DIY Hydroponics- build your own hydroponic garden

November 27, 2008

Most people get scared away from hydroponics by all of the high-priced, complicated equipment. The good news, is that hydro is easy! Anyone can build their own hydroponic garden with ease on a meager budget if they just know how. I am going to post a series of articles describing basic hydroponic concepts as well as descriptive overviews of various systems along with DIY plans for each. Personally I have tried just about every approach to hydroponics out there… NFT, Ebb and Flow, Drip, Deep Water Culture…you name it, I have tried it…and believe me, there is nothing hard or expensive about hydroponics if you learn the basic concepts!!! Care to jump ahead? Instructions for the construction of your own hydroponic garden can be found here.

Basic Hydroponic Concepts

  1. ‘Hydro’ means ‘water’
  2. Plants need to eat and breathe
  3. PH impacts nutrient availability
  4. Electrical Conductivity impacts nutrient availability
  5. Hydroponics does not mean ‘inorganic’

‘Hydro’ means ‘water’

Yes, hydroponics is the art of growing plants without the use of soil. Most of the systems employ some sort of substrate the roots can entwine into and hold up the plant, but this material is not of any food value to the plant. Nutrients are delivered to the root system in the form of a water-based solution via drip line, timed flood, persistent feed, or complete immersion. PH and EC (Electrical Conductivity) of the nutrient solution are monitored and adjusted as needed.

Plants need to eat and breathe….coming in part 2…

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Organic farming and gardening theory part 1 – overview

November 27, 2008

Many garden owners choose the organic approach as a more healthful way to provide food for themselves and their families. Most conventional gardening techniques rely heavily on chemical fertilizers, insecticides, and herbicides. Some of these chemicals are so strong that their active ingredients are often used in cancer research to generate tumors. Growing fruits and vegetables organically means you use traditional methods which do not include chemicals of any kind. Most opponents of organic gardening argue that crop yields are substantially less due to pest damage and lack of fertilization. The truth is, if done properly and with some diligence, organic gardening can outproduce conventional gardening through a model of sustainability.

Important key points in an organic approach:

· Plant growth requires commitment, care and the proper methods.
· Gardening can be practiced by anyone armed with the right knowledge
· Sustainable organic gardening techniques can supply fresh vegetables for your family literally year-round and for years to come

So where do we start?

Knowledge is power!

We will be posting an ongoing series analyzing all aspects of organic gardening, it’s methods, the tools involved, and hear from a few people who are doing it successfully.

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