13Dec/110
Hydroponic Kits Are the Easy Way to Try Hydroponic Gardening
If you live in an apartment or somewhere that actual land is not available or not suitable for gardening, you might have given up on having a garden of your own. That need not be the case, however, if you try hydroponic gardening. This is a gardening method that uses no soil and yet still produces healthy plants for you to enjoy. You can grow flowers, fruits, herbs, vegetables and ornamental plants by using a hydroponic system. If you are just starting out with hydroponic growing, it is recommended that you begin with hydroponic kits. Everything you need in terms of hardware are included in hydroponic kits, making it easy for the novice to have a successful experience with hydroponic gardening right from the start.
There are several different methods of hydroponic growing, so your first step could be to check them out and see which ones appeal to you that also come available as hydroponic kits. Static solution culture, continuous flow solution culture, passive subirrigation, ebb and flow, top irrigation and deep water culture are some of the names you might see used for a hydroponic system.
Two of the most popular methods include deep water culture and ebb and flow. A related growing method is known as aeroponics, and there are kits available for this style of soilless gardening as well.
Deep water culture is a system of hydroponics that utilizes a reservoir that is filled with water and nutrient, which is plant food. In this method, the plant roots stay submerged in the solution, and oxygen is provided through constant aeration by the use of an aerator and air stones. A kit for a deep water culture hydroponic system will also include some type of net pots, which hold the crown of the plant out of the solution.
Ebb and flow is a simple method where plants are grown in a soilless growing medium in a tray, which is placed above a reservoir. At regular predetermined times, a submersible pump is used to raise the solution level so that the plant tray is flooded with solution. There are holes in the tray, so after it is filled, the solution then drains back out into the reservoir where it is collected. This is a simple hydroponic system that is quite successfully used by many indoor gardeners.
Aeroponics is a growing system where plants use no growing medium at all. Instead, the plants are suspended in air, and the roots receive water and nutrient through a misting spray that is timed at regular intervals. Kits for aeroponics as well as hydroponics take the guesswork out of which pieces and parts are necessary for the system to work properly, making it easy to garden using whichever system you choose.
By: Susan Slobac
17Nov/110
Indoor Gardening
Indoor gardening is becoming more popular as technology improves and costs decrease for supplies and equipment. Growing indoors can be very rewarding and the results are absolutely fantastic when done correctly, that said, they can also be devastating when things go wrong.
In this article I would like to dispel some myths about indoor gardening as well as give some tips for simple ways to improve your harvest.
Myth #1: You can grow in any room indoors.
Growing indoors even in the best circumstances is more difficult than you would think at first, and depends a lot on "what" you are trying to grow. For this article I will focus on food bearing plants such as tomatoes and cucumbers, and other succulent garden plants, as well as herbs and fresh flowers and orchids. Plants such as garlic and carrots that create bulbs are even more challenging and will not be discussed at this time.
Tip #1: No matter what plants you decide to grow indoors, you will still need to meet its basic requirements for growth.
Mainly, good ventilation from the outside, Light, and fertilizer as well as a exhaust for the heat from the lights and built up oxygen that the plants cannot eat. Plants Breath CO2, but with global warming and all there is plenty of that in regular air, so just make sure your ventilation is good into and throughout the room. Light and fertilizer depend more on what you are trying to grow.
Myth #2: Indoor gardening doesn't involve getting down and dirty.
Cleanliness is close to godliness. Growing indoors can be a messy job. Weather you decide to use hydroponics or soil, there is usually some sort of spills involved.
Tip#2: Plan for the worst! Enclose the growing area in a cheap and easy home-made reserve reservoir to prevent run-off and spills from damaging your home.
Create a wooden frame of 2x4s that sits flat on the ground and lay a giant plastic sheet (available at home depot) that tucks over the board on all sides. Be sure to measure before hand, but often you can get 12 x 30 ft or more. The idea is to create a giant tub below the plants in case of emergency. This is especially important for hydroponic systems that are not on the ground floor.
