Hydroponic Greenhouses

Hydroponic gardening is the growing of plants in water instead of in soil. To do this, the roots of the plants are anchored in inert mediums like sand, coal, or Perlite and nourished by water enriched with nutrients.

Hydroponic farming has been around for more than seventy years and has been an important part of American history. During the Second World War, due in part to limitation in the distribution and the need to have greens in the diet, American soldiers installed hydroponic units in their bases supplying them with fresh vegetables where it would not have been possible otherwise.

Hydroponic gardening allows a farmer to have complete control of the plants as far as supplying nutrition to the plants is concerned. In fact, scientists have been conducting experiments with plant nutrition to determine the effect of giving the plant a deficiency of a particular nutrient or supplying the plants with an overabundance of a nutrient to determine how it affects the plants growth.

Hydroponically grown plants have become more significant over the years. Today more than ever, the soil is contaminated with chemicals whether from the environment or from fertilizer residues that heavily affects the balance of the soil. Seldom are soil conditions ideal that could provide good nutrition for the plants growth. With hydroponics gardening, the nutrients are supplied in the quantities that are required and in solutions that are perfectly balanced.

Hydroponic planting, being contained inside a greenhouse prevent harming the environment unlike traditional farming where runoffs from fertilized soil contaminates the soil within the farms immediate location. Water loss is very minimal as hydroponic greenhouses contain the water within the enclosure making it ideal especially in drought stricken and very dry areas to grow particular plant species. Hydroponic gardening is ideal in areas where available fertile land is limited. Growing plants inside hydroponic greenhouses makes the use of pesticides unnecessary as the greenhouse itself protects against pests and other infestation.

Lately, the commercial potential of hydroponically grown vegetables and flowers has grown in significance. More and more people are drawn to the idea of hydroponic farming that soon enough knowledge will be available for the most effective and efficient way to grow plants through this method. There are new things and benefits that are learned everyday with this type of farming that hydroponic farming has been dubbed as the agriculture mode of the future.