Hydroponics
Hydroponics is a method of growing plants without soil. This page provides more detail into how hydroponics systems work.
How does Hydroponics Work?
In hydroponics systems, the roots of germinated plants are submerged in nutrient-rich water. The function of the nutrient solution is to provide the plants with water, oxygen, and essential elements that are needed for them to grow.
Why Hydroponics?
Hydroponic systems have several advantages in comparison to traditional plant growth methods that require soil. To name a few:
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Hydroponics uses significantly less water than traditional methods — This may sound counterintuitive as hydroponics relies solely on water to grow plants. However, hydroponics systems are able to reuse the water in the system for a longer period of time. On the contrary, other plant growth methods often require water to run off and drain to the environment.
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Hydroponics requires less space than traditional methods — Given that there is no soil in the system, which is quite bulky, hydroponics systems have a significantly smaller footprint in comparison to traditional methods.
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Hydroponics systems have a faster growth rate than traditional methods — Hydroponics systems grow significantly faster than traditional plant growth methods because nutrients are more readily available for the plant to absorb.
Maintaining a Hydroponics System
While growing plants hydroponically have several advantages, it is not exactly easy to grow plants hydroponically. There are a lot of factors that go into maintaining a hydroponics system, some of which are discussed below.​
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Potential of Hydrogen (pH)
Maintaining the pH in a hydroponics system is extremely important because it directly affects the health of the plant. This is because the plants cannot absorb nutrients when the pH is too high or too low. Generally, hydroponically grown crops requires a pH between 5.5 and 6. However, this may vary based on the crop that is being grown.
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Electrical Conductivity (EC)
Another important factor that affects the health of a hydroponics system is the electrical conductivity (EC). EC provides a measure of the quantity of nutrients available in the nutrient solution. Similar to pH, if the EC is too high or too low, it can impact the quality of the yield and the growth rate of the plant.