If you’ve come here then you either grow hydroponically and are looking for a link to share with your friends or you are curious about growing plants hydroponically. You have heard that soil-less culture or hydroponics is better than soil, but what does that mean? What are the benefits of growing hydroponically? How is it better? How can I start? Or how can I improve?
RELATED: great starter grow systems for hydroponics
The Benefits of Growing Hydroponically
Once you have started working with hydroponics, you know you can’t stop. It’s such a satisfying way for growing your plants — watching them grow fast, full and strong, even in the winter. Most people don’t know that hydroponics, aquaponics, aeroponics, or any-ponic (ponic means on water) is actually a much easier way to grow plants once –– and only once –– you figure out how to treat the water and basic environment factors.
After starting growing hydroponically and you get it right (usually after the third grow cycle) it becomes becomes apparent, like a veil has lifted, as to why vertical gardening and farming is so awesome and easy and you wonder:
Why have I been spending so much money buying medicine in the dispensary or why I am buying fresh herbs, spices and greens at the organic superstore when I can do this at home?
So before we dive into all the hows and whats you can grow using a hydroponic setup hipsters and home growers, know that you can build a pretty basic system for $5, or buy one from a hydroponic shop. So without further ado, let’s list all the reasons why hydroponics kicks it like there is no tomorrow.
Oh, hydroponics. An ode to you:
19 ways you are way, way better than soil
- Grow Anywhere: on walls, on your patio, in your college dorm, in your basement, on Mars, in the Arctic Circle, on a ship!
- Tastes Better: when you know how to do it right, hydroponics creates ultra-fresh food that can be twice as tasty (or more!) as soil-grown food
- Saves Money: because you can grow more, faster, year round, think of all the money you will save on fresh & organic food
- Better Quality: You know what goes in, and out. Simple.
- Grow Local: Support the 100-Mile Diet and slash your personal greenhouse gas deficit.
- Be Productive! Your food and medicine can grow in the most hostile, cold, hot or super secret environments all year round.
- Teach Your Kids: hydroponics also teaches about chemistry, pH, nutrients and climate conditions. Teachers love it.
- Uses Less Water: up to 90% less water
- Pesticide-Free: as most bugs live in the dirt, you are ahead of the game.
- Weather Resistant: Indoors or covered outdoors your plants are protected from rain, hail, sleet, snow, hurricanes and Mars wind storms
- Grow Faster: Grows 30% faster than soil
- Grow More: grow 80% more fruit, buds and flowers. According to this NASA study.
- More vitamins: if you have the right recipe, your hydroponic plants can be packed with more of the right vitamins. Pimp your peppers, parsnip and pumpkins.
- Garden Ergonomically: no back breaking weeding. Weeds don’t grow in hydroponics. It’s good for gran, but also for lazy me.
- Control. Grow what you want, when you want it. Doesn’t depend on the weather or local conditions.
- Repeat. If you have the right conditions nailed, then grow the same plants and medicine, over and over again
- Less Disease: no root rot disease, less dangerous fungal disease
- Clean. No dirt trails through your kitchen or porch. No lugging bags of dirt from the garden center. Helps you go stealth mode if that’s your thing
- Less Labor. Hydroponics needs minutes of time a day, or an hour a week. No weeding, baby!
Want to try your hand at hydroponics, but have a black thumb? No worries, Eddy has got your back. Sign up via www.GrowWithEddy.com
