Did you know you can grow vegetables without soil? It’s called Hydroponics and it’s becoming more and more popular. In fact, it’s making it possible for homeowners who don’t have a garden or even soil to grow almost any vegetable right at home.
In principle, all kinds of plants such as tomato, melon, strawberries, peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, basil, cilantro, parsley, onion and garlic and even the root vegetables such as the potato can be grown hydroponically. Our show features water culture, aggregate, and continuous flow systems.
Featured Expert:
Alfredo Rodriguez Delfin, Professor of Biology, Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, Lima, Peru. Contact professor Delfin at delfin@lamolina.edu.pe
Featured Guest:
Cleofe Quispe, President of FEPOMUVES
Featured Guest:
Ester Florez, Assistant
Click on a topic below to view additional information.
What Is Hydroponics?
Home Hydroponics defines the method as the cultivation of plants in water. Research has since determined that many different aggregates or media will support plant growth; therefore, the definition of hydroponics has been broadened to read "the cultivation of plants without soil." Find out how to set up a home system.
One of the greatest advantages of hydroponics is that one can grow vegetables where it would not be possible to do so with traditional agriculture. For instance, it’s difficult to grow plants in sandy soil, soil with bad drainage, salty soils, or on the moon.
A second advantage is that one can produce more plants per square meter. For instance, if I get 8 lettuces per square meter of soil, I can get 25 lettuces per square meter with a hydroponic system.
Third, the time of harvest is much faster as well due to the efficiency of nutrition in a hydroponics system.
Hydroponic production lists the advantages and disadvantages of growing vegetables hydroponically. Although oriented toward commercial production, it describes the basics of hydroponics : the plants, growth medium, water & nutrients.
Hydroponics for home gardeners. It is important that the beginner keep in mind that hydroponics is not the perfect solution to all gardening woes. There are pros and cons to both traditional soil-based gardening and hydroponics. One major disadvantage of hydroponics is the commitment of time and energy necessary for success. Soilless gardening is much more exacting than traditional gardening and may overwhelm the novice gardener if too complex a system is implemented.
Hydroponics discusses the method scientifically giving a history as well as why it may be difficult to sustain.
Setting Up The Hydroponic System
For most gardeners, a small home-scale system will be adequate to produce all the lettuce and strawberries you want.
Home Hydroponics talks about the plant requirements and nutrient solution. There are diagrams to give ideas on how to set up a home system.
Hydroponics as a Hobby discusses 4 methods of hydroponics: water culture, aggregate culture, aeroponics, and continuous flow systems.
Hydroponics as a Hobby gives the requirements for starting a soilless system.
By far the easiest hydroponic systems to use are the wick and reservoir systems. These are referred to as Passive Hydroponic methods, because they require no water distribution system on an active scale (pump, drain, flow meter and path).
Grow your own vegetables without soil is a guide for use by hobby hydroponics enthusiasts only. Commercial production of vegetables using soilless culture is a capital-intensive, complicated, and high management- intensive enterprise.
This site provides practical, accurate information on growing hydroponic tomatoes
Hydroponic systems has diagrams and instructions for setting up a system.
This site has articles on all the aspects of hydroponics as well as a directory for specific information.
This site teaches how to build an 11 plant hydroponics garden.
On this site you can learn about all the equipment and materials needed to set up a system.
Activity #3 Hydroponics. At this site, instructions are found for students to set up a hydroponic system using simple materials.
At the Growing Edge, find out all the basics of hydroponics.
Water Culture System
Hydroponics as a hobby says that in the water-culture method, plants are supplied with mineral nutrients directly from a water solution. The chief advantage of this method over aggregate culture is that a large volume of solution is always in contact with the root system, providing an adequate water and nutrient supply. The major disadvantages are the difficulties of providing an air supply (oxygen) for the plant roots and proper support and root anchorage for the plants. Find out how to get a water system started.
Home Hydroponics gives a description of water culture, aeroponics, and aggregate systems.
Aggregate System
The other system is an aggregate system, where we use a growing medium supplemented with a water solution. We can grow in containers, in columns, or in a drip system. And you can take advantage of any part of a building that receives natural sunlight. For instance a rooftop or a terrace, or a patio can be adapted to hydroponics as long as there is enough light.
Growing media specifically discusses using an aggregate in the hydroponic system.
The nitty gritty of plant media talks about aggregate systems in hydroponics and how the aggregate must have several characteristics in order to allow growth.
Hydroponics Examples
Professor Alfredo Rodriguez Delfin’s work at the Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina is found on this website.
This site shows successful examples of cucumbers and lettuce grown at the CuisinArt Hydroponic Farm in Anguilla, BWI.
At this site see the roof gardens where lettuce is successfully grown.
Growing lettuce in gravel demonstrates a great way to use hydroponics.
At the Research Station in Kearneysville, West Virginia, they are using hydroponics to grow strawberries without soil and even more, without pesticides.
Exploring Classroom hydroponics find out how school-age children are learning how to grow vegetables.
