Save space and increase your crop yield by learning how to build a hydroponic garden.
Ditch the dirt and create a hydroponic garden to grow plants without soil.
The container is then submerged into or suspended above a water-filled reservoir.
Smart products, like this hydroponic garden, regulate the water and light levels of your indoor plants and keep messes to a minimum. Photo by Jacob Fox.
While just about any plant can be grown hydroponically, the technique is most often used forgrowing vegetablesor herbs.
Here are the basics of hydroponic gardening.
Types of Hydroponic Water Systems
There are three basic types of hydroponic grow systems.
A flood and drain hydroponic system doesn’t leave roots sitting in water but releases water from underneath so the roots can soak up what they need. Illustration by Chip Nadeau.
The simplest pop in of hydroponic garden is a wick system.
This system is easy to install but only suitable for small plantssuch as microgreensor herbs.
Flood and drain hydroponic systems require a submersible pump but can still be pretty simple to create.
Photo by Peter Krumhardt.
The plant containers sit in a shallow tray or grow tube suspended over a reservoir filled with hydroponic nutrients.
After a set period, the water drains back into the reservoir.
Thisprevents root rotcaused by excessive moisture.
Usually, these systems flood and drain two to four times each day.
In a water culture hydroponic garden, the roots are continuously in the nutrient-rich water of the hydroponic tank.
A small bubblersuch as those used in fish tanksaerates the water and prevents it from becoming stagnant.
For almost all hydroponic systems,grow lightsare necessary for maintaining a healthy garden.
For a large garden, you’ll want full-length fluorescent grow lights in the 6500K range.
You’ll need to direct the lightstoward your seedlingswith a plastic or metal reflector or shield.
As a general rule, your grow lights should be on for 15 to 20 hours each day.
