By: Ann Marier

Given the big and revolutionary advances made by science in poor soil cultivation studies, there’s no wonder that hydroponics vegetable greenhouses are no longer a mere experiment. The vegetables that are usually grown in greenhouses are cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce. However, normal agricultural laws apply to simple cases; yet what should be done in the case of regions or even entire countries where soil is not proper for vegetable cultivation? The option to make agriculture and produce fresh fruits and vegetables independent of soil condition seemed a beautiful and very remote dream a few decades ago. Now it is a scientific success and a dream come true.

Basic guidelines for hydroponics vegetable greenhouses

Growing vegetables the hydroponic way may not seem very easy when you’re a newbie in the field. Most business owners who have come to develop hydroponics vegetable greenhouses have all started from the first level, using soilless plant growing on a very small scale. The basics of the system lie in the use of reservoirs filled with nutrient solutions properly oxygenated, where plants grow naturally.

Instead of using soil as the environment to supply for the quantity of minerals necessary for normal development, your vegetables will actually process nourishing substances directly from the water in the tanks. If you look over step-by-step home made hydroponic systems you’ll get a better understanding of the way the process works.

Hydroponics vegetable greenhouses may sometimes be the only solution for people in areas with poor soil to actually eat fresh vegetables. The other more expensive solution to their problem would be the importing of products from other places. However, mention should be made that a soilless greenhouse is not a valid business idea in an area that has good cultivation soil.

No alternative greenhouse can actually compete with mother nature in providing the best crops. Hydroponics vegetable greenhouses are one hundred percent profitable in harsh climate conditions. Otherwise they’re just one whimsical investment.

Special conditions

Among the special items necessary for a hydroponics vegetable greenhouse we should definitely mention the special lighting devices in case you can’t profit from natural sun light. For instance those parts in the countries beyond the polar circles, where nights last for six months a year, will need artificial lighting for sure.

Even when you choose the lamps for your revolutionary greenhouse, it would be best to ask the advice of an expert, particularly since some vegetables require more light than others. Changes may also appear in terms of light quality as well. All in all, hydroponics vegetable greenhouses are ambitious, yet highly rewarding projects that require professional commitment and considerable financial investment.

By: Kristen


Hydroponics is used to grow plants without the nutrients available from soil. A method of supporting the plant and root structure is devised, and the roots are kept moist with a nutrient solution. Below are some of the more common hydroponic systems.

Ebb and Flow

In a hydroponic ebb and flow system, plants are supported by an inert growing medium in a container placed above the nutrient solution. A pump is used at preset intervals to pump solution into the container with the plants, thus flooding the container. An overflow tube is used to prevent the level of solution getting too high, with the excess draining back into the nutrient container. After a few minutes, the pump is switched off, and the nutrient solution drains back through the pump into the lower container.

Water Culture

In a hydroponic water culture system the plants are placed above the nutrient solution, with their roots immersed in the nutrient solution. Typically, a net pot is used to hold the plant, placed in a hole cut into a styrofoam sheet, which floats upon the nutrient solution. Air is pumped into the solution, typically using an aquarium air pump and air stone. The air keeps the roots from rotting.

Wick Systems

In a hydroponic wick system, the plant is supported by an inert growing medium such as perlite or vermiculite. A wick passes through the growing medium, with the ends of the wick placed in the nutrient solution. The wick draws the nutrient solution into the growing medium via capillary action, which contiues drawing the nutrient through the growing medium to the plant roots.

Drip

In a hydroponic drip system, plants are supported by an inert growing medium. Nutrient solution is pumped at preset intervals through a drip system, delivering nutrient solution to each plant. The system may be designed to recover excess solution, which is reused. In a non-recovery system, the pump timing must be carefully controlled in order to reduce waste and control costs.

Nutrient Film Technique

In this method, plants are supported within tubes or channels, typically within a plastic pot. The plants roots are irrigated by a shallow flow of nutrient solution, which is continually pumped in. The tubes (or channels) are placed at a slight angle to keep the nutrient solution moving.

Aeroponic

In an aeroponic system, the plant is suspended with its roots dangling in the air. Nutrient solution is sprayed onto the roots via a misting system, typically every few minutes.

By: Susan Slobac

Hydroponics gardening is a popular method of growing indoors that uses no soil, but instead the plant’s roots are immersed in a liquid solution of plant nutrients. Depending on the types of plants you wish to grow, you might want to select hydroponic gardening supplies that would include organic plant nutrients.

Why is is important to grow plants organically?

