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In hydroponic gardens, soil is not a necessity. In fact, it is an anomaly since the plants derive their nutrients from an enriched water source.

Around Since Ancient Times

Both China’s floating gardens and Babylon’s Hanging Gardens used hydroponics. There are many different kinds, including flow, ebb and drip systems.

However, hydroponics has some complexity, so you should have a good understanding before jumping in.

Basics About Hydroponics

For clarity, let’s define hydroponics. “Hydro” is a Greek word meaning “water,” and “ponics” is another Greek word meaning “labor.” So water labor is an apt name, because it is the water that works to supply the plants with their life force – nutrition – instead of the soil.

A garden that uses hydroponics can either have all-natural or chemical ingredients to nurturing. The form of this nutrition directly determines plant health.

Containers and pots of all types are an integral part of hydroponics. You can find just about any size, color or design in gardening stores.

Keep in mind that the plant roots still need an anchor; for this reason, containers made of shale, Hydroton or Rockwool tend to work very well. In fact, Rockwool is something you can use in any type of hydroponics system, but shale is more effective for flow and ebb systems.

Three Systems: Flow, Ebb and Drip

With the flow and ebb systems, your containers automatically flood with water to give your plants their nutrients, and afterward it drains back out. Drip systems use a constant drip to accomplish the same goal – nutrition.

Many people have noticed that hydroponics creates a superior yield with vegetables and fruits, which helps to explain its bourgeoning popularity. The effectiveness is not time-of-year dependent. Rather, how well your crop produces depends solely on your skill at designing your hydroponic garden.

Before You Start

Tools and knowledge will help you become well-prepared for the task of creating a hydroponic garden. In fact, think of knowledge as your most important tool. As with anything, you want to make this process as easy as possible, freeing the bulk of your time for the actually gardening tasks that await you.

Once built, choosing what to grow depends largely where you live and the type of hydroponic garden you’ve designed.

If you decide to try hydroponics, though there are some complexities, it’s still really not that hard. But it does require taking your time to put it together properly so your garden realizes the great results you’re expecting.