Ultimate control of the growing environment for you plants is one of the greatest advantages of hydroponic systems. Plant health is maintained by the proper introduction of nutrients in terms of the amount and what type is assured. Soil b y nature contains numerous salt and minerals, it does not permit this much flexibility as can be seen with grow mediums. Indoor hydroponic gardens utilize grow mediums which do not contain salts or minerals. This allows the gardener the freedom to control the amount and type of nutrient specifically for their plants.
Nutrient adsorption by soil based plants is done through adsorption of nutrients from decomposed organic materials. Here is a simple description of how these nutrients are formed: organic matter is digested by fungi or eaten by insects and is turned as waste material in the form of compost. This waste material is then digested by microbes which breaks it down to nutrients. The action of water forces this down the ground where they remain until absorbed by plants.
Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K) are the three hydroponic nutrients essential for optimal plant growth. Concentration of each nutrient is found on the solutions labels. 20-20-20 on the labels means the solution contains 20% N, 20% P and 20% K concentration.
Several secondary hydroponic are essential as the plant grows through its different growth phases. Primary hydroponic nutrients combined with this secondary nutrients work to provide optimum plant growth. Examples of these secondary nutrients are Magnesium, Calcium, Iron, Sulfur, Molybdenum and Boron.
Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2)
Hydrogen Peroxide is mainly used as a supplement for increasing Oxygen levels in the hydroponic nutrient solution. It also serves to stimulate plant growth and protects the plant against plant pests such as Pythium, Rhizoctonia and Phytophthora organisms. Hydrogen peroxide is also produced by the human body as a antibody to fight against viruses and bacteria in the body.
Hydrogen Peroxide occurs naturally in nature, when water in the atmosphere is exposed to the ozone (O3) it becomes H2O2. It is present in the rain and snow. It is used in indoor hydroponic systems because it oxidizes organic impurities upon contact. Hydrogen peroxide releases one of its oxygen atoms into the nutrient solution leaving water (H2O) as a by product.
Benefits of Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2)
Oxygen content is increased in the nutrient solution
Protects and sterilizes growing mediums against harmful bacteria
Kills pythium and other harmful garden organisms
Increases protein development, improves metabolism and increases overall growth and health
Encourages root development in cloned plants and germination of seeds, enabling propagation of difficult plant species
These days, when the humanity faces many challenges, associated with natural resources depletion, bad ecology and many health problems, stemming out of the wrong food choices, it is, perhaps, the best time ever to return to natural ways of producing food for the sake of our own and our planet.
It was a common practice for our ancestors to grow fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers for their own needs. Nowadays, the natural way of growing plants reappears with hydroponics as the particular technique, which makes plant cultivation possible even in urban areas without the use of soil. With more and more people involved, hydroponic gardening develops rapidly these days. Irrespectively to whether it is your hobby or professional activity, indoor gardening brings significant benefits for all.
Hydroponic and soil indoor gardening - The World of Gardening for the Future
If you are only making your first steps in mastering the art of hydroponic gardening, our site will become a valuable resource for you. Our hydroponic library is a source of theory on the basics of indoor plants growing, and our shop is a one-stop destination to find everything you need for your hydroponic needs, starting from vegetable seeds and wide variety of growing media to start growing your plants, and finishing with reliable equipment, such as growing lamps and climate control, to help you gather rich harvest.
The definition of hydroponics
Hydroponics most often refers to the science of growing plants (vegetables, herbs, flowers) without the use of soil. Plants are cultivated on a special growing medium, and all the nutrients, required for growing, are supplied via specially formulated nutrient solution. The primary task of any growing medium, used in hydroponic gardens, is to support plants’ roots along with retaining water. There are many books on hydroponic gardening, so if you would need to expand your knowledge in this field, please browse our Literature section or the online library for further information on hydroponics.
Hydroponics vs Soil Grown Plants
The benefits, offered by hydroponics, are pretty simple, yet impressive: one can receive 200-1000% increase in yield with only half of time and space requirements in comparison to traditional soil horticulture. Absence of soil also results in protection of growing plants against pests, commonly living in soil. In hydroponic systems, plants receive all the necessary nutrients through nutrient solution and never suffer lack of water. As the result, hydroponic plants concentrate of producing fruits instead of growing large roots to extract water and nutrients from the soil. Hydroponic plants have smaller roots in comparison to common plants, which grow in soil. This allows increasing the density of plants in your garden. It is also a proven fact, that food products, produced in indoor hydroponic systems, are cleaner and have longer shelf life.
