12
Jan
Whether you are a beginner in indoor gardening or a serious grower, there are important factors that you should have in your starter pack. They include: organic gardening supplies, grow room supplies, plant nutrients and supplements, ventilation supplies and much more. But the primary determiner of how your plants will grow is whether you will use Hydroponics or Soil. Hydroponics is becoming more popular among new growers and also veterans. This article will enlighten you on why hydroponics is better than soil.
Your plants are the reflection of what they are grown in. The growing medium is the base and a major determinant of how the plants will turn out. Crops overall well-being, ability to fight pests and diseases, production and cultivation all depend on the growing medium. The nutrients and bacteria available to the roots while the plants are growing to determine the plant’s potency, expression, and nutritional properties. If you want to create an end product that is wonderful, you must choose the growing medium wisely, and hydroponic is the way to go.
1. Saves water
Growing plants in soil and watering them on a daily basis can be a messy affair. A good gardener waters his plants at least twice a day. A few days after watering the plants and the soil is all soaked up and some of that excess water starts to drip out from the bottom of the container. While some of the water evaporates, only a small percent will be utilized by the plant. Hydroponics saves the water wastage menace by recirculating nutrient reservoir in most types of systems. The plant will absorb the amount of water needed and leave the rest for the reservoir. Since the reservoir is covered, it is safe from evaporation and seepage from the bottom.
The amount of water that is used on a plant planted in soil in a day can be utilized in a hydroponics setup for days. Switch to hydroponic setup and save water and money.
2. Saves space
Space is a major factor when starting out indoor gardening. You want to maximize the small space that you have and at the same time have an outstanding harvest. Hydroponics saves an impressive amount of space compared to soil. The roots of a plant usually need space to spread through the soil, but with the hydroponics system, the plant roots are submerged in water that is oxygenated and has the nutrient solution.
Imagine feeding your plants with all the nutrients they require by just feeding the water with required nutrients. Replace soil with hydroponics because all you need is a customized nutrient solution to feed your plants with calibrated nutrients all round the clock. You will pack your plants closer, plant more and eventually more harvest.
3. Forget About Weeding
Weeding is one of the most tedious works and also time-consuming when you plant in soil.It is a frustrating activity and soils the surrounding when pulling out the weeds. If you do not want to spend most of your time weeding switch to hydroponics and you will never weed again. The simple reason why you will not need to weed in hydroponics setup is that if there is no soil involved, no weeds will grow.
4. Less Diseases & Pests
The soil is a breeding ground for diseases and pests. When comparing soil vs. hydroponics in the fight of pests and diseases, hydro takes the trophy. Since you are not using soil, you are assured that no soil borne diseases will affect your plants. Soil-borne diseases can cause pain to a farmer and wreck massive losses. When soil is taken out of the picture, pests that plague traditional gardening are eliminated.
5. Ultimate Controlled Environment
The indoor hydroponic system eliminates one potentially devastating variable, which is nature. If you’re growing outdoors, your crop is subject to weather elements. Rain and heavy winds can damage your crops within a short time while the introduction of contaminated soil can kill your plants. Weak plants can also turn to food for pests when you are practicing the soil system.
Though some of the environmental challenges are controlled by the greenhouses and indoor gardening, a hydroponic system gives you the control over your plant’s health and environment. Instead of relying on what the soil may provide, you can supply the nutrients directly to the plants. The hydroponic system gives you an opportunity to have stable and repeatable output with each harvest.
6. Quick Growth With High Yields
Light cycles and feeding routines are what remarkable trigger growth in crops. But the amount of control you have over your hydroponic system means once you put more effort, you can create an outstanding system that gives you rapid growth with less time each harvest period. If you are growing outdoors, the results are even better. You can squeeze in more harvest cycles before growing season is over. You will need to study the growth of your plants and nutrients that improve or fasten their growth. For instance, you can plant celery seedling which takes a month to maturity in the hydroponic system while it takes two months in soil. When you become an expert in the growth patterns, you will save a lot of time and reap high yields.
As mentioned in the points above, the results of hydroponic vs. soil are conditional. Likely, crops grown using hydroponic and soil methods, but in the same environment, will have a noticeable difference in the amount of time they take to mature. But the main difference is that hydroponic systems make it easier for gardeners to eliminate common soil-borne diseases and risks of soil based gardening. You may start out as a hobby when introducing the vegetable garden in your backyard, and the end results may make you change to a full-time farmer.
This article has given you enough reasons as to why you should supplement your soil based garden to a hydroponic system. You don’t need to break a bank to start out your hydroponic gardening, with just a few essentials which are available online and reliable information, you are ready to go. Even beginners in gardening can reap a good harvest.