The Growing Popularity of Hydroponic Indoor Gardens

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The Growing Popularity of Hydroponic Indoor
Gardens
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• Hydroponic gardens are becoming increasingly
  popular with the home gardening enthusiast. The
  art of growing plants in a controlled indoor
  environment is as old as greenhouses, but
  hydroponics and LED grow Lights have added pure
  science to the mix. 
• The term hydroponics was coined in the 1930s
  during a period extensive agriculture research.
  Scientists were testing the viability of using
  nutrient solutions and soil-less growing methods
  for large-scale indoor crop production.
• Local garden centers should have everything
  the private enthusiast would need to create their
  own home hydroponic garden, from complete systems
  to components, supplies and advice. The basics
  are easy to master, and a passive home hydroponic
  system can be created without the need to buy a
  lot of expensive equipment.

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• Hydroponics has come a long way since then.
  Advances in chemical science have resulted in the
  development of nearly fail-safe nutrient solution
  formulas that practically guarantee crop yields,
  and the advent of plastics technology vastly
  reduced costs and increased efficiency. Today
  commercially grown hydroponic crops can be found
  in every supermarket, and as knowledge of the
  technology spreads, more home gardening
  enthusiasts are trying their hands at creating a
  home hydroponic garden.
• In a passive hydroponic system the nutrient
  solution does not have to be constantly
  circulated as in more sophisticated set ups. All
  that is needed is a closed container to house the
  nutrient solution, a means of suspending the
  plants and root systems within the container and
  a small aeration pump, such as an aquarium pump,
  to keep the nutrient solution oxygenated. In most
  systems the root mass of the plant is supported
  in an inert and integrated medium.

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• This can be anything from perlite to sterilized
  gravel or sand to rockwool to various synthetics.
  Inventive improvisers have even used old nylons
  to suspend plants in a hydroponic system.
• The first key is to suspend the root mass just
  above the surface of the nutrient solution and to
  keep the humidity levels within the closed
  nutrient container at or near 100 percent. The
  roots will grow out of the integrated suspension
  material to reach the nutrient solution, but
  require near absolute humidity levels to do so.
• The second key essential is to use a precisely
  mixed nutrient solution. Experienced hydroponic
  gardeners often mix their own formulas, but for
  the beginner its often best to use a prepared
  mix available at most garden supply centers.

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• The third key essential is air. The nutrient
  solution must be kept oxygenated and circulated
  or it can become contaminated by algae and kill
  the plants it is supposed to nurture.
• The fourth essential key is light. Healthy
  plants need light of sufficient intensity and
  spectral bandwidth to achieve photosynthesis. The
  use of bulky and power-hungry gas-discharge lamps
  have traditionally been used for indoor growing
  applications, but today technology has come to
  the rescue again and the home gardener has access
  to LED grow lights.
• Modern LED grow lights are powerful enough to
  provide light of the proper intensity and
  spectrum for healthy plant growth, and use a
  fraction of the energy of traditional grow light
  systems.

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