By: Austin Kerr
12Nov/110
Main Types of Hydroponic Systems
A few centuries ago, the only way you could grow a plant without a soilless base was to suspend it over a pool of water mixed with nutrients, that would act as the feeding grounds replacing the earth's diet. Nowadays, we have wick systems, ebb and flows, drips, aeroponics, the nutrient film technique and many more, which only shows how far in this field we have gone. And because the offer is often so varied, it's confusing for the newcomer hydroponic gardener. Picking the right hydroponic systems is a tough job, so here are a little tips to help you know the difference:
Wick Hydroponic Systems
The wick system operates under very simple parameters, in that it's passive, with no moving parts attached to it. A wick is used to draw nutrients from the reservoir and into the growth tray and it's a fully automated procedure that takes little effort from you.
Water Culture Hydroponic Systems
Like I said in the introduction, the water culture was the first type of system invented in hydroponics. It stands on fairly straightforward principles: a reservoir filled with nutrient solution, atop of which the gardener places a floating platform that can hold several planters (or cups, or something similar). The roots of the plant that you "install" will be drowned in the nutrient solution, with the rest of the plant being held by the planters.
Drip and Ebb and Flow Hydroponic Systems
Ebb and flow hydroponic systems can be found everywhere and together with their younger brother, the drip system, they make up the majority of hydroponic gardens in the World. Both types of systems work on basically the same principles: a growth tray is attached atop a nutrient container. Nutrients are flooded into the growth tray by a pump, they are absorbed by the plants and the excess solution that couldn't be absorbed is drained down into the nutrient container, recycling it for future use.
Nutrient Film Technique Hydroponic Systems
Another popular hydroponic system, the NFT uses a constant flow of nutrients to wash out the plants' roots, feeding them in the process. Because this system uses no growth media for the roots, it allows for better oxygenation and it has low maintenance costs in the long run. Just like the ebb and flow or drip systems, the nutrient film technique floods the growth tray (where the plants' roots are dangling in) then drains the excess back to the reservoir. Like with the above mentioned hydroponic systems, this kind of nutrient recycling is a great way to save nutrients, but unfortunately it also creates pH instability in the reservoir, which leads to more complicated problems later on.
Aeroponic Systems
Although not hydroponic systems per se, aeroponics use some of the basic principles in water-based soilless plant growth, but use air vapors instead. Plants are usually suspended on top of a reservoir in aeroponic systems, with the container being tightly sealed. A mechanism creates vapors out of nutrient solution and sprays the result in the reservoir, engulfing the dangling plant roots. This helps them acquire nutrients faster but also allows for some great oxygenation capabilities, which cause your plant to grow heavily.
By: Nicu Zara
8Nov/110
How Does Hydroponics Work Anyway?
Home gardeners everywhere are getting into the latest trend called hydroponics, but just how does hydroponics work? It's a lot simpler than you might think, once you see the basics. For the beginner to hydroponics, it can look pretty daunting and scientific, but in reality it's not that complex.
Remember, plants need three things to thrive: water, nutrients, and sunlight. Hydroponics is just a more straightforward way of supplying all three of these things without the need for soil. This way of gardening has two main benefits: smaller space required and less water used. Because the soil is not needed to house the plants, space is saved and the water the soil would normally "wick" away is not removed, thus requiring less water overall.
This means that hydroponics can be used to grow plants nearly anywhere, so long as those three things can be supplied. So oranges can be grown in the Arctic and tomatoes can be grown in a closet. This is the main reason so many scientists are interested in hydroponics.
So, how does hydroponics work?
Have you ever grown alfalfa or other sprouts, even on a Chia Pet as a kid? If so, you've grown plants using hydroponics. That's the most basic form of hydroponic growing. Growing plants in that way is called Ebb and Flow or Flood and Drain irrigation: the water/nutrients are put in at regular intervals and then drained off again to carry away the wastes.
