Tuesday, April 13, 2021
TechMoran
  • Startups
  • Reviews
  • Insider
    • Obituaries
  • Business
  • Women
  • Blockchain
  • Columnists
  • Hacks & Facts
    • How To
  • Editions
    • US Edition
    • India Edition
    • MENA Edition
    • Asia Edition
    • Europe Edition
    • International Edition
  • Classifieds
No Result
View All Result
TechMoran
">
Home How To

A Beginner’s Guide to Hydroponic Gardening

Intizar Ali by Intizar Ali
6 months ago
in How To
15 min read
0

Hydroponic systems allow gardeners an unprecedented amount of control over their plants’ environments, making it easier to produce large, luscious specimens at home. Newcomers to hydroponic gardening often find themselves feeling overwhelmed by the amount of work that goes into setting up new systems and learning how to maintain them, but they shouldn’t.

Hydroponic growing is just like anything else. It takes some time and practice to get the basics down, but once newcomers have gotten their toes wet, they’ll find that maintaining a hydroponic garden is no harder than growing plants outdoors in soil. Read on to find out how to get started.

The Basics: How It Works

In nature, most plants grow in soil. It isn’t the soil, itself, that supports the plants, though. Their roots pull nutrients and water from this medium, but the soil itself is superfluous.

In a hydroponic system, the plants extend their roots into a carefully tailored nutrient solution. They get all the water, macronutrients, and micronutrients required to sustain healthy, vibrant growth without the risks of soil-borne illnesses and pests.

Since up taking nutrients directly from a hydroponic solution is more efficient and growers can choose exactly which nutrients to feed their plants and when, the plants can also grow larger and perform better over the course of their lifecycles. Those who have never worked with hydroponic systems can find tips from Agron for how to develop feeding schedules and use feed charts to maximize their plants’ potential.

What’s Involved?

There are several types of hydroponic systems. They include wick systems, deep water culture, the nutrient film technique, ebb and flow systems, drip systems, and aeroponics. Each has its own unique set of benefits and drawbacks, but all of these systems have a few things in common. Here’s what’s required to start a hydroponic grow:

  •  Grow chambers
  • A reservoir
  • Submersible pumps
  • Delivery tubes
  • An aeration system
  • Grow lights
  • V Growing media
  • Nutrient solutions
  • Water
  • Plants
READ  6 Top Challenges Newbie Marketers Encounter on Instagram

Once indoor growers have all these basic system components in place, they’ll be ready to start gardening at any time of year. Most indoor growers eventually outfit their greenhouses or grow rooms with intake and exhaust fans, air filters, and other equipment to support optimal air quality, as well.

Related posts

Wondershare Video Repair Tool Renamed Wondershare Repairit After Major Update

Best Video Repair Tool Wondershare Repairit

April 12, 2021
0

5 Ways Payroll Software Saves Your Time

April 9, 2021
0

How to Download Songs from Soundcloud

April 9, 2021
0

What to Consider When Choosing a Lawyer

April 9, 2021
0

How to screenshot on Snapchat without Notifying someone?

April 8, 2021
0
Image Source: Freepik

7 Best Video Editors for Mac 

April 8, 2021
0

Choosing the Right Growing Media

A growing medium is any material that provides plants’ roots with oxygen, moisture, and nutrients. There are tons of options out there, but all good growing media have a few things in common. They’re lightweight, have good aeration, are reusable, and are pH neutral.

Coconut Coir

Coconut coir, also referred to as coco coir or coco peat, is an organic growing media made from the husks of coconuts. It holds both air and water well, is a renewable resource, and is 100% organic. Most growers mix it with other media to improve drainage, though, and it must be replaced after several uses.

Rockwool

Rockwool is a man-made material composed of bundles of filament fibers. It’s a versatile media that holds water well, has good oxygen retention, and can be used as a stand-alone growing media for most hydroponic systems. It’s not pH neutral, though, so novice growers will have to learn how to change the pH before using it.

READ  9 Reasons Behind Your Unsharp Photos

Expanded Clay Pellets

These small, marble-shaped pellets are made by heating clay until it expands. They have excellent oxygen retention but poor water retention capacity. Most growers use them in conjunction with other media like coco coir. Natural, mined materials like vermiculite and Perlite also need to be mixed with other media.

Let There Be Light

Since most hydroponic systems are set up indoors, gardeners will need to provide the plants with artificial light. The best products are designed to mimic natural sunlight by providing a full spectrum of light. More advanced options also come with timers, adjustable light spectra, and other features.

