Hydroponic gardening, or growing plants without soil, has been around for thousands of years. It’s only since the 1930s, however, that this form of agriculture has come into widespread use among home gardeners. Hydroponic gardens can be very elaborate, but it’s possible to build a simple yet effective “soil-less garden” with just a few basic materials. A range of hydroponic kits are available for purchase. While several methods of hydroponic gardening exist, they all use the same fundamental equipment and supplies.
Regardless of the method used, all hydroponic gardens require some type of container or tank to hold the solution that provides nutrients to the plants. Many homemade hydroponic gardens use a large storage container, water trough or even a kiddie pool for a tank. The material used to make the tank isn’t important as long as it is watertight and blocks out most of the light. A good rule of thumb is to have a container that is between 6 and 18 inches deep and 2 to 3 feet across.
Supporting Platform/Plant Bed
A platform or plant bed is necessary to support the plants as they grow. Ideally, it should be large enough to completely cover the container. For water-culture systems where the roots grow directly in the water, the plants are placed in holes in the platform and held in place by cotton or similar material packed around the stem. Homemade systems often use a thick piece of Styrofoam or the lid of the storage container as the platform. For aggregate-culture systems, the plants are placed in a nonsoil growing media, also known as aggregate or litter. The aggregate can be held in individual mesh containers that are placed in the supporting platform, or the platform can be a trough with a porous bottom that is filled with aggregate. The nutrient solution is applied to the aggregate so it can come in contact with the roots.
A wide variety of materials can be used as hydroponic aggregate. Options include sand, gravel, vermiculite, wood shavings, peat moss, perlite and a fibrous stone material known as rockwool. The key is that it be inert, providing no nutrients to the plant. It should also be sturdy enough to adequately support the plants as they grow and be at least 3 inches in depth.
All of the nutrients needed for a plant to grow in a hydroponic system must be supplied through the nutrient solution. Among the nutrients that need to be present in the solution are nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, iron and copper. Given the wide commercial availability of premixed nutrient solutions, it is easier and generally more effective to use these than to try to prepare homemade solutions.
In addition to nutrients, plants need to draw oxygen into their roots to survive. That means some method of aeration is necessary to make sure there is sufficient oxygen in the nutrient solution. For smaller gardens, this can be done by emptying and refilling the container with solution. Larger systems often use an air bubbler, similar to those found in aquariums, to keep the nutrient solution oxygenated.
Hydroponic gardens can be grown indoors or outside. Because plants, especially vegetables, need plenty of light to thrive, an artificial light source may be needed for an indoor garden. Fluorescent or incandescent bulbs can be used as long as they provide a sufficient amount of light from the red and blue range of the visible light spectrum.
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