Guide to Hydroponic Vegetable Gardening

What is Hydroponics?

Hydroponics  by definition means "water-working.” In practical use, it means growing plants in a water and nutrient solution - without soil. Hydroponics allows a gardener to grow plants in a more efficient and productive manner with less labor and time required.

The science of hydroponics shows that soil isn’t required for plant growth, only the minerals  and nutrients  contained in soil  are necessary. Soil is simply the holder of the nutrients: a place where the plant roots traditionally live and a base of support for the plant structure.  In hydroponics, the gardener provides the exact nutrients a plant needs to develop and grow, and the nutrients are fed directly at the root base. 

Virtually any plant will grow hydroponically, but some will do better than others. Hydroponic growing is ideal for fruit bearing crops such as tomatoes,  cucumbers  and peppers ; and leafy crops like lettuce,  herbs  and flowering plants.  Most hobby hydroponic gardeners plant crops similar to what they would grow in a soil garden.  Commercial hydroponic growers often combine hydroponic technology with a controlled environment to achieve the highest quality produce.

Advantages

• Most hobby hydroponic gardens are less work than soil gardens because you do not have soil to till  or weeds to pull.
• By eliminating the soil in a garden, you eliminate all soil borne disease. A hydroponic garden uses a fraction of the water that a soil garden does because no water is wasted or consumed by weeds.
• In hydroponics, plant spacing can be intensive, allowing you to grow more plants in a given space than soil-grown produce.
• A small hydroponic garden can be set up almost anywhere.
• By providing the exact nutrients your plants need, they will grow more rapidly and produce bigger yields.
• It has been proven in studies that hydroponic produce is higher in nutritional value than field-grown crops.
• Hydroponic produce generally tastes better than field-grown produce.
• If you are growing indoors or in a greenhouse,  the ambient temperature, humidity and light levels can all be controlled, thereby allowing year-round growth.

Related Guides

Outdoor and Garden Products Buying Guide	Gardening Tips Guide	Gardening Resource Page	Theme Gardens Guide	Garden Tools Guide

External Links

• Wikipedia - A basic article on hydroponics.
• Hydroponics Online - Tutorials and an FAQ for the hydroponic gardener.
• Virginia Tech - A very informative guide for the home gardener.
• Hydroponic Vegetable Gardening - Hydroponic vegetable gardening tips and tricks.
• Hydroponics Dictionary - A guide to hydroponics.