Hydroponics Gardening - An Introduction To Hydroponics Gardening For Beginners

The Basics of Hydroponics Gardening.

What is hydroponics gardening?

Derived from the Latin Hydro, meaning water and Geoponics, meaning the study of agriculture, hydroponics is the science of growing plants using a solution of suitable nutrients instead of soil. Most types of plant can be grown very successfully using hydroponics.

In conventional gardening the plants are grown in soil and take their nourishment from the chemical compounds contained within that soil. The hydroponic gardener replaces the soil with a balanced, nutrient rich, solution that the plant can absorb with ease. Because the plant does not have to work so hard to absorb the available nutrients it saves energy which can then be utilised for stronger growth.

Because of this energy saving, plants grown using hydroponic methods outperform conventionally produced plants in both growth and fruit production. Due to the consistent results and good profit margins, more and more commercial growers are turning to hydroponic production. Totally organic production is possible using specially designed organic nutrients, giving excellent, inexpensive, vegetables and herbs.

There are several different types of hydroponic system, but all share the same basic principle of supplying the plants with nutrients and water. The most common systems are:

Water Culture, Aquaculture, or Nutriculture.
This is a Hydroponics system in which the plant roots are immersed in water containing a complex mixture of dissolved nutrients. A simple example of water culture is the Hyacinth bulb growing in a wine goblet shaped glass, its roots growing down into the hollow goblet stem.

Aggregate Culture.
In this system a material such as sand, gravel, or marbles supports the plant roots. It is important to note that the support material, unlike soil, does not absorb nutrient. It merely traps it in the spaces between the grains or stones allowing the plant roots to freely take up the liquid.

Continuous Flow Hydroponics Systems.
In these types of system the nutrient solution flows constantly over the plant roots. This is the most commonly used system for commercial production.

Aeroponics.
This system is one in which the plant roots hang in the air and are misted regularly with a nutrient solution.

There are a number of pre-packaged hydroponics systems available for both the commercial grower and hobbyist. Individuals, who lack building skills, or are inexperienced plant growers, should consider one of these kits as an introduction to hydroponics, a fascinating and challenging hobby. Similar systems can be built at lower cost, however, by those of you who have the expertise.

The requirements for healthy, strong, disease-free plants are covered in my next article entitled - - What do your plants need?

Copyright (C) 2004, 2005, John R Haughton - All Rights Reserved

A partner in a thriving retail hydroponics supply business, Rickie Haughton is the owner of http://hydroponics-gardening-information.com/ which aims to cater for all levels of expertise in the field of hydroponics gardening. The website is packed with good content about all aspects off hydroponics gardening and offers a free newsletter to all subscribers.

In The News:

---

Google News Updated : Sun, 06 Jul 2008 06:55:22 GMT A Side Competition in Beijing: Island vs. Mainland - New York Times Xinhua A Side Competition in Beijing: Island vs. Mainland New York Times - 14 hours ago The Taiwanese Olympic table tennis team practicing at Kaohsiung. Taiwanese players have hopes of winning medals next month in a sport China has dominated. KMT honorary chairman hails weekend charter flights, mainland ... Xinhua Taiwan tour operators sceptical about China boom Economic Times AllAfrica.com - International Herald Tribune - Wall Street Journal - BBC News all 902 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 05 Jul 2008 16:16:20 GMT As Web Traffic Grows, Crashes Take Bigger Toll - New York Times Canada.com As Web Traffic Grows, Crashes Take Bigger Toll New York Times - 10 hours ago By BRAD STONE SAN FRANCISCO - Alex Payne, a 24-year-old Internet engineer here, has devised a way to answer a commonly asked question of the digital age: Is my favorite Web site working today? MSFT’s acquisition of Powerset is not about search ZDNet Powerset Grab Shows Microsoft's Commitment To Search InformationWeek ReadWriteWeb - Ars Technica - Inquirer - PC Magazine all 284 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 05 Jul 2008 20:32:17 GMT Jesse Helms, former senator, conservative icon, dies - Newsday Wall Street Journal Jesse Helms, former senator, conservative icon, dies Newsday - 8 hours ago Jesse Helms, the former five-term US senator from North Carolina whose relish for thwarting initiatives he opposed as too liberal earned him the nickname "Senator No," died Friday at age 86. Video: A Look Back At Jesse Helms CBS NC Senator's Hard-Line Conservatism Helped Craft Republican Social ... Washington Post Wall Street Journal - Boston Globe - San Jose Mercury News - Washington Times all 2,328 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 05 Jul 2008 21:58:21 GMT ECB's dovish tone weakens euro - Financial Times ECB's dovish tone weakens euro Financial Times - 56 minutes ago By Peter Garnham The euro sold off sharply this week after the European Central Bank signalled it was not planning another rise in eurozone interest rates. France's Sarkozy Questions If ECB Rate Increase `Reasonable' Bloomberg Fighting Inflation, Europeans Raise Rate New York Times MarketWatch - Reuters - Forbes - Wall Street Journal all 1,859 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 06 Jul 2008 05:59:10 GMT Oil Prices Drive Stocks to Bear Market - Washington Post Boston Globe Oil Prices Drive Stocks to Bear Market Washington Post - 1 hour ago US stocks fell last week, giving the Dow Jones industrial average a 20 percent bear-market drop from October's all-time high as record oil prices threatened global economic growth. A Bear Market, Mauling Not Included New York Times Stocks end mixed following jobs, services data The Associated Press CNBC - Bloomberg - Forbes - Pittsburgh Post Gazette all 641 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 06 Jul 2008 05:50:10 GMT Obama Predicts Political ‘Realignment,’ Tries to Put Montana in Play - FOXNews New York Daily News Obama Predicts Political ‘Realignment,’ Tries to Put Montana in Play FOXNews - Jul 4, 2008 by FOXNews.com Barack Obama takes questions from supporters during a campaign stop in Fargo, ND, Thursday, before heading to Montana. Obama to set up shop in South Carolina The State Obama's centrist emphasis gives GOP ammo Austin American-Statesman Fort Worth Star Telegram - Los Angeles Times - Times Online - Wall Street Journal all 1,282 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 04 Jul 2008 14:22:26 GMT Google trying to take privacy seriously - ZDNet Boston Globe Google trying to take privacy seriously ZDNet - 7 hours ago This week was a very interesting week as far as Google and privacy goes. First, a burglary (the same on that affected CNET earlier last month) was confirmed to have affected all Google employees hired before December 31, 2005. Court order on YouTube user data fans privacy fears Reuters Finding Fault With Google's Privacy Policy Slashdot Washington Post - BusinessWeek - Los Angeles Times - InternetNews.com all 901 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 05 Jul 2008 23:49:42 GMT Clickbank Data Feeds Make Money Online

PARLOT::Ebooks, Scripts, Websites, and more...

Adsense websites

Hydroponics Gardening - An Introduction To Hydroponics Gardening For Beginners (Part 2) Plant Needs