In a more complex (and larger scale) hydroponic garden, this same system can be used with a nutrient base diluted in water (sprouts have their nutrients as part of the seed pod, unlike most other plants). This solution is sent to the plant roots either continuously or periodically.
Two types of systems are used to hold the plants and circulate the solution around them: solution culture and medium culture. The two are roughly the same with one exception. In a solution culture, only the solution is present and the plants are suspended with their roots in the solution while in a medium culture, some type of media is used to hold the plants in place and circulate the solution through their roots.
Basically, this means there's either pure solution or a soil replacement for the solution to move around. No medium means the plants must be suspended by wires, nets, or other means. Using a medium means the plants have something to "root" to.
The solution-only method is often more controlled (as far as solution goes), but means more labor per plant as each must be set into place individually on a suspender. The media-method requires less work per plant, since roughly traditional planting methods work, but requires more effort for maintenance as most media types need cleaning or replacement between crops.
For home gardening, the medium method is most common and the most common types of media are rock wool, expanded clay, and gravel. Each of these types of media have different advantages and disadvantages, including weight, disposability, and how they affect a nutrient solution.
The nutrient solutions used are either hand-mixed by the gardener or purchased as pre-mixed solutions that need only to be diluted in water. The second type is most common, of course, since it's much easier and doesn't require a lot of schooling in chemistry to use. These solutions are purchased online, via mail order, or at local gardening shops.
So, once you're ready to start trying hydroponics, what will you need to know about how does hydroponics work? Basically, a larger garden system will be built in this way:
A garden bed will be created with a tray, dish, or tub with a drain at one end and an input for solution at the other (either pouring into or over the plants). The bed is then filled with the medium of choice and the solution circulation is built-for home systems on a smaller scale, this is often manually operated. Plants are planted into the media and the solution is mixed and added to the circulation system. If the system is automated, then that's basically all that's required excepting the periodic draining off and adding of new solution and water to replenish the nutrients.
Hopefully, this has answered your question of how does hydroponics work.
By: Travis Johnson
27Oct/110
Difference Between Aeroponics and Hydroponics
With the agricultural breakthrough that has come over the past century, planting has become easier than it was before. Two of the breakthroughs, the hydroponics and aeroponics have come a long way in developing the agriculture and food production that not only resulted to individual progress but also the economic growth. But what is the difference between aeroponics and hydroponics?
The difference between aeroponics and hydroponics is that hydroponics is the means of soilless planting where there is a little or no soil required at all. The nutrients are supplied through a nutrient solution or a nutrient film at which the formulation has been controlled to sufficiently meet the needs of the plants. Aeroponics meanwhile is similar to hydroponics, growing plants without the use of the soil. The difference between the two is that the latter uses nothing as medium while the former uses water.
However, many has become confused of the agricultural methods and the difference between aeroponics and hydroponics. Aeroponics is a form of hydroponics procedure. It is the water that serves as the nutrient carrier when then the nutrient solution is sprayed into the roots of the plant.
Another difference between aeroponics and hydroponics is that the environment set-up. While in hydroponics, the plants are cultured into an enclosed area like the greenhouse, the plants grwons through aeroponics is in a closed or semi-closed area. The environment is not that restricted which may become a source of potential problem. This is for the reason that the plants grown aeroponically are not kept free from plants hazards like pests and diseases.
One significant ddifference between aeroponics and hydroponicsis that plants can mature easily with air as there are abundant sources of the essentials in plants' growth. These are oxygen, the nutrient solution and the water.
You might quetsion why there are some farmers that prefer aeroponics rather than hydroponics. This is for the reason that aeroponics can give consistent supply of oxgen that can yield to a much higher yield of production.
The procedure between hydroponics and aeroponics also differ in terms of set-up. The aeroponics procedure allows the plants root to be suspended in a hydro-atomized nutrient solution that will make some parts of the roots like the crown to be extending on the top. In comparison to hydroponics, the procedure varies depending on the technology used. These technologies ranges from static solution and continuous flow solution. Moreover, there are also some precautions made to avoid disease contamination in the irrigation system.
