The word “hydroponics” comes from the Greek words hydro which means water and ponos which means labor. Hydroponics is a process of growing plant without using soil. By this process, growing plants utilize mineral nutrient solutions in water. Plants may be grown with their roots in the mineral nutrient solution only or in a still medium, for instance gravel, mineral wool, or coconut husk. Nearly any terrestrial plant will cultivate with hydroponics. Hydroponics is also a typical system in biology study and teaching.

For the past few years, the popularity of hydroponics has increased speedily. This is because of the advantages that the hydroponics can bring especially for food production. One of hydroponics’ advantages is the no soil requirements. One of the early accomplishments of hydroponics happened on Wake Island. Wake Island is a rocky atoll in the Pacific Ocean utilized as a refueling stop for Pan American Airlines. Hydroponics was applied there in the 1930s to cultivate vegetables for the passengers. Hydroponics was inevitability on Wake Island because there was no soil, and it was costly to airlift in fresh vegetables.

Also an advantage of hydroponics is that it lowers water costs since the water stays in the system and can be reused. Aside from lowering water costs, hydroponics also lower nutrition costs because of its ability to control the nutrition levels in their entirety. Because of the controlled system, there is no nutrition pollution that is released into the environment, thus, making hydroponics more environment friendly method. It is also proven that through this method, higher yields are obtainable. The stability of the process is also the reason why hydroponics is adapted worldwide at present. It has been discovered that pests and diseases are easier to eradicate in hydroponics than in conventional method of using soil because of the container’s mobility.

At our present time, hydroponics is a recognized branch of agronomy. Advancement has been fast, and outcome obtained in different countries have proved it to be systematically realistic and to have very distinct advantages over conventional methods of plant cultivation. The two principal advantage of the cultivation of plants without the use of soil are, first, much superior crop yields, and second, hydroponics makes it possible to grow plants in places where in-ground agriculture or gardening is very impossible due to lack of soil.

In conventional gardening the plants are grown in soil and take their nourishment from the chemical compounds contained within that soil. The hydroponics gardener replaces the soil with a balanced, nutrient rich, solution that the plant can absorb with ease. Because the plant does not have to work so hard to absorb the available nutrients it saves energy which can then be utilized for stronger growth.

Because of this energy saving, plants grown using hydroponics methods outperform conventionally produced plants in both growth and fruit production. Due to the consistent results and good profit margins, more and more commercial growers are turning to hydroponics production. Totally organic production is possible using specially designed organic nutrients, giving excellent, inexpensive, vegetables and herbs.

There are several different types of hydroponics system, but all share the same basic principle of supplying the plants with nutrients and water. The most common systems are:

Water Culture, Aquaculture, or Nutriculture this is a Hydroponics system in which the plant roots are immersed in water containing a complex mixture of dissolved nutrients. A simple example of water culture is the Hyacinth bulb growing in a wine goblet shaped glass, its roots growing down into the hollow goblet stem.

Aggregate Culture in this system a material such as sand, gravel, or marbles supports the plant roots. It is important to note that the support material, unlike soil, does not absorb nutrient. It merely traps it in the spaces between the grains or stones allowing the plant roots to freely take up the liquid.

Continuous Flow Hydroponics Systems in these types of system the nutrient solution flows constantly over the plant roots. This is the most commonly used system for commercial production. Aeroponics this system is one in which the plant roots hang in the air and are misted regularly with a nutrient solution.

There are a number of pre-packaged hydroponics systems available for both the commercial grower and hobbyist. Individuals, who lack building skills, or are inexperienced plant growers, should consider one of these kits as an introduction to hydroponics, a fascinating and challenging hobby. Similar systems can be built at lower cost, however, by those of you who have the expertise.