Whether you garden for fun, food or profit, hydroponics systems will provide everything you'll need to build, grow and reap the rewards of hydroponic gardening without breaking the bank. Hydroponic gardening is the wave of the future. It is currently being studied in classrooms around the country, local horticultural societies and in government funded research at major universities and NASA. It is also becoming a popular hobby. Hydroponics is fun, exciting and easy to get involved in.
The word hydroponics comes from two Greek words, "hydro" meaning water and "ponics" meaning labor. The concept of soil less gardening or hydroponics has been around for thousands of years. The hanging Gardens of Babylon and The Floating Gardens of China are two of the earliest examples of hydroponics. Scientists started experimenting with soil less gardening around 1950. Since then other countries, such as Holland, Germany, and Australia have used hydroponics systems for crop production with amazing results. Hydroponics is the practice of growing plants in either a bath or flow of highly oxygenated, nutrient enriched water. In soil, biological decomposition breaks down organic matter into the basic nutrient salts that plants feed on. Water dissolves these salts and allows uptake by the roots. For a plant to receive a well balanced diet, everything in the soil must be in perfect balance. Rarely, if ever, can you find such ideal conditions in soil due to the lack of organic matter left behind on the surface, contamination and biological imbalances.
With hydroponics, systems water is enriched with these very same nutrient salts, creating a hydroponic nutrient solution that is perfectly balanced. And since this hydroponic nutrient solution is contained, it does not harm our environment as does runoff from fertilized soil. Additionally, very little water is lost to evaporation in a hydroponic system, owing to its application in drought stricken areas. Cannabis hydroponic systems are perfect for large plants, it can easily handle a single tomato or pepper plant or a couple of smaller plants like lettuce or herbs. NOTE: With large plants you may need to supply external support to help hold the plant upright.
Cannabis hydroponic systems can be automated with the use of a separate reservoir, submersible nutrient pump, a short cycle timer (one that can be set to come on for as short as a minute), an air pump & airstone as well as a little bit of drip irrigation tubing. This way, the energy normally used to develop long roots can be redirected to growing more plant, which is the great benefit of hydroponics systems.
This article was added on Friday 29 January, 2010.