There are a number of difference between aeroponics and hydroponics. Despite of these, it cannot be denied how these technologies improved the food production and the lives of many.
By: Keith Turner
2Oct/110
The Aeroponic System For You
If you are a new indoor gardener or a long-time horticulturalist, you will find that aeroponics is a type of indoor, soilless gardening similar to hydroponics that is gaining in popularity. Aeroponics systems allow gardeners to grow plants where the soil is poor or nonexistent, and the plants grow in air rather than soil. For those in the nursery trade, an aeroponic or aeroponic cloner can help you quickly start cuttings from all manner of established plants, which can then be transplanted and grown on for resale. For their convenience of use and speed in producing healthy and large plants, gardeners turn to aeroponics systems for their indoor gardening setup.
To get started with soilless indoor gardening, you might want to start with hydroponic grow kits. Hydroponic grow kits offer all of the pieces and parts of a complete growing system so that you can easily begin the process of growing your own food or flowers indoors. Hydroponics uses a soilless growing medium in which the roots of the plant are grown. It might be coir or other types of medium, and a reservoir system is put in place under the medium holding the roots. In this reservoir system is placed a solution of water and nutrient, which is a soluble plant food that hydroponically grown plants require for food.
An allows the roots of the plants to be grown in the air. This is accomplished by suspending the crown of the plant in some kind of a holder, such as a net, which is placed in an open-bottomed tray. In this way, the roots are exposed to the air. Normally, a plant would receive water and food through the roots via the soil, but in an aeroponic system a misting device is used to spray water and nutrient onto the plants' roots. Because the roots of plants in an aeroponic system are suspended in the air, the roots are exposed to a great deal of oxygen, and this is one big reason why aeroponically grown plants grow very quickly and reach substantial sizes.
There are several quality brands of aeroponics systems available. Lines such as AeroFlo, American Agritech and Rainforest all offer top quality aeroponics systems suitable for home or commercial gardeners. These systems are flexible enough to allow you to grow dozens of plants in a small area, and they create lush foliage, flowers, fruits and vegetables in a short amount of time. You will find an aeroponic system, hydroponic grow kits and an aeroponic cloner at better online discount gardening supplier websites.
By: Wayne Hemrick
14Sep/110
Benefits of Vertical Farming
More and more people are gaining interest on vertical farming these days. People like large scale farmers, entrepreneurs and investors in particular are getting into this whole new farming craze. So you might be thinking, what vertical farming is. Vertical farming is an alternative way of growing plants and produce. Traditionally, we grow plants and produce in the ground or a pot with soil. We tend the plants every so often and water them everyday until they grow beautifully. This new type of farming method however, has a different approach in growing plants. The use of soil will be eliminated in this agriculture technique and plants will be grown either by aeroponics and hydroponics within farmscrapers.
As we all know, we only have limited water and land resources so vertical farming was introduced as an alternative option to minimize land use. This kind of farming is believed to be more efficient and safe because all the produce will be grown without using pesticides and insect repellents like that of conventional farming. The environment is more controlled so there is no chance for pests and other insects to attack the plants. This type of farming also reduces the use of water which is really a huge positive factor since water is a scarce resource that we should conserve. Another advantage of this agricultural technique is that being in the urban scene, it helps in reducing the costs in transporting the produce from the farmscrapers to the markets.
Vertical farming is just on its early stages as of now. It's not yet fully utilized all over the world since it's just a fairly new concept. However, I do believe that this new farming technique would be the next big thing in the agriculture industry.
By: Michelle Q Ching
24Jul/110
The Benefits of Indoor Herb Gardening
If you are serious about gardening but do not have the space that a traditional outdoor garden takes you may be interested in indoor herb gardening. This is a great way to grow some nice herbs for our personal use when you have only limited space. There are a few different ways for people to grow their own herbs indoors so it is important to do some research on which type is best for you and the location that you live.