Plants absorb nutrients up through their roots. This is good when the nutrients include the minerals they need to grow and thrive. It becomes less attractive when you stop to consider that plant roots can also take up toxins. These toxins can be found in the soil, in the water used for adding moisture to the plant roots, and in fertilizers and pesticides used to promote plant growth and production.

If the plants you want to grow are vegetables and fruits, then you obviously do not wish to eat plants that contain toxins, because those toxins will then end up in your body and have the potential to cause health damage over time and repeated exposure. It is a safer choice, in terms of healthy options, for food crops to be grown organically. This means that no toxic chemicals will come into contact with the plants. Hydroponics offers one method of growing crops organically.

This can be a problem if you want to produce organic produce on land that has been exposed to toxic chemicals. Even if you do your part to keep your property chemical free, neighboring land can be host to toxins that can be released in water runoff that can end up on your land, contaminating it.

Plants growing indoors offer an alternative in this situation. Growing indoors allows for complete control of all environmental factors that can have an effect on the plants. When you garden using hydroponics you can choose integrated pest management techniques and use no chemical pesticides at all, yet still maintain a pest-free environment. Because the plants are grown without soil contact, you avoid all the soil-borne toxins as a matter of course.

So, too, you can use organic hydroponic nutrient solution to feed your plants, knowing that the all natural ingredients will not add toxins to the plants, and neither will there be harmful chemical residue running out of your storm water drains.

Although each different type of plant, be it a tree, flower, vegetable or shrub, will require a special hydroponics nutrient solution based on their specific needs, nevertheless all plants, regardless of where or how they are grown, require a few minimum nutrients for survival. The three major nutrients are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, followed by macronutrients and micronutrients in lesser amounts. Hydroponics allows you the greatest control over every aspect of plant growth, from chemical-free plant nutrients and pesticide-free pest prevention, so that the end result will be the freshest, healthiest vegetable and fruit crops for you to enjoy.

By: Nigel Howell

Growing and caring for orchids is a very pleasurable experience for any enthusiast. There is however an alternative to growing orchids the traditional way and that is with hydroponics. Hydroponics allows you to grow crops and plants without soil or compost as the roots of the plants are placed in a mineral nutrient solution.

The Babylonians and Aztecs cultures grew plants without soil so technically they were using a form of hydroponics. Our technology and scientific knowledge has improved dramatically since the times of the Babylonians and Aztecs as well as our understanding of the benefits

In their natural environment, plants absorb mineral nutrients from soil when these nutrients dissolve in water. The level of our understanding of the required nutrients has enabled us to artificially introduce them into the plants water supply and as a result the soil is no longer required.

Please be aware that there is a difference between hydroponics and a soilless culture. Hydroponics is a type of soilless culture but other soilless cultures include sand and gravel.

There are many advantages using hydroponics which can be applied to the care of orchids.

• No soil – It should be obvious that you don’t need to purchase any soil. No soil means that soil borne diseases are no longer an issue which reduces the need for pesticides.

• No weeding required

• Watering – It is very difficult to under water an orchid but over watering is a very common problem. Hydroponics removes this headache and at the same time saves water.

• Space – Less space is required with hydroponics.

• Light – More of the plant is exposed to sunlight. Also, as more of the plant is exposed it is possible to see the roots so identification on any problems is easier.

• It’s easy – The system is very easy to set up and once set up it requires very little maintenance.

• Growth – The orchid is given the correct nutrients in the correct quantities which means more beautiful and healthy orchids can be grown.

There are obviously many advantages which hydroponics provides. It won’t however solve all the problems faced by the orchid enthusiast. Greater flower yield isn’t always guaranteed and the costs can sometimes be higher than when grown in soil.

Orchid enthusiasts should make an effort to at grow at least a few orchids using this method. They will be surprised at the ease of using hydroponics and it will only increase their knowledge and experience in the care of orchids.

By: Susan Slobac

Hydroponic gardening is a great way to grow plants in areas that could not otherwise sustain plant growth. One of the most important and costly pieces of equipment you will buy is a lighting system for your hydroponics garden. After you have made the investment, you will want to do everything possible to ensure that you care for your system properly so it offers the longest useful life.

In a greenhouse or home setting, a hydroponic lighting system will be running for many hours each and every day. Most plants require artificial lighting, which comes from grow lights, to be turned on for sixteen to eighteen hours daily. This means that the grow lamps will be running hot because of the duration of time that they are operating. You can increase the life of your equipment by taking care of the electronic circuitry by reducing the heat. Running auxiliary fans can help bring the temperatures down, and this can help your grow light last for as much as twice as long as it would if running in hot operating conditions.

