Hydroponics Systems

Hydroponics technically means “working water”.  History attests that ancient civilizations such as Egyptian and Aztecs heavily relied on hydroponics for growing crops. Today, hydroponics systems have gained enormous popularity in varied places all over the world. With this system it is possible to grow plants with their roots in nutrient-rich water or in medium such as gravel, perlite, and expanded clay, coconut husk or expanded clay.

1. How Hydroponics Works: Basically, hydroponics is a branch of agriculture wherein plants are grown without using soil.  Hydroponics systems use less water than soil-based plants. This is due to the fact that this system makes use of recycled and reused nutrient solutions and water. This method of growing plant is very useful in places where water is scarce and where land for planting crops is limited. It is also a fact that hydroponics systems do not require the use of pesticides. (www.howstuffworks.com)
2. Basic Hydroponics Systems and How They Work: The six basic types of hydroponics systems include Water Culture, Wick, Ebb and Flow or Flood and Drain, Drip, Aeroponic and Nutrient Film Technique. Of course, variants of these systems abound but all of these variations are combinations of these basic systems. The easiest system to follow is the Wick system. This website describes the six basic hydroponics systems. (www.simplyhydro.com)
3. Advantages and Disadvantages of Hydroponics: The most obvious advantage of the system is that you can grow plants anywhere.  In Japan, plants are grown in the supermarket for really fresh supply of vegetables of shoppers. On the other hand, the cost of starting a hydroponics system is not exactly cheap. This website discusses the other pros and cons of hydroponics. (www.crescent.edu.sg)
4. Comparing Hydroponics Gardens: The simplest and cheapest method of hydroponics system is the passive hydroponics where the plant is contained in a self-watering plant. This basically means that the pot has a wick that supplies the nutrients to the plant. This website discusses the basic methods of hydroponics systems and their advantages and disadvantages. (www.hydroponics.com)
5. Using Hydroponics for Food Production (PDF): This PDF presents the history of hydroponics from the hanging gardens of Babylon to Aztecs floating gardens to WW II hydroponics in the Pacific. Hydroponics gardening boomed in the 1990s where the system was used in the space program, vertical farming, desert farming and even in large-scale production. This PDF offers a complete discussion on hydroponics systems. (www.colostate.edu)
6. Home Hydroponics, the Easy Way: “Soiless” gardening has been around since ancient civilization. The Aztecs had floating rafts where they planted crops to sustain them.  The soil was taken from the bottom of the river and where loaded with nutrients. Eventually the crops’ roots would dangle into the river or lake. Some historians suggest that the Gardens of Babylon were hydroponics systems. This website presents a simple method on how to start home hydroponics systems. (www.hydroponics-at-home.com)
7. DIY Hydroponics: This website has 18 projects with full step-by-step instructions on how to start your very own indoor hydroponics system. The projects presented here are from beginner to fully-automated watering hydroponics system complete with grow lights. The projects presented on this website are instructed by home-growing hydroponics systems experts, complete with pictures. (www.instructables.com)
8. How to Assemble a Homemade Hydroponic System: This website gives instructions on how to build your very own hydroponic system. The first thing that you should do is choose the location. Ideal locations in the house are the basement, deck, patio and greenhouse. Next, comes the assembly of the system, addition of nutrients and plants. There are navigation buttons on materials and tools needed for this project. (www.diynetwork.com)
9. Four Simple Systems Free Hydroponic Setups Plans: This website has links to four hydroponics systems that are easy to do. From single bucket bubbler to ebb and flow hydroponics systems, all are free and quite easy to follow. (www.hydroponics-simplified.com)
10. Build Your Own Hydroponics System: Standard home hydroponics system includes a growing chamber or tray, reservoir, submersible pump, air pump, delivery system, simpler timer and lighting system.  Hydroponic  gardening has caught on as plants grow faster with double the yield in the same area as that as traditional soil planting. (www.homehydrosystems.com)