One of the best ways you can start indoor herb gardening is via hydroponic gardening. Hydroponics is a great option because it does not require the gardener to use any soil. A hydroponic garden is a great way to start an indoor herb garden. It is a perfect solution for people that do not have a lot of extra space. This type of garden is perfect in small apartments or in urban settings where the gardener does not have much outdoor space. One of the differences between hydroponic indoor herb gardening and traditional gardening is that it uses artificial Ultraviolet light for the plants. This means that the indoor gardener will have to install UV lights and pay for a higher electrical bill.
Another type is greenhouse gardening. Having a greenhouse is a good option if you have a lot of room. One main reason that a person would want to get a greenhouse is that if the weather in their area did not allow for a long enough growing season. A greenhouse is a great option because it uses the energy of the sun to grow the plants. The biggest and most complicated job for getting a greenhouse indoor herb garden up and running is building the actual greenhouse. Building a greenhouse is a difficult process that should be done by a professional if possible.
If you are interested in indoor herb gardening you should start looking for information on the Internet. You will want to do some research on which type of indoor gardening will be best for you. Once you decide which type of herb gardening is best for where you live you will be able to get your garden started. Take good care of your garden and you will find this a very rewarding and entertaining hobby that you will enjoy for years.
By: Terry Teeters
21Jul/110
Creating a Mini Greenhouse Indoors
The phrase mini indoor greenhouse does not have a strict definition. It used to describe any of the freestanding greenhouses created indoors. It is also used to refer the ones the ones that sometimes bigger than the closet that you walk-in to. This article will discuss in detail the smallest green houses created indoors that are used for growing small flowers or herbs.
Herb Garden - Indoor
One can nurture fresh herbs, cherry tomatoes, chives and chill peppers on the counter top of their kitchen if they can create a mini green house indoors. There would be nothing more exciting than to prepare a pasta dish or a chili con care with the help of the ingredients grown by them.
One can create a green house indoors with the help of plastic sheeting, wooden frame and seed beds. There are also a lot of kits and green houses that are readily available in the market. One can choose the right option for them based on their needs and crop plants even in a very small space.
Aeroponics and Hydroponics
If you have made your mind to create a mini green house indoors, care has to be taken so as not spill the potting soil all over your place. The best way to avoid this is to opt for the aeroponics or hydroponics green houses. Hydroponics refers to a process of cropping plants without soil and aeroponics is a process where no specific growing medium is used.
The main means of providing nutrients to plants in the hydroponics process is by water. Some of the gardeners have the roots of the plant directly submerged into a water solution that is mixed with a lot of minerals. And some others opt for an aggregate means like coconut fiber, brick shards, gravel, mineral wool.
In the aeroponics process, there is no submergence of the roots in any liquid. They are rather suspended in air and are continuously sprinkled with a solution which is mix of nutrients and water. The technique of aeroponics was developed originally by NASA. They were specifically interested in cropping plants in their zero gravity environments. However this was soon incorporated in the greenhouses created indoors of a house. They create lesser mess when compared to the hydroponics system but are relatively more expensive. An aeroponics garden for home use would typically be priced at about $150. Where as, the smallest of the hydroponics system is sold for price which is a fraction of the price for an aeroponics system.
Pests in a Hydroponics Greenhouse
The biggest advantage of cropping plants in the hydroponics way is that it attracts lesser pests as there is no usage of soil. However there are no plants that are completely immune to blights and bugs. It is advised that you do not use any pesticides that have harsh chemicals as they can get into the solution and in turn poison the plants.
One can use solutions made organically for controlling the pests. These include extracts from orange peel. They can be sprayed on the plants to get rid of pests. These herbal extracts will kill a wide range of pests and friendly bugs which prey on pests while leaving the plants untouched.
By: Martin Bullock