Monday, November 10, 2008

How much faster can Hydroponics grow compared to soil?

Do you want faster, thicker, healthier growing plants? If so, then you should consider using a hydroponics grow system for all of your indoor gardening needs. Hydroponic systems have been shown time and again to produce larger yields of plants, thicker vegetation, and overall better quality plants.

How?

Some may argue that hydroponic plants produced in hydroponic grow boxes grow better because they receive more attention and therefore diseases can be identified and corrected early. This is certainly a factor that helps hydroponic plants to be better than their terrestrial counterparts. But there is more to this than just how much attention the plants receive.

Hydroponic plants grown in a specifically designed grow box do not have the need to develop as thick of a root system as earth-bound plants require. For an example of a grow box, you can see one at Dealzer.com. With the need for large root systems removed, the plant is now able to direct that energy to the stems, leaves, buds, and flowers. This produces faster growing plants that have thicker and healthier vegetation. In many instances, it can actually lead to faster maturity and bud production. This is especially advantageous to people who grow marijuana for medicinal purposes.

Another advantage of a hydroponic grow system is that there are no weeds. Weeds compete with soil-grown plants for nutrients and can cause slow and stunted growth. With hydroponics there are no weeds and the target species receives all of the nutrients it needs to grow big and healthy.

There are many ways to grow hydroponic plants. Almost all involve some form of grow boxes which are specifically designed to house and protect the plants.

As a matter of fact, there is a booming hydroponics industry that sells hydroponic grow systems to people who grow marijuana. For the people who grow marijuana legally there is a need to grow the plants indoors in grow boxes to reduce the likelihood that the plants will be mistaken for illegal marijuana. An added bonus to using hydroponic grow systems is that the medicinal marijuana grows faster, thicker, and are overall better quality than those grown outdoors IF the system is maintained properly.

However, there is a chance that a hydroponic grow system may produce inferior plants compared to soil-grown plants. This arises when the grower does not monitor the nutrients and growing conditions carefully throughout the growing cycle. But, if the grow box is monitored closely and well maintained, then hydroponics wins over soil-grown plants every time.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

How to build your own homemade hydroponic system guide

Hydroponics is a natural way of gardening that you can use indoors. There are multiple reasons for using hydroponics rather than the traditional gardening techniques. For instance, if your climate is all wrong for what you are wanting to grow, or if you have physical limitations against outdoor gardening. Sometimes hydroponics is used for space saving reasons. Hydroponics gets the stigma of being used for only growing marijuana, but it is a great way to grow. You can grow so many different types of fruits and vegetables using this method of indoor gardening. You can also grow breathtaking flowers and greenery in your own hydroponic grow system.

Did you know you can build your own hydroponic grow system, and enjoy indoor gardening right in your own home or apartment? There are a few items you need, and a few things you must be certain you can accomplish. First of all, you will need a very good source of light. If you have a great source of natural lighting where you plan to have your grow boxes set up, then you are fine with this step. If not, you may want to consider purchasing some fluorescent lights to supplement. Pots and trays are next on the list. You need sterile pots, or you can rinse them in a weak bleach solution, and as for the trays, you can use PVC, which is cheap and sturdy enough for holding the pots. You need a timer for the lights and for the hydroponic pump. You will need the pump to pump the nutrient into the growing boxes, and the timer is set to turn it on and turn it off as needed. Same goes for the lights. Coconut fiber, rock wool and Vermiculite/perlite are wonderful growing medium. They hold enough moisture so the plants can grow, but will let all the excess drain off. This is important to the roots of your plants. No one wants soggy feet, so keep the little guys drained well.

Put the hydroponic growing system together by placing your nutrient solution in a container like an aquarium. Then use the pots, complete with medium and plants, and place them in the tray. Be sure you pump tube is placed in the tray as well. Set this tray on top of the aquarium and don’t forget to make a drain hole on one end.

And there you have it. Your very own hydroponic growing system!

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Hydroponics Automated Grow Boxes

Hydroponics automated grow boxes represent one of the easiest methods of growing your own fruits and vegetables at home. Hydroponic systems are designed with the grower in mind. Automated machines are easy to operate and are guaranteed to produce plentiful amounts of produce week after week, harvest after harvest. Many hydroponic grow boxes are shipped to the customer fully assembled and ready to receive plants the very same day that it arrives, while others may require some simple assembly. The systems are virtually completely automated and are very easy to use. The lights, pumps, fans, and timers go on and off automatically as needed for optimal plant growth. The grower needs only to add water, nutrients, and seeds to begin growing large, healthy plants in their very own home, organically.

