Hydroponics is a method of growing plants using a water-based mineral nutrients solution, without soil. The word ‘hydroponics’ is derived from the Greek words hydro: water and ponos: labour.
Growing without soil
Plants can be grown with their roots in the mineral nutrients solution alone or in an inert medium, such as gravel, clay pellets, rockwool, perlite, or coconut husk.
In nature, soil acts as a mineral nutrients reservoir. The soil itself is not essential to plant growth. In soil, plant roots are able to absorb mineral nutrients when they are dissolved in water. Mineral nutrients introduced into a plant's water supply artificially, without soil, is basic hydroponics. Plants can thrive without soil. Almost any land plant will grow with hydroponics.
Provision of plant nutrients
Hydroponics is about the supply of a mineral nutrients solution to a plant’s root system. Adequate light should be provided to complement the process of hydroponics.
Maximising plant cultivation through hydroponics is about control of the plant’s environment. For this reason hydroponics tends to be inside, therefore light has to be provided. Grow lights can be used. Grow lights are designed to promote plant growth through emitting light in an electromagnetic spectrum best suited to promote photosynthesis.
Varying light spectra are used for different stages of plant growth. Blue-end grow lights are the initial optimum whereas the later flowering or fruiting stage favours use of red-orange grow lights.
Grow lights come in many forms - LED grow lights seem especially popular today
In the commercial field, hydroponics may attract the use of LED grow lights due to their lower power consumption. Advancements in LEDs have allowed for the production of relatively inexpensive, bright, and long lasting LED grow lights that emit specific wavelengths of light to best promote photosynthesis. LED grow lights are attractive to indoor growers as they consume less power and produce a fraction of the heat of other grow lights.
There are many propagation media in hydroponics. Rockwool, clay pellets and chipped coconut husk have been popular choices, with perlite becoming more popular. Used successfully in many horticultural applications, perlite is very versatile. In hydroponics, perlite has shown great promise.
Perlite over rockwool, chipped coconut husk or clay pellets?
Perlite works splendidly in hydroponics because it retains moisture well. Hydroponics requires that growers supply their plants with a plant nutrients solution without soil. Therefore, maintaining the proper levels of moisture is important in hydroponics. This fact, in conjunction with using LED grow lights emitting less heat, can lead to easier management of favourable plant growing conditions.
Don’t forget deep water culture and aeroponics
There are other hydroponics methods to cultivate plants. One is known as deep water culture. Deep water culture involves suspension of a plant’s root system in an oxygenated mineral nutrients solution. Another method is called aeroponics. Aeroponics is the process of growing plants in an air or mist environment. Aeroponics is conducted without soil or a growing medium - unlike hydroponics, which uses a mineral nutrients solution in water and a growing medium (rockwool, perlite, clay pellets, chipped coconut husk or similar). As water is used in aeroponics to hold mineral nutrients, it is considered a type of hydroponics.
The word ‘aeroponics’ is derived from the Greek words aero: air and ponos: labour.
Whatever method is used, be it hydroponics, aeroponics or deep water culture, the aim is to provide plant nutrients in an efficient manner. Along with the provision of plant nutrients, grow lights (maybe LED grow lights) provide a means for the plant’s internal food production. Now you can have green fingers without becoming muddy!
