to find their much-needed water and nutrients. Hydroponic plants focus in growing upwards; developing healthy leaves, stems, and flowers.

Aside from focusing in growing upwards, hydroponic plants are healthier than their soil-based counterpart because they grow ...
... in a controlled environment. The nutrient content in water can be formulated and calculated preventing nutrient deficiency or toxicity. This is difficult to do in soil as it is almost impossible to control the exact nutrient content in the ground.

Plant diseases can also be prevented in soil-less planting because bacteria and pests are more common in soil than in water. In addition, hydroponics can be placed indoors so you can protect the plants from bugs outside. This is also a good idea to grow crops all year round as you don’t have to worry about the weather. Indoor hydroponics lead to less or no need for pesticides. This is great for lower or chemical free crops are clean and healthier to eat.

Growing crops in hydroponic systems prevents weeds. Grasses are very hard to deal with in typical gardens. They grow quickly and compete with the crops in absorbing nutrients and moisture from the ground. You have to spend time cutting them or money for herbicide. Plants with weeds around them are unhealthy. Sometimes grasses can even cause plants to die because they absorbed all the nutrients in soil.

You might be thinking that this water-based gardening requires excessive amount of water. But it does not. In fact, hydroponic systems use 80 to 90% less water than soil-based gardening. The water in hydroponics is recycled and stays in the system until it will be eventually absorbed by plants. In traditional gardening, a large amount of water is loss on the ground instead of getting absorbed by the roots.

Hydroponic is a great innovation of gardening. It allows growers to maximize their space, grow healthier plants, have earlier harvest, and enjoy planting all year round. There are many benefits of hydroponics that you cannot find in traditional gardening. It can be worthwhile to try it yourself to experience and understand hydroponics better. You can start by growing crops for your own consumption to have the feel of whether hydroponic is for you.

Isabella Whitmore loves plants and gardening. She has a small hydroponic garden at home in which she grows herbs and vegetables. She works at https://electrickettlesplus.com which helps people find the perfect electric kettles for them.