Perhaps you have heard the word hydroponics on a gardening show or documentary, or maybe you’ve read about it somewhere, or have a friend who loves growing plants this way. Whatever piqued your interest in hydroponics, the chances are that you feel it is a complex thing that isn’t for you, despite your curiosity. 

The fact of the matter is that hydroponics is much simpler than it seems initially, and works on principles that are well understood. Everyone knows that plants need water, light and nutrients to grow, and these are all artificially supplemented in a hydroponics system. If you want to pursue this method of growing plants indoors then you will need to account for all your plants’ needs.

What is hydroponics?

Hydroponic gardening is a form of plant growing that uses nutrient-rich water, an air pump, and inert (non-nutritive) media to provide plant nutrients and oxygen to the roots. In this method, there are no earthworms, pests, fertilisers or soil conditions to worry about.

The most common types of hydroponic systems are:

Drip Systems - These systems use soilless blocks or pellets to hold water and nutrients. The water is fed through holes in the bottom of the block or pellet and drips down into the root zone of your plant. The drippers can be controlled to provide the optimal amount of water and nutrients, but they should be hidden from view so as not to distract from your plants' beauty!

Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) - This method uses self-watering pots which are specialised pots that allow water to drip out through a small hole in the top of the pot. These pots allow for precise control over watering, resulting in healthy roots without relying on fluctuations in natural rainfall or watering from overhead sprinklers.

Deep Water Culture (DWC) - The DWC system works by housing the roots of the plant within a tub or bucket that is constantly filled with water. Plants can drink as much water as they need without suffering root rot from the wet conditions because the systems require an air pump to oxygenate the water. 

Hydroponic equipment

The hydroponic equipment you will need for your project depends on the type of plants you want to grow as well as the type of hydroponic system you want to use. Once you have researched the costs and benefits of each type of hydroponic system and decided which kind you want to use, you can then start gathering your equipment. Every system can benefit from a grow tent kit to house the plants and help the grower to have better control over the growing environment. 

You will also need to buy or make all the parts required for the water delivery system of your choice, including pots, tubs, buckets, pumps and more. Next, you need to decide on the lighting system you want to use. LED and CFL grow lights are some of the most popular as they are cheap to run and relatively inexpensive to buy. 

How many plants can you grow?

The answer to this question depends on the kind of plants you want to grow. If you want to grow plants that grow very large then you need to make sure you can still place the lights far enough above them that the upper leaves are not burnt. You also need to think about how wide the adult plants will get because most plants will not thrive if they are grown too close together. 

You also need to take the size of the roots into consideration. Plants grown using hydroponics generally have a more compact root system than plants grown outdoors in the field and this is because they don’t need to reach far below the ground in search of water and nutrients. Some plants will have extremely large roots whether they are grown in a hydroponics system or in the ground so you need to be prepared to accommodate them. 

Generally speaking, the smaller the plant the more you can grow. You do need to be careful not to overcrowd your system as this can make it harder to carry out routine maintenance and checks as there will be less space to access the various parts of the system.