Elementary Idea of Hydroponics: Process, Uses

Hydroponics: It is a technique for growing plants in a nutrient solution. It is also called soilless farming or hydroponic farming.

A German botanist, Julius von Sachs, established for the first time in 1860 that plants could be grown to maturity in a prescribed nutrient solution without soil. Since then, a variety of improvised methods have been used to try to figure out which minerals are required by plants. All of these technologies involve growing plants in a specified mineral solution that is free of soil. Purified water and mineral nutrition salts are required for these procedures. 

A mineral solution suited for plant growth was created after a series of tests in which the roots of the plants were immersed in nutrient solutions and an element was added, substituted, withdrawn, or provided in varying concentrations. Using this method, essential components were identified and their deficiency symptoms were discovered. With great success, hydroponics has been used to commercially grow vegetables like  seedless cucumbers, tomatoes, and lettuce. It is critical to emphasize that the nutrient solutions be appropriately aerated in order to achieve optimal growth.

Why hydroponics:

Growers can produce food anywhere in the world, at any time of year, and with fewer resources, resulting in higher yields, because of hydroponics. Plants spend more time growing upward and less time and energy establishing vast root systems to look for nourishment since their roots are bathed in all the nutrients they require.

Growth rates vary depending on the type of system and level of care provided, but hydro plants can mature up to 25% faster than plants grown in soil, with higher crop yields to boot.

You’ll be able to recreate your success without being constantly given curveballs once you’ve discovered the right combination of light, pH balance, and nutrients.

Hydroponic fertilizer: Fish waste, duck manure, purchased chemical fertilizers and artificial nutrient solutions are some of the sources of nutrients used in hydroponic systems.

Hydroponic grow system: 

There are a variety of techniques to create hydroponic systems. 

The essential components in these hydroponics are:

Freshwater: Freshwater that is not contaminated. We’re talking about highly filtered water with a pH balance. Water with a pH of 6–6.5 is suitable for most plants. A   hydroponic store can help to regulate the acidity of your water.

Oxygen: Roots can receive the oxygen they require for respiration from pockets of air in the soil in growing crops. You’ll either need to leave space between the base of your plant and the water reservoir, or you’ll need to oxygenate your container (like bubbles in a fish tank), which you can do by purchasing an air stone or adding an air pump, depending on your hydroponic system.

Root Support: Even if you don’t have any soil, your plant’s roots still need something to grab onto. Vermiculite, perlite, peat moss, coconut fibre, and rockwool are all common materials. Avoid materials that may compact (such as sand) or that do not retain moisture.

Nutrients: To stay healthy and productive, your plant will require a lot of magnesium, phosphorus, calcium, and other nutrients, much like plants in the ground require good soil and fertilizer. This “plant food” must be added in the water that your plants are fed when they are grown without soil. 

Light: You may need to invest in specific lighting if you’re growing your plants indoors. Each type of plant will have various requirements for the quantity of light it requires and where the lights should be placed (typically referred to as Daily Light Integral or DLI).

Aeroponics is a hydroponic technique in which roots are kept in an atmosphere saturated with small drops (a mist or aerosol) of nutritional solution on a continuous or periodic basis. The process involves growing plants with their roots hanging in a deep air or growth chamber, with the roots being wetted with a thin mist of atomized nutrients on a regular basis. Aeroponics’ main benefit is excellent aeration.

Propagation, seed germination, seed potato production, tomato production, leaf crops, and micro-greens have all been commercially successful using aeroponic techniques. Aeroponics has been used as an alternative to water-intensive hydroponic systems around the world. The fact that 1 kilogramme (2.2 lb) of water can only retain 8 milligrammes (0.12 gr) of air, regardless of whether aerators are used or not, is a restriction of hydroponics.