What is hydroponics? How does it work? How does hydroponic farming compare to traditional farming?
When we tell folks that we grow our produce using hydroponics, we usually get something on the brink of this response:

“Sounds cool…sounds love it has something to try to to with food maybe? What even is it?”

For all the hydro-curious folks out there, we’ve put together a primer on the fundamentals of hydroponic farming.

We suggest you begin here to find out the essentials of hydroponics, and if you’re inspired to undertake growing some hydroponic plants of your own, click over to the present page to ascertain what quite system would work best for you!

So what’s Hydroponics?

Put simply: Hydroponics maybe thanks to skipping the soil, sub during a different material to support the roots of the plant, and grow crops directly in nutrient-rich water.

There are multiple approaches to designing hydroponic systems, but the core elements are essentially an equivalent .

What you need:

• Fresh water. Were talking primo, filtered stuff with a balanced pH. Most plants like water with a pH level around 6–6.5. you’ll adjust the acidity of your water with over-the-counter solutions found at your local hardware, garden, or hydroponic store.
• Oxygen. Don’t drown your plants! In traditional farming, roots can get the oxygen needed for respiration from pockets of air within the soil. counting on your hydroponic setup, you’ll either got to leave space between the bottom of your plant and therefore the water reservoir, or you’ll need oxygenate your container (think of bubbles during a fish tank), which you’ll accomplish by buying an air stone or installing an vacuum pump .
• Root Support. albeit you don’t need soil, your plant’s roots still need a touch something to carry on to. Typical materials include vermiculite, perlite, peat moss, coconut fiber, and rockwool. stand back from materials which may compact (like sand) or that don’t retain any moisture (like gravel).
• Nutrients. Your plant goes to wish many magnesium, phosphorus, calcium, and other nutrients to remain healthy and productive –– a bit like plants growing within the ground need healthy soil and fertilizer. When you’re growing plants without soil, this “plant food” must be included within the water that’s feeding your plants. While you’ll technically make your own nutrient solution, it’s easy to shop for mixtures online and in stores.
• Light. If you’re growing your plants indoors, you would possibly need to invest in some special lighting. Each quite plant will have a special requirement for the quantity of sunshine it needs and for the location of lights (typically mentioned as Daily Light Integral or DLI).Fresh water. Were talking primo, filtered stuff with a balanced pH. Most plants like water with a pH level around 6–6.5. you’ll adjust the acidity of your water with over-the-counter solutions found at your local hardware, garden, or hydroponic store.
• Oxygen. Don’t drown your plants! In traditional farming, roots can get the oxygen needed for respiration from pockets of air within the soil. counting on your hydroponic setup, you’ll either got to leave space between the bottom of your plant and therefore the water reservoir, or you’ll need oxygenate your container (think of bubbles during a fish tank), which you’ll accomplish by buying an air stone or installing an vacuum pump .
• Root Support. albeit you don’t need soil, your plant’s roots still need a touch something to carry on to. Typical materials include vermiculite, perlite, peat moss, coconut fiber, and rockwool. stand back from materials which may compact (like sand) or that don’t retain any moisture (like gravel).
• Nutrients. Your plant goes to wish many magnesium, phosphorus, calcium, and other nutrients to remain healthy and productive –– a bit like plants growing within the ground need healthy soil and fertilizer. When you’re growing plants without soil, this “plant food” must be included within the water that’s feeding your plants. While you’ll technically make your own nutrient solution, it’s easy to shop for mixtures online and in stores.
• Light. If you’re growing your plants indoors, you would possibly need to invest in some special lighting. Each quite plant will have a special requirement for the quantity of sunshine it needs and for the location of lights (typically mentioned as Daily Light Integral or DLI).

While there are other elements to think about as you increase the sophistication of your hydroponic farm (for instance, things like CO2 supplementation), the five listed above are the foremost foundational elements of any hydroponic system.

By monitoring and adjusting these key variables, you’ll begin to get precisely what your plants got to thrive, and replicate those conditions for each grow within the future.

Why Grow Without Soil?

This seemingly subtle shift in how we make food (skipping the soil, that is) is really revolutionary –– it allows growers to supply food anywhere within the world, at any time of the year, and to net higher yields with fewer resources.

Grow Anywhere

Yep. Take that, global climate change. Growing seasons and regions are in major flux immediately as temperatures change and growing conditions change alongside them. Even in “normal” conditions, there are many places where the bottom just isn’t conducive for farming (like deserts, concrete jungles…you get the gist).

Right now, most of the vegetables you encounter during a store are shipped in from afar, and have lost nutritional value along the way.

Using hydroponics, we will create hyper-local food systems – and that we are! Our container farms are found out right within the communities and regions that we serve. It’s even possible to place a farm directly behind restaurants that want ultra-fresh produce! And when you’re growing hydroponically, you don’t need to hit pause for a season or risk crop loss from inclement weather.

Higher Yields

Plants grown in well-managed hydroponic systems live the great life. Since roots are bathed altogether the nutrients they have , plants spend longer growing upward and fewer time and energy growing extensive root systems to look for food.

Growth rates vary supported the sort of system and quality of care, but hydro plants can mature up to 25 percent more quickly than an equivalent plants grown in soil, with increased crop yield, to boot.

Fewer Resources

We bet you didn’t see this coming: hydroponic systems actually use less water than traditional soil-based systems. this is often because closed systems aren’t subject to an equivalent rate of evaporation. Plus, the water utilized in hydroponic systems are often filtered, re-populated with nutrients, and fed back to plants again in order that water is consistently being recycled rather than wasted!

At Vertical Roots, our systems spend to 98 percent less water than traditional soil-based systems.

Other “resources” indoor hydroponic plants don’t need? Pesticides and other potentially harmful chemicals, since the hydro crops are shielded from many of the pests and plant diseases found outdoors in soil-based farms.

Easy Troubleshooting

How many times have you ever walked bent your garden and seen one among your plants thriving while its next-door-neighbor is drooping? therein situation, it’s almost impossible to understand which variable is negatively affecting your poor plant. Is it a pest problem? Are the nutrients within the soil different therein spot? Has this plant become your dog’s urinal?

With a hydroponic system, you recognize exactly what conditions your plants are being grown in. As such, you’ll easily isolate variables and experiment! Once you discover the right formula of sunshine , pH balance, and nutrients, you’ll replicate success without always getting hit with curveballs.