The price points vary significantly between different types of lights. Those who are starting hydroponic gardens for the first time on a budget may prefer to go for CFLs since they’re less expensive, but long-spectrum LEDs are generally considered the best option.

Plant Nutrients

All plants need five things to survive: oxygen, carbon dioxide, light, water, and nutrients. They get the oxygen and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, the lights from artificial lighting, and the water from the reservoir. That still leaves nutrients, though.

Growers can add nutrients directly to the water to create hydroponic solutions. Each plant species has slightly different needs when it comes to nutrient levels, but they all require some amount of the key macronutrients and most micronutrients to grow and thrive.

Key Macronutrients

The macronutrients are the ones plants need in large quantities. Here’s what they need:

  •  Nitrogen (N) for vegetative growth and chlorophyll synthesis
  • Phosphorus (P) to aid in the formation of seeds, roots, flowers, and fruits
  • Potassium (K) to help synthesize sugar, starches, and carbohydrates
  • Calcium (Ca) for cell formation and development
  • Magnesium (Mg) for chlorophyll production
  • Sulfur (S) for amino acid synthesis
READ  A Guide to Creating a Cybersecurity Plan for Your Business

Key Micronutrients

Plants don’t use micronutrients in large quantities, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t essential for healthy growth. Here are the most important micronutrients:

  •  Zinc (Zn)
  • Manganese (Mn)
  • Iron (Fe)
  • Boron (Bo)

Look for nutrient solutions that contain trace amounts of these key micronutrients. It’s also important to keep an eye out for nutrient deficiencies and excesses. Growers can correct these as they come up if they know what to look for.

The Bottom Line

Plants grown in hydroponic setups have all the same requirements as those grown outdoors in soil-based gardens. Gardeners may have to put in a little extra effort to make sure their plants’ needs are met, but the tradeoffs are worth it. Hydroponic gardens can produce food and flowers year-round and once growers get a feel for their systems they can expect healthy plants and heavy yields. The only way to learn is through experience, so don’t be afraid to get those hands dirty. Buy the supplies and get started setting up a new hydroponic garden as soon as possible.

Readers 1,272

Share

  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Tags: Growing MediaHydroponic Gardeningillnesses and pests
Intizar Ali

Intizar Ali

Contact us at [email protected]

Related Posts

Wondershare Video Repair Tool Renamed Wondershare Repairit After Major Update
Hacks & Facts

Best Video Repair Tool Wondershare Repairit

April 12, 2021
0
Hacks & Facts

5 Ways Payroll Software Saves Your Time

April 9, 2021
0
How To

How to Download Songs from Soundcloud

April 9, 2021
0
Hacks & Facts

What to Consider When Choosing a Lawyer

April 9, 2021
0
How To

How to screenshot on Snapchat without Notifying someone?

April 8, 2021
0
Image Source: Freepik
Hacks & Facts

7 Best Video Editors for Mac 

April 8, 2021
0
Hacks & Facts

Is The Impact Of Instagram Likes Predictable? The Answer’s Here

April 8, 2021
0
How To

How to block a lost/stolen credit debit card

April 8, 2021
0
How To

How to Make Presentations More Interactive

April 7, 2021
0

ADVERTISEMENT

Join our Mailing List

Loading

Recent Posts

Nigeria’s Appzone raises $10mn to build out a financial operating system for Africa  

April 12, 2021
Efayomi

The fintech-focused VC space in Africa is fairly small, here is how Flourish Ventures is changing that

April 12, 2021

EnableMe, a social network for people with disabilities launches in Kenya

April 12, 2021
Wondershare Video Repair Tool Renamed Wondershare Repairit After Major Update

Best Video Repair Tool Wondershare Repairit

April 12, 2021

Strathmore University partners Ukrainian firm to train blockchain developers

April 12, 2021
">
">

Follow Us

">

There are many sites out there focused on blowing off some steam, from funny entertainment to thrilling experiences like playing online, in some cases online gaming could grant you the chance to win extra money. We came across rocketpot.io while browsing for a good btc casino online and it left us a very good impression with their wide variety of games and crypto offering.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

© 2019 Moran Media Group - All rights reserved TechMoran.

No Result
View All Result
  • Startups
  • Reviews
  • Insider
    • Obituaries
  • Business
  • Women
  • Blockchain
  • Columnists
  • Hacks & Facts
    • How To
  • Editions
    • US Edition
    • India Edition
    • MENA Edition
    • Asia Edition
    • Europe Edition
    • International Edition
  • Classifieds

© 2019 Moran Media Group - All rights reserved TechMoran.

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Fill the forms bellow to register

*By registering into our website, you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.
%d bloggers like this: