Hydroponics Gardening:Food Growing for All

Hydroponics gardening is great for anyone who wants to do some gardening but may not have the space or a lot of experience.

Hydroponics gardens are different from regular gardens in that there isn't any soil involved, which makes them great for indoors. The word begins with hydro for a reason! Hydroponics gardening isn't anything new, either, as it's been around since as early as 600 BC. The other wonderful thing about hydroponics gardens is that they can be grown anywhere. For example, NASA uses indoor hydroponics gardening for growing produce during lengthy missions. Lettuce is also being grown on U.S. submarines.

To get started with hydroponics gardening, you will need to germinate seeds just as you would for any other type of garden. Then you choose a growing medium. The medium can be anything from composted bark to peat moss to sand to nutrient-enriched water. You can also purchase kits that have everything you need to get your hydroponics gardening started—and growing. For the beginner, this is probably the best way to go, as you can get everything you need along with expert advice.

The benefits of gardens grown using the hydroponics gardening method are many. They allow you to grow your produce organically, without harmful pesticides or fertilizers. And since water is re-circulated in a specialized system, you also conserve water. This is great news for people who live in drought-stricken areas or in places where water is scarce. Even in these places hydroponics gardening is possible.

Hydroponics gardening is also very low-maintenance. Because the produce is grown in water, you don't have to do any digging. Even better, with these gardens, there's no weeding involved either. Plants grow faster, too. Thirty to forty days from seed to fruit or flower is average. This is 30-50% quicker than plants grown in soil.

Also, hydroponics gardening makes it possible to grow produce year-round. This means you can enjoy fresh vegetables and fruit anytime of the year without paying outrageous prices for them. Plus, since there's really no telling just how fresh the produce is in your local market, you'll never have to guess about freshness and purity again. You'll know because you grew it yourself under circumstances you control.

This is an important advantage that hydroponics gardening has over traditional gardens. When you grow plants in soil, even under the best of circumstances, you don't know for certain that your plants are truly getting the nutrients vital for them to grow. In gardens grown hydroponically, you know your plants are getting the very best nutrition right at their root system. This not only ensures the highest quality possible, but it also takes the guesswork out of your hydroponics gardening.