There is no need to tear up a room or build on to your home, since hydroponics automated grow boxes can be placed in any spare corner of the house. In addition, some growers discover that certain grow box models fit inside of an unused refrigerator, in a cabinet, in closets, or any other nook or cranny they can think of! Growers can turn any part of their home into the perfect indoor hydroponic garden setting, with perfect growing conditions 365 days out of the year.

There are a number of corporations which manufacture and sell hydroponic automated grow boxes. Each company has its own model, size, and growing solutions, one of which is right for you. Some corporations offer consumers the chance to customize their own grow boxes according to personal preferences and needs. From systems designed for the very beginner to large production systems for the expert commercial farmer, grow boxes come in all shapes and sizes.

Deciding to grow your own organic produce in an indoor garden can be a rewarding endeavor. Your investment will quickly be returned exponentially as you save money and protect your health with safe, natural, organic fruits and vegetables. Imagine biting into vine-ripened tomatoes in the middle of the winter, plucked fresh from the vine right in your own kitchen. Think of how wonderful it would be if you could pick organic, rich herbs for your favorite recipes any day of the week. These possibilities, and countless others, are waiting for you through the miracle of hydroponics automated grow boxes technology!

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Hydroponics Technology News

Over the last ten years the consumer demand for fresh, quality, premium produce has increased dramatically. Today's savvy customer wants to purchase produce which is known to be free of any harmful herbicides or pesticides and is considered safe, and they will pay any price for the privilege. Growing produce through hydroponic methods is one way of meeting this demand.

Hydroponics is the method of growing plants without soil. Agriculturists discovered that plants absorb necessary nutrients in the water in the form of simple ions. In the traditional garden, the soil serves to reserve these nutrients, yet soil is not essential for plant growth. Plants cannot absorb any of the nutrients found in the soil unless they are first dissolved in water. Therefore, when the essential nutrients are introduced to a plant through the water supply alone, soil becomes more of a nuisance than a necessity. Hydroponics allows the plant to gain nutrients directly from the water supply, with a total elimination of soil.

Through the cooperation of the latest in hydroponics technology and an environmentally-controlled greenhouse, the demand for such produce can be met. In fact, hydroponic grow boxes and related systems are an ideal solution for the increased demand. A good quality hydroponics grow system allows a hydroponics farmer to raise high quality produce in locations close to the market. The farmer eliminates the damage and costs related to the commercial transport of their prized field produce through this method.

Across the United States and the world, hydroponic farms are thriving. Many hydroponics farms located in the US are small or family-owned businesses. Some of the larger facilities, on the other hand, can stretch as wide as 80 acres. Smaller farms tend to operate on less than one acre of land of active hydroponic production, while larger farms may average between twenty and forty acres of active hydroponics. Smaller farms have an advantage over larger facilities in their ability to be located closer to the marketplace, provide vine-ripened produce, and omit produce transportation expenses or damage.

Hydroponic grow boxes are strategically placed within a controlled-environment greenhouse. Plants are exposed to the perfect amount of plant nutrients, never treated with pesticides or herbicides, and grow with both natural sunlight and grow lights. Through these methods, the resulting hydroponic produce is of the best premium quality, can be deemed organic, and meets the highest standards for safety and natural diets.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

How to Grow Legal Marijuana with Hydroponics

In 1996, California voters overwhelmingly supported the Compassionate Use Act, which allows for legal use of marijuana for people who possess or cultivate marijuana for a patient's medical purposes with physician approval. However, federal law still makes the buying and selling of marijuana a serious crime. How, then, is a person supposed to attain their legal marijuana? By using a hydroponics grow system to grow marijuana in an indoor garden.

Hydroponics is the science of growing plants in using technology such as grow boxes and indoor lighting and watering system. The yield of a hydroponic garden may be five to seven times as much as a traditionally grown plant because the plant is not subjected to the stress and fluctuations they would encounter outside. This means that a person who needs legal marijuana year round could grow a garden that produces in every season without subjecting themselves to scrutiny from legal organizations or risking buying their legal marijuana from the black market.

Growing healthy plants in a grow box is easy thanks to modern technology. Many grow boxes can be completely closed, and double as a beautiful piece of furniture. Sophisticated lighting systems ensure that the plant always receives the optimal amount of heat and light. Although hydroponic systems use water in a different way than traditional gardening systems, on the whole they use less water, less pesticides, and less fertilizers while still producing a much higher yield.

Hydroponics is not a new science. Once used by the Egyptian pharaohs, this way of growing larger, healthier plants using fewer resources is becoming a popular choice in countries that lack the land, the sunlight, or the warm weather needed for outdoor agriculture. It is a legitimate science that is in a constant state of development and growth both for legitimate and less than legal causes.

