Do you garden? Perhaps you have heard of hydroponics. Hydroponics, literally, means “working water.” Hydroponics is the art and discipline of gardening without soil. That’s right, you don’t use soil when you grow plants hydroponically. Contrary to popular mythology, hydroponics is not a new technology. It goes back at least as far as ancient Egypt, when the pharaohs partook of fruits and vegetables grown hydroponically. Indeed, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world—the Hanging Gardens—was probably a hydroponic garden.
Hydroponics is in no way unnatural or artificial. Plants require a few basics to grow normally. Hydroponics, just like growing plants in soil, makes plants grow by supplying them with what they need, when they need it. There is no genetic mutation involved in growing plants hydroponically whatsoever. There are no mystery wonder chemicals tricking the plants into thriving either.
Furthermore, hydroponics is Earth-friendly; more so than conventional gardening could ever be. Hydroponics, in spite of growing plants in water, actually uses less water than conventional, soil-based gardening—a lot less. In fact, Hydroponics needs somewhere between 70 and 90 percent less water than gardening in soil, and no fertilizer is wasted and lost to soil runoff. These aspects, water conservation and non-pollution of lakes and streams, are major upsides in terms of growing crops in an eco-friendly manner.
Hydroponics is an old technology, not rocket science. While it can be incredibly sophisticated, and high tech, and incorporate computers and all sorts of high tech glamour toys, it can also be simple and straightforward. Remember, the Egyptians didn’t have all that. You can grow a plant hydroponically in a single hand-watered bucket of sawdust.
Hydroponics doesn’t have to be expensive, either. It could be—if you intend to grow food hydroponically in the desert, or in outer space. However, if you want to grow plants hydroponically in a less exotic setting, it’s pretty straightforward and not expensive at all. It’s practical, easy and affordable. In fact, it is every bit as easy and affordable as the average hobby garden.
Hydroponics is used for mare widely than you may at first realize. It is used in countries where the climate isn’t great for growing crops, or where the soil is poor, or where the soil is depleted. The majority of greenhouses are in fact hydroponic. The fact that most greenhouses are hydroponic seems to convince people that hydroponics have to be used indoors, but this isn’t the case at all. The main advantage of growing indoors is that by using growth lights, you control the seasons, not mother nature. You can make the growing season last all year long.
The idea that hydroponics produces super-plants is sheer mythology. Hydroponics produces the same kind of plants as any other method that produces healthy plants at their optimum growth. Their genes haven’t changed. That said, it is easier to get a plant to grow to its full potential in a hydroponic garden than in soil, because the soil’s makeup can have a huge influence on the plant’s growth. With hydroponics, the gardener is in full control.
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