Year-round Hydroponics Gardening
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by: MurielleFreegard
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Modern farmers face brutal challenges. One season serves fierce drought, the next brings torrential rain. There are diseased crops and insect infestations to worry about. Year-round hydroponics gardening has brought profit and peace of mind back to today's hardworking farmers.
Natural rainwater, fertile lands and ideal growing conditions are becoming scarce, and hydroponics gardening is seen as a heaven-sent miracle for many farmers. They are no longer at the mercy of Mother Nature. Farmers are able to grow healthy crops all year long and yield full harvests in spite of weather, insects or disease. Of all the benefits of hydroponics gardening, this is the most important.
The earliest documentation of plants growing and surviving without soil as the source of nutrients can be traced to the 1699 records of a fellow named Woodward. However, it's believed that hydroponics gardening was practiced in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
The roots of hydroponics methods in modern agriculture were evident in the 1840s. At that time, researchers discovered that by developing a formula containing all the essential nutrients that plants need for growth, including nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen dioxide, the need for soil could be completely eliminated. A number of German botanists adopted this idea and soon developed the basic nutrient formulas and growing techniques, which are still in use today.
Hydroponics gardening requires as little as 10% of the land used in traditional farming, and less than 10% the amount of water. It's possible to reduce the amount of water further by re-circulating the water used for hydroponics gardening.
Many popular types of produce are successfully grown using hydroponics gardening. Growers who practice year-round hydroponics gardening enjoy broccoli, cabbage, celery, chard, cucumbers, eggplant, flowers, grapes, lettuce, melons, onions, peppers, pole beans, radishes, tomatoes and strawberries.
Hydroponics produce is rarely affected by the insects that typically thrive in soil, or the diseases caused by soil microorganisms. This is another big bonus of growing with hydroponics. Farmers are less inclined to use insecticides to prevent pest infestations, so their crops are cleaner and chemical-free. Produce can be picked ripe and enjoyed immediately, so no chemical preservatives are needed. This is a huge benefit for people who like their produce the natural way.
Another important and attractive bonus of hydroponics gardening is water conservation. This type of gardening can produce huge yields in dry climates where precious water must be re-circulated. Farmers can also quickly grow larger amounts of produce in a relatively small area. It's not unusual, in fact, for farmers to grow four heads of lettuce in the same amount of space it would take to grow one lettuce head with traditional soil gardening.
Various techniques are available for those wanting to try year-round hydroponics gardening:
* Aqua Culture Hydroponics
In this type of hydroponics system, the roots of the plants are held in a large waterproof tank. With mesh or string supporting the plants, the roots are able to hang in the water and obtain food from the nutrient formula contained in the tank.
* Gravel Culture
Gravel culture is a more costly system to install and maintain. Hydroponics systems using gravel culture involve a waterproof bench filled with inert pea-sized gravel. This gravel is used to support the roots of the plants. A solution containing all the essential nutrients required by the plant is pumped into the gravel from a holding tank. The pump is turned off when the bench becomes filled with the solution, and the solution drains back to the holding tank.
Despite the method of hydroponics chosen, it's important to replenish the nutrient solutions periodically. Of course, proper lighting is also required. A number of grow lights should be set with automatic timers to deliver the appropriate amounts of light to the plants.
You can easily find the materials and supplies needed to build and maintain a hydroponics system. Visit your local gardening center and you'll be on your way to enjoying year-round hydroponics gardening.
About the Author
Contributor Murielle Freegard is a writer for several Internet magazines, on home interior and home garden themes.
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