Hydroponic Systems

What is hydroponics and what are hydroponic systems?

Hydroponics is popular in home gardening and commercial growing and is the main method or system for cultivating various types of plants and food crops around the world. There are quite a few different ways to grow in a hydroponic system and many variations, however they all use a nutrient water solution instead of traditional soil as a growing medium or “anchor” for the roots. The origin of the word hydroponics comes from Latin and breaks down to “growing without soil”. In a hydroponic system the plants are usually growing in a soilless medium like clay granules, Perlite or Vermiculite, and so on, or they are simply grown with the plants roots hanging or dangling in the air itself and then exposed to the nutrient solution in one of many ways. Usually, the nutrient solution is either passed through the roots or misted directly onto the roots of your plants, it all depends on what kind of hydroponic system you choose to grow with.

Common Hydroponic Systems and Methods:

Aeroponics – semi-hydroponic system:
When it comes to the very latest in high-tech gardening whether in the home or in a greenhouse, the Aeroponic method of hydroponic growing is one of the most advanced there is.

Drip Hydroponic System:
The drip hydroponic system is likely the most common and widespread hydroponic system in use today, not just in the USA but all over the Earth because of its great efficiency and ease of use for even the novice hydroponic gardener.

Ebb and Flow (flood and drain) System:
When you use the ebb and flow (flood and drain) hydroponic system, what is happening is that your nutrient solution floods your plants (low at the base level, roots) momentarily before draining back into your reservoir.

NFT (nutrient film-technique) System:
The Nutrient Film Technique is widely used across the globe and is easily one of the most popular and common methods for cultivating hydroponically.

Water-Culture System:
The water culture hydroponic system is probably the most basic of all hydroponic systems. Unless you intend to grow a very fast growing and water loving plant you most likely won’t want to use a water culture system but I will briefly explain how it works for you here.

Wick Hydroponic System:
One of the most basic and simple hydroponic systems is the wick system. Within this system there are zero moving parts which make it probably the most passive of hydroponic systems available to the home grower or commercial greenhouse operator.