What is Hydroponics?

Hydroponics basically means working water, “hydro” means “water” and “ponics” means “labor”.

Believe it or not, Hydroponics has been around for thousands of years. The ancient Romans used it, and even the Babylonians used it in their ‘Hanging Gardens of Babylon‘. Additionally, ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, dated several hundred years B.C. describe how they had grown plants in water.

Throughout the last century, scientists and horticulturists spent years of research determining which elements and their combination affect plant growth, inadvertently, they discovered the first hydroponics formulas. This allowed for greater control over plant nutrition and therefore increased production.

Hydroponics growing has been used vastly, from food production for World War II soldiers in the Pacific, to current research by NASA (National Aeronautical Space Agency).

The physiological requirements of plants can be met without the use of soil or natural sunlight. Plants are rooted (and thus supported) in an inert medium and nutrition is provided by water soluble mineral elements.
Because all of the plants needs are met in an ideal environment, plants grow larger, healthier, and produce better tasting vegetables. It is an ideal environment because the grower is able to control most variables, from plant food, to how much water they receive.

Hydroponic Nutrients

Fertilizer vs. Hydroponic Nutrients In order to begin a discussion on hydroponic nutrients, it’s important to first distinguish the difference between the terms fertilizer and hydroponic nutrient. Fertilizer is intended to feed the microorganisms in the soil, such as beneficial bacteria and fungi.  All of the living components in the soil must READ MORE Hydroponics, Nutrients Related Article

EC vs TDS

A quick answer to why we should use EC instead of TDS The debate over EC and TDS has been an ongoing issue for a long time. These two measurements are used to determine the strength of hydroponic solution. Although they are widely used they should only be used as a READ MORE Hydroponics, Nutrients Related Article

Organic Does Not Mean “No Pesticides”

Many people believe that organic produce does not contain pesticides, which is a common misconception.  In order to become certified organic, 95% of the chemicals a farm uses must be certified organic.  This means that 5% of the pesticides, fertilizer, or herbicides may be synthetic!  Organic farmers can use as READ MORE Hydroponics Related Article

How Plants Uptake Nutrients

Nutrients play an important role in many plant processes. Nitrogen, for example, is a component of both amino acids (the building blocks of protein) and chlorophyll (the green pigment present in all plants). Phosphorous is essential to the formation of a plant’s DNA and RNA, and potassium is crucial to READ MORE Hydroponics, Nutrients Related Article

What is Aquaponics

Welcome back!  Let’s keep discussing the different categories of hydroponics.  If you haven’t read our Foundation of Hydroponics article, check it out first, then meet back here.  Just to recap, the first category that is used to classify hydroponic systems is called the Class of Hydroponics, and it describes how READ MORE Hydroponics Related Article