Another way to take good care of your lighting system is to make sure your ballast is operating properly. All HID lights operate in conjunction with a ballast. A ballast controls the electrical flow through a light bulb. If you are using an older magnetic ballast, you might want to consider upgrading to an electronic digital ballast. These electronic units are able to keep a more consistent flow of power to the lighting system, and this not only allows the unit to run more effectively, it also costs less money to run. It offers the best operating conditions so that each component of the lighting system will last longer than it would with having to contend with power spikes.

Also make sure that you use appropriate equipment with the particular type of grow light you use. There are different ballasts, for example, that are adapted for use with specific grow lamp’s type and wattage. Using the correct equipment for your grow lights will ensure that the system works properly. Using the wrong equipment will cause a system shut-down, so pair up your equipment properly.

Take care when you are hanging grow lights above your plants that they are hung in a very sturdy manner. Lights that get bumped or jostled, or grow lamps that are placed near an entry door or near fans could receive vibrations. These vibrations loosen up all of the components of a lighting system, and reduce the life expectancy of all the parts. Solid placement where the equipment will not get shaken will help ensure that it operates properly for a long time before it needs to be replaced.

By: Chris Marshall


Some organic gardeners believe that hydroponic gardening can’t be organic because you don’t use soil. How can you have an organic garden without rich, loamy soil? Good soil is at the heart of organic gardening. Organic hydroponic gardening does exist, however, and has some advantages over conventional organic gardening.

Soil-less Gardening

Organic hydroponic gardening is organic gardening without the soil. Organic hydroponic gardening relies on water to provide the nutrients needed for plant growth. Organic hydroponic gardening still requires a growing medium; most plants won’t grow without something solid to put their roots into. The growing medium is not the source of nutrients, however; it’s as sterile as a chemically fertilized monoculture wheat field. The growing medium is simply a structure to root the plants into and to hold the nutrient-filled water.

Organic hydroponic gardening growing medium can be any organic material. Vermiculite and perilte are often used. (Be careful when handling vermiculite, as it is a source of asbestos.) Straw, cotton, plant fiber or any other organic material can be used.

The Secret is in the Water

Organic hydroponic gardening relies on dissolving substances in water to provide nutrients for the plants. Because it is organic, anything that goes into the water must be organic. Compost tea is frequently used in organic hydroponic gardening. It is made by soaking compost in water and straining out the solid material. The rich nutrients dissolve in the water and are used to feed the plants.

Manure tea is also used in hydroponic gardening. Manure tea can be a source of bacterial contamination of the produce, including contamination with lethal varieties of E. coli. Manure should be well-composted or sterilized before making manure tea. You make it the same way you make compost tea; by dissolving the manure in water and straining out the solid material.

Other organic additives that can be used are seaweed and fish emulsion. There are no special fertilizers because you continually circulate and refresh the nutrient mixture.

Special Uses

Organic hydroponic gardening has a niche in the organic gardening landscape. It fits anywhere that there is no soil available or the soil won’t support plant growth.

Organic hydroponic gardening is used to grow crops in parts of the world where the soil has been over-farmed and is too depleted to grow food. Organic hydroponic gardening is used in outer space living and will almost certainly be part of any attempt to colonize the moon or another planet. Organic hydroponic gardening is being used for urban gardens on rooftops. This enables urbanites to grow healthy food in wasted space. Rooftops can’t always support the weight of soil for traditional organic gardening.

Hydroponic gardening can be organic. You don’t get to play in the dirt, which is the part many organic gardeners love, but you do get to grow healthy, sustainable, organic food with organic hydroponic gardening.

By: Melih Oztalay

There are basically two types of grow lights used in horticulture. These are:

High Intensity Discharge Lights (HID) - These come in two types, the Metal Halide Grow Light (MH) and the High Pressure Sodium Grow Light (HPS)

Metal Halide - bulbs are designed for plants during their growing cycle. That is, for non-fruiting or non-blooming plants. Metal halide lighting is therefore the best HID choice for the plant’s growing phase.

High Pressure Sodium Lights (HPS) - The HPS grow light is used primarily for plants that are in their blooming or fruiting phase. Modern high pressure sodium lighting can, however, be bought, which is enhanced for blue spectrum (for vegetative growth) and for red spectrum (for flowering growth). This means that they can be used throughout the entire growing process for most types of plant.

Fluorescent Grow Lights emit less light than high intensity discharge lights and although they can be used throughout the plant cycle their lack of brightness will produce small yields. The light produced tends to be softer and less damaging to tender young plants. For this reason, the fluorescent grow light is popular for seedlings and cuttings, an excellent way to establish young plants.