Usually, hydroponic plants can grow both indoor and outdoor; furthermore, even a loft, cellar, or closet can be turned into a garden with hydroponic system.
There are two major subtypes of hydroponic plants: solution and medium cultures. Solution culture does not require any growing medium for its growing; the only thing necessary is nutrient solution. Among solution cultures aeroponics, static and continuous flow cultures are defined. Medium culture needs a particular growing medium to grow in, for example, rockwool, sand or gravel. In most cases, the growing medium is contained within a reservoir, made from plastic. However, glass, metal or wooden containers are also used. The only requirement to hydroponic container is that it should not let light pass.
History of Hydroponics
Hydroponics as a term was first mentioned in the middle of the previous century to identify a method of plants growing without soil in the special growing medium. However, the method itself has roots in the prehistoric times. The Floating Gardens of Aztecs and those of the Chinese, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, perceived much as the myth only, and the flooding of the Egyptian Nile may now be treated as the very first attempts of hydroponic gardening. Moreover, even ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic records, which are actually documents, not myths, mention the ways of growing plants in water.
Thus, it would be unfair to say hydroponics is a brand new method of gardening: even Da Vinci made much progress in creating what we now call “hydroponic gardening”. At the same time, research of the last decades has significantly explained and improved the nuts and bolts of this agricultural option, actually, reviving it. This process started during World War II thanks to the government financing, and in the 50th of the 20th century it gained worldwide popularity. Just for the record: these days the incidence of hydroponically grown fruits and vegetables occupy about 65% of all those sold in the UK stores, and about 90% of the sold cut fresh flowers are grown with the help of hydroponics and HPS grow lights.
Among the researchers who worked on creating the ideal conditions for plants growing was a Belgian scientist Jan van Helmont, who discovered in 1600 that plants receive elements for the normal growth from water. Robert Boyle from Ireland managed to grow plants in the bottles with water, which is recorded in the documents dated 1666. 33 years later a notable discovery was made by the English scholar John Woodward, who found out that various constituents from different types of soils were also of vital importance for the plants growth. Thus, he made a valuable contribution to the work started by Jan van Helmont. Unfortunately, the absence of the necessary equipment prevented John Woodward from proceeding with his work.
With the development of chemistry the world got to know that plants consist of chemicals obtained from air, soil, and water as food and the materials for the proper growth. This real breakthrough was made by the French scientist Nicolas de Saussure in 1804. Jean Boussingault, his fellow countryman, made much progress in studying plants growth in various types of medium, as quartz, charcoal, and sand. That was he who found out that dry plant material is mainly made of hydrogen and carbon dioxide, received from the air.
Knowing the plants’ chemical structure and the ingredients necessary for the growth scientists became curious whether it was possible to grow plants without soil.
The scientists who succeeded in this task were Germans Sachs and Knop, who managed to grow plants in water solution in 1860’s. They called their invention “nutriculture”. Many years passed till the real interest to the “nutriculture” appeared. The pioneers of the greenhouse industry fully understood its cons and helped in the further improvement of the method between years 1925 and 1935.
The first effort to turn laboratory “nutriculture” into a commercial product was first made by Dr. William F. Gericke, who explored soilless plant growing at University of California Davis and was very successful. It was Dr. Gericke, who first used the term “hydroponics”, which means “waterworking” in Greek. Since then, the public interest to hydroponic gardening spread rapidly around the world. It is interesting to note that even the U.S. Army had special units, whose main duty was to grow hydroponics and provide fruits and vegetables for kitchen. In the military environment it is not always possible to grow plants in a traditional way, so hydroponic system was chosen as the way to grow plants virtually anywhere.
Key Facts on Hydroponics
Hydroponic plants do not require soil to grow in. They use different growing media instead.
All the required nutrients are supplied through nutrient solution.
Hydroponic system allows cultivation of plants, irrespectively to climate and environmental condition.
Hydroponic system allows increasing the density of plants significantly (up to 3 times higher in comparison with traditional soil gardens).
It may be surprising but hydroponic plants consume considerable less water than those, growing in soil.
Since soil is not used in hydroponic systems, there is no need to worry about crops rotation.
Hydroponic plants are healthier, because there are no or very little risks for them to get infected by parasites, living in soil.
Hydroponic gardening does not depend on seasons of the year. You can grow plants and gather harvest all year round.
Hydroponics in the Present
Thanks to many technological achievements and innovations, hydroponic growing has already become much more effective, convenient and affordable. Plastic, used for manufacturing of hydroponic equipment, such as plumbing products, fittings, growing pots and containers, etc., made it possible to lower the cost of hydroponic systems significantly.
