What is Hydroponics?

By Belinda Darling

Hydroponics is the science of growing plants without soil. Hydroponic growing is considered by many to be a new technique. However, one of its most primitive forms, namely growing plants on rafts in rivers, has been practiced for hundreds of years. 

Possibly the earliest recorded use of hydroponics, although it was certainly not called that at the time, was in ancient Babylon, where plants were grown in a steady trickle of water without the presence of any soil. 

Essentially hydroponics is the growing of plants in aerated water, containing the necessary nutrients, in a well-lit environment. As long as plants have sufficient nutrients, oxygen, water and light they can grow optimally. This means that they do not require soil unless it is to anchor the plant. 

In most cases inert hydroponic media are used. These do not contain nutrients but the substances they are made of can aid and improve water aeration and nutrient distribution. There are other ways plants can be support, such as by trellising. 

In the past eighty years or so, our knowledge and understanding of plants and their physiology have grown exponentially. As horticulturalist become more aware of the need of plants and the conditions required for efficient germination, growth, flowering and fruiting, the science of hydroponic growing has become ever more refined and sophisticated.

There are other reasons for the increased interest in this plant production technique, including the impact that soil-borne pests and diseases have on commercial crops, the desire of growers to reduce the hard physical labour involved in soil growing, the worldwide depletion of fertile soils, and the attractive financial prospect of increasing crop yields while reducing costs. 

A major factor underlying hydroponic development is the unreliability of soil, which is deficient in consistency in the following areas: temperature, moisture retention capability, nutrient content, root aeration and, of course, its ability to harbour pests and diseases. 

As an alternative to soil, hydroponic growing aims to provide conditions that are optimally favourable to the roots. When roots do their jobs properly, then plant growth, flowering and fruiting increase. As these are the profit generating areas of plant cultivation, it is easy to see why so many commercial growers have turned away from soil cultivation to hydroponics. Soil-free techniques allow crop producers and gardeners alike to exercise control over what happens to the plant, so that tomatoes, for instance, produce heavy fruit rather than lots of leaves, and lettuces provide a solid leaf mass rather than going to seed. 

There is more to hydroponic growing, however, than simply the absence of soil. The techniques involved remove plant-growing from the uncertainties of soils, climate and season into the realms of skill, expertise and control. Nonetheless there are still many agriculturalists and commercial growers who feel that hydroponics is not for them. 

In reality, hydroponic growing is governed by much the same rules and growing in soil as the physical growing conditions, nutrients, water, aeration and lighting requirements are virtually identical. Hydroponics merely attempts to provide these in a more balanced way in a controlled environment.

Our dedicated team are working with agricultural, horticultural and hydroponic enterprises to further develop our growing range of hydroponic nutrients. Nutrifield supplies the latest range of hydroponics nutrients designed for growth & harvest. Contact Nutrifield today.

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Topics: Gardening, Home and Garden | Comments Off

Tags: hydroponic, hydroponics

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