Some of the Basics of Hydroponic Gardening

From the words "hydro," which means water, and "ponos," which means labor¹, Hydroponic Gardening, quite simply explained, is growing plants using water; it is gardening without soil. In some cases, other material is used in place of soil, such as gravel, sawdust, clay, and sand. While this notion might seem novel, hydroponic gardening has been practiced in ancient times, dating as far back as 1600 AD, according to Keith Roberto, author of How-To Hydroponics². It is very interesting to note that the hanging gardens of Babylon and the floating gardens of the Mexican Aztecs utilize hydroponic gardening, as Roberto writes in his book. Over the years, the effectiveness and productivity of systems for hydroponic gardening have advanced with technology and more research. While hydroponic gardens can have very simple to very complex systems, the main component of any hydroponic garden is nutrient-rich water circulating within a closed and controlled sytem and enriching the plants in the system. This nutrient-rich water, or nutrient solution as it is commonly called, can be purchased from suppliers. As author Keith Roberto states, "Hydroponics [Hydroponic Gardening] is all about enriching water with the very same nutritive salts found in nature." With this premise, water and its qualities (such as its mineral content) are the primary considerations for someone who wants to maintain a hydroponic garden.

Shane Smith outlines a few advantages and disadvantages of hydroponic gardening in her book, Greenhouse Gardener's Companion: Growing Food and Flowers in Your Garden or Sunspace³. Under advantages, she notes the minimal space a gardener can work with using a hydroponic system, while a disadvantage is the equipment you would need to maintain such a space. More information can be found on her web site. For environmentalist gardeners, hydroponic gardening, although the name might imply the excessive use of water, actually conserves water, leading Keith Roberto to naming it as "Earth Friendly Gardening." Hydroponic gardening also yields very healthy crops since the water that is being fed to the plants is enriched with nutrients that the plants need for their growth and development.

Another great resource that Roberto cites in his book is the collaborative project undertaken by the University of Arizona's Environmental Research Laboratory and Walt Disney, "Listen to the Land" and "Tomorrow's Harvest." Both can be found at the Epcot Center in Florida.

A fantastic example of how hydroponics is used today is NASA's hydroponic farming for astronauts in outerspace. As discussed in Anna Heiney's article, hydroponic farming is would allow astronauts who are in long missions out in space to grow their own food and eat fresh vegetables and fruits.

Sources:

¹Wikipedia Article on Hydroponics: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroponics.

²Roberto, Keith. How-To Hydroponics, Fourth Edition. The Futuregarfden Press, Farmingdale, New York.

³Smith, Shane. Greenhouse Gardener's Companion: Growing food and flowers in your garden and sunpace. Fulcrum Publishing, Golden, Colorado.