All of the above types of lights use some kind of a ballast system. The one most people are familiar with is the fluorescent light. This has, a small, built in, ballast. It allows the fluorescent tube to build up enough energy to strike, and excite the molecules within the tube, causing light to be given off.

Metal Halide and HPS grow lights are usually run from remote ballasts. These are external boxes containing the electronics to pre-heat and run the lamp. The ballast is connected to the lamp holder and to the mains power supply. Each ballast used is rated for the lamp wattage and so it is necessary to have different ballasts available for each of the different values of lamp to be used. HID bulbs should be replaced after 12 to 18 months of use. Although HID lamps will continue to light beyond 18 months of use, they will have lost up to 30 percent or more of their lumen output while consuming the same amount of electricity.

Think of a plant as a well-run factory that takes delivery of raw materials and manufactures the most wondrous products. Just as a factory requires a reliable energy source to turn the wheels of its machinery, plants need an energy source in order to grow.

Usually, natural sunlight is used for this important job. However, during the shorter and darker days of winter, many growers use artificial lights to increase the intensity of light or to expand the daylight length. While the sun radiates the full spectrum suitable for plant life, different types of artificial lighting are selected for specific plant varieties and optimum plant growth characteristics. Different groups of plants respond in physically different ways to various wavelengths of radiation. Light plays an extremely important role in the production of plant material. The lack of light is the main inhibiting factor in plant growth. If you reduce the light by 10 percent, you also reduce crop performance by 10 percent.

Light transmission should be your major consideration when purchasing a growing structure for a protected crop. Glass is still the preferred material for covering greenhouses because, unlike plastic films and sheeting, its light transmission ability is indefinitely maintained.

No gardener can achieve good results without adequate light. If you intend to grow indoors, avail yourself of some of the reading material that has been published on this subject. If you are having trouble growing good plants, then light is the first factor to question.

A large part of the success in growing hydroponically is planning where to place the plants. Grow plants that have similar growing requirements in the same system. Placing your system 1-2 feet away from a sunny window will give the best results for most herbs and vegetables. Even your regular house lights help the plants to grow. Make sure that all of the lights are out in your growing area during the night. Plants need to rest a minimum of 4 hours every night. If your plants start to get too tall, move the system to a spot that has more sun. Once you find a good growing area, stick to it. Plants get used to their home location. It may take some time to get used to a new place.

By: Susan Slobac

Hydroponic gardening is one of the most popular methods for plant production. This form allows people with no land, or land unsuitable for plant growth, to produce food and flowers with ease. As you go about building your hydroponics system you will will want to invest in excellent grow lights. Many gardeners choose HID, or high intensity discharge grow lamps combined with a digital ballast. HID lamps most closely resemble natural sunlight, and this is conducive to excellent plant growth in an indoor growing situation. However, not all grow lights are created equal.

There are five types of HID lights, and they include mercury vapor, low-pressure sodium, xenon short-arc lamps, metal halide and high-pressure sodium. Metal halide and high-pressure sodium make great hydroponic lights.

A metal halide grow light produces a light in the blue spectrum, which is useful to young plants to help them attain maturity. For this type of light to work, electricity flows through a mix of metal halides and mercury, as well as argon gas. The metal halides have an affect on the color of light the lamp produces as well as the strength of the light. Metal halide lights are made up of a metal base and a bulb made out of glass. Inside the lamp you will find wires, a quartz arc tube, tungsten electrodes, metals and gas. In order for a metal halide lamp to function properly, you must use an electrical ballast. The ballast controls the flow of electricity to the light bulb, and metal halide bulbs, when used with specially designed electrical ballasts, allow for dimming of the light as well. A grow light digital ballast properly matched to your lighting system, is an important part of any indoor garden. Metal halides offer a great deal of control over the color temperature, or the color of the light, produced, which is why hydroponic gardeners like these lights.

A sodium vapor light, on the other hand, uses sodium to produce light in the red spectrum. Unlike the metal halide lamp, the high pressure sodium light uses an alumina arc tube. Alumina makes use of a diffused aluminum oxide, which is necessary because of the great deal of chemical activity that occurs with a high pressure sodium arc within the bulb. A high-pressure sodium lamp also should use a hps digital ballast to control the flow of electricity to the light, much as it does in the metal halide application.

Indoor gardeners enjoy using both of these types of bulbs because they give off a very intense light, which is needed by plants to thrive. Blue spectrum light of metal halide bulbs is beneficial when plants are young to enhance growth, while red spectrum light provided by high-pressure sodium lamps helps plants produce flowers and fruit. Select both lamps to enhance your plants’ entire lifetime photosynthesis needs.