Multiple electronic devices, such as pumps, timers and monitors, have made hydroponic growing a fully automated process. Furthermore, the hydroponic plants themselves have evolved significantly, ensuring high yield results even if used under the most extreme environmental conditions, for example, at the submarines.
Hydroponics in the Future
The next goal of hydroponics developers is to make indoor gardening eco-friendly and more energy-saving. In this regard, current achievements in the development of solar heating systems look very promising. On the other hand, current innovations open new opportunities for designing new growing light systems with higher lumen output, better spectrum profile and lower electricity consumption. In the long run, hydroponic systems may allow increasing the amount of grown plants to completely satisfy the needs of people in food products, without using additional natural resources and soil.
Furthermore, maybe in the nearest future hydroponic systems, which have already been tested in space on the space stations, will even become another valuable step in the space exploration by the humans.
What do these lexis have in frequent: flower, florist, flower store? Apart from all containing the search of the word ‘flower’, there is much more that they should disclose. Naturally, coupled by the being intensity of the florist, the plants and the flower store are intricately linked. Beyond eloquent that they’re related, it’s important to discover that the connection is a good one that you, as a client, will want to engross manually in. What to look for will be a combination of the three. Make assured that on top of providing the flora you darling, the flora are also of top eminence. The florist should be an eager accomplice in ensuring that you get just what you ask for, exceeding your own expectations. The flower stored is necessary to exceed the expectations. If the flower store is , you will not only get a scenic spray, but it will enter really crisp and on time. Be definite the florist you decide workings mutually well with both the flora and the flower store. This will guarantee a blissful buyer with a product that is better than imagined. Flowers, which have been and remain to be the mark of expected beauty throughout the ages, are one realm of vogue that has not dramatically evolved. This speaks keenly in advance of plants, indicating their timelessness and perfection that wishes no improvement.
Thus, when ordering plants, what you should to respect is not the style of flora, but the preference of the receiver. Once you have firm winning the brand of flower, you must find a flower store that provides your beloved strain at optimal trait. A flower’s quality depends very much on the mind the florist gives, but past the florist’s heed, it is optimal that the flora come level from the growers or from a flower sale. This ensures their flavor, as the time useless in travel is diminished when flora make fewer trips to spread their flower store destination. Flowers are known to positively weight the being mind, so be sure to go all the way with this definite pressure by retail the freshest flora you can find on the promote. Knowing of this explicit cause of flora on people, you should presume your florist to be an optimistic and open persona - in sharp, the convinced outcome of the plants should not be mystified in the doubts of their job. A talented florist is not only skilled of creating a lovely arrangement, but also disposed and interested in making arrangements with you to guarantee the arrival of the spray you predict. While the florist is an artist, who must use creativity as a tool of the job, the florist has many more roles to complete. One of the most important of these additional roles is the sensitivity of the florist: the florist is not only putting plants together, but understanding what affair you indigence the plants for, what mode of character the flora are directed to - the florist must have the facility to understand and sympathize with the difficulties and joys in life of every incident, demonstrating this post in the end upshot: the flower arrangement.
If the florist deals speedily with the farmer, each at the farmer’s position or through a flower sale, this is a good indicator of the florist, viewing superstar who cuts the hound frankly to the resource, lowering prices for himself and his client, by being more focus. The florist, as aforementioned, is a persona who creates the connection between flowers and flower store, between grower and consumer. A character of central importance, the florist is a person who is impressive and establishes a good bond with you, his client. The flower store is the last, but not the slightest important, of our floral trinity. The flower shop completes the picture. The flower shop is the unit which makes the talent and efficiency of the florist impending; it is the florist’s workshop and tool bench, if you will, while also plateful to keep the flowers in moist and good order. It is the flower shop that ensures approach of flowers to their closing destination not purely as a superb bouquet, but as moist, green, and promising living creations - as breathing as a rainforest. In addition, the flower shop acting a function in influencing the consumer and shaping his ruling as regards the entire wrap of the shop. Online photographs of vacant bouquets do more than imply the variety of flowers and ability of the florist. The photographs, as well as the total website, are indicators of the organization and professionalism of the party. The person-expression of a company speaks noisily. Reading testimonials on websites is also an indicator of the combination of the flowers, the florist, and the flower shop. It takes a fanatical performance from each of the participants to make a client delighted.
Flowers are, lacking query, a classic, and yet beautiful gift. Unique and living, they are different from all other gifts, and manage to convey emotions at the same time as they are plateful a position as a existing. Thus, to optimize and attain this potential of emotion that flowers can induce, it is important that you buy your flowers from a flower shop that is professional and sincere, with a operate of florists who love their work and respect their flowers as alive as we are, and finally, with flowers that are as crisp and expressive as you are, to disclose precisely your belief through their understated and bright beauty.
