Easy Hydroponics
Learn to make your own homemade hydroponics system to grow virtually any plant, vegetable and fruit without soil.
General Hydroponics:
Hydroponic Systems:
Hydroponics Growing:
Homemade Hydroponics:
Hydroponic Lights:
PVC Hydroponics:
The Advantages and Disadvantages of 4 Major Hydroponic Growing Systems
Whatever you're growing, one question will undoubtedly arise rather sooner than later: What hydroponic growing systems should I be using to maximize the efficiency of my plants' growth? I picked 4 major hydroponic grow systems, including the ebb and flow, water culture, continuous drip and aeroponic and I will point out their good and bad characteristics in the following article.
One of the first choices you'll have to make in your life as a hydroponic gardener is settling in on the system that you're going to use to grow your plants in. In the past, due to lack of information and a lot of hype and myths surrounding each system, people had to rely on a trial and error kind of decision making process. What I'm going to do in this article is cover 4 of the most common types of hydroponic growing systems of today, pointing out their pros and cons and I'll let you decide which is best and spare you the trying out of each of them. The hydroponic grow systems that will be covered are the ebb and flow, the water culture, the continuous drip and the aeroponic system.
Water Culture Hydroponic Growing Systems
Water culture hydroponic systems work on a pretty easy to understand principle: your plants will be suspended atop a nutrient container, with their roots buried in the nutrient solution that's filling the container. A pump and air stone oxygenize the container to keep the roots healthy.
Pros
- Easy to build yourself
- Easy to set up and start growing your plants
- Low initial and long term costs
- Low maintenance
Cons
- Not all plants are viable to be used in such a system
- Lower efficiency
Ebb and Flow Hydroponic Growing Systems
Ebb and flow systems work on the principle of flooding the plants' roots with water for a short period of time, then draining the water back to the nutrient container, literally recycling it.
Pros
- Low cost
- Easy to use and set up
- Good for water hungry plants
Cons
- Some plants that have a low resistance threshold to water exposure will die down (for example strawberries that have a vulnerable corona)
- Prone to breakdowns
- Unstable pH levels in the nutrient tank due to recycling
Continuous Drip Hydroponic Growing Systems
The continuous drip system works essentially like an ebb and flow, with the major difference that the water and nutrients are not sent in the plant tray through flooding, but a more controlled dripping mechanism.
Pros
- A lot of control over your system and how you feed your plants
- Less risks from breakdowns
- Inexpensive
Cons
- The system cannot support a wider number of plants, so it is mostly used with home gardening
- Unstable pH levels in the nutrient tank due to recycling
Aeroponic Growing Systems
Although they use a slightly different technology, aeroponic systems are usually considered hydroponic growing systems and are categorized as such by gardeners. Most aeroponic systems will substitute watery nutrient substances with feeding the plant's roots with a nutrient mist formed out of vaporized solution that can be more effective in getting to your plant.
Pros
- Great root aeration and oxygenation
- Provides the plants the means to develop their roots further
- Great for propagating and cloning
Cons
- More expensive than other hydroponic grow systems that may very well yield the same results
- Harder to manage and build yourself