Hydroponics: The Ideal Way of Growing Plants At Home

So, you’re a lover of all things plants, but you just don’t have the space to have your own, big, luscious garden? Well then, we’re glad you’re here because we’d like to welcome you to the world of hydroponics!

greenhousen in back garden
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What exactly is hydroponics? Glad you asked! Hydroponics, simply put, is a way of growing plants without the need of soil! Instead, they’re grown in a special mineral mix and some water! This makes hydroponics ideal for growing flowers, herbs, and even food in small spaces like balconies or little backyards!

There are a few different systems you can opt for when starting out with hydroponic growing and we’re going to help you understand them, which will help you pick the best one for your home!

How to Get Started 

First thing’s first, you’ll need to pick the system with which you’ll grow your plants! We’ve picked three of the best ones to go over today!

hydroponics at home
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Before we dive into the specifics, it’s important to note that you’ll need a suitable place to set up your hydroponic system. You don’t need a greenhouse, but you’ll need to buy hydroponic greenhouse supplies for some systems and other supplies for others, suitable equipment, planters, nutrients, and more to make everything work! Hydroponic growing requires stable conditions and carefully selected nutrients to work properly!

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s dive into the systems!

DWC – Great Choice for Beginners

DWC, or deep water culture, is probably the most beginner-friendly way of growing plants through hydroponics!

Made up of something called a “single bucket system”, DWC is an extremely popular hydroponic system, as it’s fairly easy to set up and use! The single bucket system means that you’ll be growing one plant per bucket. The bucket is basically like a regular pot, only, as we said, you don’t need to add soil to it!

deep water culture
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Instead, what happens is, your bucket has an opening on the bottom through which the roots of your plant are released to be submerged into the water below!

You’ll need a couple of things to get your DWC system going!

First thing’s first, you’ll need to determine how many plants you’d like to grow and get the appropriate number of buckets for them. Remember, only one plant per pot!

one plant per pot
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Then, you’ll need a grow media, such as clay pebbles or a floating foam raft to place your pots on and let the roots of your plants flow into the water!

Clay pebbles are beginner-friendly and are made in a special way to prevent rot or fungus from developing, they’re inorganic and have a neutral PH status. Being made out of special types of clay which make them ideal for hydroponic systems like DWC.

On the other hand, we have the floating foam raft. As stated in the name itself, this raft will allow you to place multiple pots on it and let them float on the nutrient-rich water easily. This system is preferred by people who don’t want to bother with cleaning and worry about algae developing, things that may happen with the clay pebbles.

Clay pebbles
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Lastly, you’ll need an air pump that will give your plants constant access to water, and of course, you’ll need your nutrient-rich solution to add to the water so your plants can have a nutritive, oxygen-rich environment to grow in! You’ll obviously also need a container to hold everything together and make sure you have the perfect environment for your system!

A Hydrophonic Wall Garden If You Lack the Space

An extremely attractive hydroponic system, the wall garden is just what it sounds like – a garden suspended on your wall, giving your living room, balcony, or backyard a magical, green look that nobody will be able to resist.

Extremely popular around the globe (and we can honestly see why), the wall garden system is excellent for those who love plants but just can’t dedicate too much space to them. It’s a great way to create a green oasis in a small urban space. It’s also an amazing living decor piece that will spruce up any space you decide to hang it in!

living wall
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To get started with the wall garden, you’ll first need a frame that will hold your plants in place! Next up, you can either get the abovementioned single buckets, or you can get planter boxes, which are bigger and can store more than just one plant at a time, but it’s advisable to not mix different types of plants in one planter! Instead, stick to one! The planter boxes come with slots for mounting, so you can secure them in place.

Next up, just like with the DWC and really any other hydroponic system, you’ll need a grow media. Clay pebbles are again an option, and so is the floating foam raft. Your planters are basically the box in which everything is contained, so you’ll need to set everything up in there.

Lastly, you’ll need those delicious nutrients to feed your plants and a watering pattern that will provide your plants with the best environment for growing!

Aeroponics – Minimise the Need for Supplies

Kind of like hydroponics, but not really, aeroponics is a way to grow plants fast and minimise the need for supplies. In hydroponics, you need hydroponic supplies and hydroponic equipment. In aeroponics, you need way less.

Aeroponics
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The aeroponics concept of growing plants is growing without the need for suspension in water or potting in soil. It’s basically growing them by having their roots exposed and spraying said roots with a solution of water and nutrients.

Some aeroponic systems don’t even need a grow media. The plants sit in collars, with suspended roots which are enclosed in a sort of box surrounded by spray nozzles. These nozzles distribute nutritional water to the plants at set intervals. Aeroponics is great because the roots don’t have to struggle through soil or grow media to be able to expand, and they also don’t have to fight each other to get the nutrients they need.

Aeroponics is not for beginners though and it does require constant supervision, so if you’re someone not well versed in hydroponics, steer away from aeroponics until it’s time!

To Conclude

These three hydroponic methods are what we found most interesting and we hope you did, too! Each of these can be used to grow either herbs, food, or flower, but some are better at one or two of these than the others.

hydroponics
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For example, aeroponics is amazing for growing food, as it can allow larger quantities to grow faster, but it may not be the best choice for flowers. Instead, a wall garden is way better for that!

We’d recommend looking into these systems and choose one depending on what you’re thinking of growing! Don’t forget to buy from specialized stores, as they are the best source of hydroponic equipment, hydroponic greenhouse supplies, planters, cloning stations, grow media, and more!

Happy planting!