Many people worry a lot when it comes to caring for their plants. When talking about house plants, there is no need to worry. There are just a few things you need to consider.
1. Watering Overwatering kills most houseplants. Looks can be deceptive, so to see if your soil is dry enough to water, try the finger test. Insert your index finger up to the first joint into the soil. If the soil is damp, don’t water it.
2. Feeding Foliage plants usually have high nitrogen needs, while flowering plants, K2O is needed. Slow release fertilizers can be mixed with the compost. However, certain plants like cacti and orchids need special fertilizer. Feed plants during their most active growth period.
3. Lighting Plants like Sanseveria and Aspidistra require no sun. They can be placed away from a window. Spider plants need semi-shade. You can put plants like these near a window that does or does not get sunlight. Check the label to see what your plant needs.
4. Temperature Houseplants can survive in cool or warm temperatures, but drastic fluctuations of temperature may not be good for them. One thing that most plants cannot survive is gas heating. If you have a plant that likes warm conditions, don’t put it near an air conditioner in the summer.
5. Humidity Some houseplants require a humid environment. One tip to maximize humidity is to put the pot inside a larger pot and fill in the gaps with stones or compost to keep in the moisture. Grouping plants together often creates a microclimate that they will benefit from. If you want, you can spray them with water once or twice a day depending on the temperature.
6. Re-potting Some plants require re-potting for optimum growth but there are others that resent having their roots disturbed. Or their roots system may be small enough that they don’t require re-potting. One way to check if your plant needs re-potting is to turn it upside down. Tap the pot to release the plant and check its roots. If roots are all you see, then re-pot. Sometimes the roots will come out of the pot. You should either cut them off or re-pot the plant.
You just need to have a little care for your plants and in turn, you’ll reap the benefits. Indoor plants not only add to the beauty of your décor, but also give much pleasure to the indoor gardener.
Roses are deep rooted and once they are well established are more capable than most plants of surviving mild drought spells. The first spring and summer directly after planting your rose is very important. During this period if the soil around your rose seems to be drying out give your roses a good soaking. Each rose could get about 2 gallons of water. In following years you will only need to water them if drought seems iminent.
FEEDING YOUR ROSES
As with all plants that provide us with beautiful blooms they need plenty of the correct nutrients. Give roses a good helping of blood, bone and fishmeal in early April, about two handfuls to each rose. In June a handful of specially prepared rose fertilizer will give your roses a huge lift. The magnesium and potash gives the rose a great kick. Just work the fertilizer in gently around the soil at the base of the plant.
MULCHING YOUR ROSES.
Mulching is a very simple task with great benefits. Mulching retains moisture, smothers weeds and generally boosts the health of your roses. Well rotted manure is best but garden compost or bark mulch can also be used.
DEADHEADING YOUR ROSES.
Deadheading spent blooms not only tidys up the rose but actually saves the plants energy and thereby encourages more bloom flushes. A light pruning of hybrid teas will encourage a second flush.
WATCH OUT FOR ROSE SUCKERS.
Shoots that emerge from rootstocks are known as suckers. These will be different in coloring and often by the amount of leaves, than what grows from the stems over ground. Gently scrape away the soil until you can see where the sucker is growing from the rootstock, tear the sucker away cleanly.
CONTROL OF WEEDS.
Mulching is the most effective method of controlling weeds and also the less back breaking.
Hoeing is not as effective and you must take care not to damage the stems.
Sowing other plants underneath the rose is also an option. The least favored option is the application of a rose-bed weedkiller. This will eventually damage the soil and thus your rose.
ROSE DISEASES AND PESTS.
This is an area that turns people off growing roses and really it shouldn’t. Roses have diseases and pests particular to them and as such regular treatment is very effective. The main problems are greenfly, mildew and blackspot.
There are plenty of products that treat these main three problems in one treatment. Performing a regular maintenance schedule starting in April will leave you with very few problems. Do make sure to follow exactly the manufacturers recommendations.
Your roses will respond brilliantly to a little regular maintenance and once you have started your routine there will be very little work attached. Issues will only arise once you neglect your routine and this is what often deters people from growing roses.
These days, when the humanity faces many challenges, associated with natural resources depletion, bad ecology and many health problems, stemming out of the wrong food choices, it is, perhaps, the best time ever to return to natural ways of producing food for the sake of our own and our planet.