By: Susan Slobac

Deep water culture (DWC) is a type of hydroponic gardening in which the roots of a plant are suspended in a solution of oxygenated water and various nutrients.

Traditionally, DWC has been practiced using plastic buckets. The plant itself is suspended in what is known as a net pot. The main feature of deep water culture is this net pot – a type of pot resembling an open wire basket – is suspended from the bucket lid in such a manner that the roots are suspended in the bucket containing the water and nutrient solution. Within the hydroponic garden, the water is oxygenated with an air pump and an aquarium airstone such as are used in fish tanks.

Once the hydroponic garden reaches the flowering stage, the level of the nutrient solution is reduced, gradually exposing the roots to the open air, where they can absorb greater amounts of oxygen. The massive ingestion of oxygen and nutrients leads to maximum growth throughout the plant’s life cycle.

A variation on DWC is recirculation deep water culture (RDWC). An RDWC system employs a reservoir which in turn provides water to several buckets. If these buckets are not connected in some way, it will be necessary to test each one for proper pH levels (acidity vs. alkalinity) and conductivity factor (CF, a measure of electrical conductivity used to determine nutrient levels).

In order to avoid the need for testing of each individual bucket, some RDWC systems dispense with the air stones and instead connect the buckets. The water is recirculated with spray nozzles, resulting in better aeration and oxygenation. By constantly recirculating the water in this fashion, nutrients are mixed more effectively and pH levels are stabilized throughout the system.

Building a DWC system is neither particularly difficult nor expensive, and can be done for under $100. To start, you will need a five gallon bucket, a fish tank air pump, an aquarium airstone for breaking up the bubbles, a six inch hydroponic growing net or net pot, duct tape, and a hydroponic growth medium (organic composted bark is best).

The first step is to cut a hole in the bucket lid that is the same diameter as the net pot. The net pot should fit snugly when the lip rests on the edge of the pot. You’ll also need to cut a small hole in the side of the bucket near the top in order to accommodate the air line. This should be run down to the bottom of the bucket and into the airstone.

The bucket should then be wrapped in about five layers of duct tape in order to prevent any light from reaching the reservoir (which would lead to the growth of algae).

The net pot is then filled with the growth medium and the seedling of the plant you are attempting to grow. Fill the bucket with clean water, put the lid in place, insert the net pot, turn on the pump, and your new system is in operation.

By: Michael Straumietis

One of the best things you can do to ensure your success in hydroponics is to subscribe to a hydroponics newsletter. The world of hydroponic growing is ever changing and the best way to keep up to date on the ways to increase your yield and improve the size of your buds and flavor of your vegetables is to get a periodical in your inbox every month.

The best tool a gardener can have is information and a good newsletter can give you tons of useful tips for a few dollars or even free. But the information you receive can sometimes be overwhelming, so it can sometimes be confusing as to what will be the best way to apply your newfound knowledge.

Ensure Your Newsletter is from a Reputable Source - You may be surprised to hear that not every hydroponic newsletter comes from an experienced grower who has countless growing seasons under their belt. In fact, the large majority of these newsletters come from low-end growers who think that successfully growing a couple tomato plants in their hall closet makes them an expert.

Make certain that your newsletter comes from a company, organization, or person who has real world experience growing hydroponically and does not necessarily just rehash advice that they may have heard elsewhere.

Test a Small Area First - When you read of some new breakthrough that promises to vastly increase your yield, it can sometimes be tempting to apply it to your entire crop immediately. But when it comes to the safety of your plants, you do not want to take any chances. Try the new advice on a single plant first, so you can be sure the information will actually be beneficial. Changing some factors can sometimes be easier than others, especially when you have large, interconnected systems. This is why it might be a good idea to grow one or two “test plants” in a smaller hydroponic system separate from your main system that allow you to experiment to your heart’s content.

Make Sure the Advice Pertains to Your Particular Conditions - There’s nothing worse than reading in a hydroponic newsletter that your plants might actually benefit from a slight drop of the pH level in the nutrient solution, but only discovering later that will only help you if you are using rockwool as a medium, while you choose to use coco coir. There are so many factors and variables that go into successful hydroponic growing that a piece of a advice that might help one grower might actually harm another grower’s plants. So before you rush off and make those adjustments, make certain that the any new research you are reading about applies to your particular hydroponic system, lighting system, medium and plants.

Find a Newsletter that Helps Growing on Your Scale - Some hydroponic newsletters specialize in a certain scale of growing. So some might contain mostly advice to the hobby grower who likes growing vegetables in their basement, while others are targeted towards large, for-profit greenhouses. Make sure the information can really help your conditions and will work within your budget.