People who grow legal marijuana are committing an act of compassion and caring for the people who would otherwise suffer without the drug they need to treat their illness. There is no reason for these Good Samaritans to be penalized for their good citizenship and mercy toward the less fortunate. Growing a hydroponic garden allows this good work to go on without unwanted attention.


Monday, November 3, 2008

Are Hydroponics Organic?

Everyone is going “green” lately it seems. Not only do people demand organic foods and drinks, but they also demand that ALL items that enter their body be produced organic. What exactly does this mean and how can people who grow marijuana benefit from this craze?

The answer is hydroponics. Hydroponic plants produced in dedicated hydroponic grow systems have the potential to satisfy people’s craving for “green” living. This niche market can produce healthier plants and healthier profits for those willing to accept the hydroponic challenge.

For a product to be considered organic, it must meet specific criteria. It must be grown without the use of conventional pesticides or artificial fertilizers. It must also not be grown with human waste or use food additives. Most types of indoor gardening can allow these criteria to be easily met, but there are some hydroponics grow systems that are more aptly suited for this purpose than others.

The most difficult components necessary for hydroponic producers to abstain in order to produce organic crops are the artificial fertilizers. Leaving out the artificial fertilizers seems difficult, but it can be easier if you have a dedicated grow box specifically designed for your hydroponics. Grow boxes offer indoor gardening enthusiasts the greatest opportunity to closely monitor their plants and to maximize their “green” potential while producing the organic plants that health-conscious consumers desire.

However, there are other steps necessary before you can officially market your product as “organic”. In order for your hydroponics to be certified as organic, and for you to use the organic label, you must apply to the government to be officially recognized as a certified organic producer. There are exceptions to this rule if you produce less than a certain dollar amount of crops in a year.

Overall, there are ways to produce organic hydroponics, but they require using techniques that may for difficult for the average grower to produce. If you want to have certified organic products, they need to be assessed by the government in most cases. If you don’t want to get the government’s permission to use the organic label, then you can still grow them organically and just call them “naturally grown”.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Can Hydroponics Solve World Hunger?

Everyone has heard the saying that if you give a man a fish you will feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish you will feed him for a lifetime. This saying has been around forever and shows that hunger has been around as long as people have. It also demonstrates that there are ways to end peoples hunger by giving them long-term solutions instead of short-term satisfaction. But, not everyone is able to fish to provide for themselves. So, is there another way to help end world hunger that can be used almost anywhere in the world regardless of whether or not there are fish available? There is another way to save the world.

Hydroponics.

That's right. Hydroponics grow systems can be used throughout the world to provide food in places that traditionally can not make food. Hydroponic plants can be grown in the desert, in the arctic, and any environment in between, if certain conditions are maintained. Hydroponic plants are easy to produce and the process is simple to learn. These systems also work very well for other indoor gardening endeavors and can provide large amounts of plants that can be used for food, ornamental, or medicinal purposes.

Traditionally, hydroponics grow systems are thought to have been used exclusively to grow marijuana. That simply is not the case. While there are people who use hydroponic grow boxes to grow marijuana, hydroponic systems can grow almost any type of plant and can produce viable plants throughout the year.

In order for people throughout the world to begin hydroponics, they must first have an area to grow their plants. Convenient hydroponics grow systems include pre-manufactured grow boxes that are designed for hydroponic production. These can be purchased on the internet and shipped to people who need food. A grow box can be as simple or as complex as the grower desires.

Imagine a world where there are no starving children crying in the streets. Imagine a world where everyone has enough food to eat. This is an ideal world and it can be achieved in our lifetime, if everyone in the world uses hydroponics to grow their own food. Why rely on fish alone?

If you would like more information about grow boxes, you can find it at www.Dealzer.com.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

The Benefits of Hydroponics

The Benefits of Hydroponics

Hydroponics is the act of growing food indoors with the use of lighting equipment and water source that mimics the best of environments in which to grow plants.

Many gardeners are discovering Hydroponics as a valid way to create the food that consume on a daily basis as there are many benefits to hydroponics:

Hydroponics allowed gardening to be done all year round. This means that even in climates which have very short growing seasons, plants, food and flowers can still be cultivated. Hydroponics is an essential development as it removes the limitations that come with climate zones which can be hazardous to growing.

Hydroponics allows for more plants to be grown per given area than traditional gardening. Did you know that Hydroponics factories are able to grow up to ten times as much greenery than traditional gardens? With these areas situated just for growing, they become more effective.

Did you know that with the use of Hydroponics that pests can be practically eliminated? Since the environment in which these plants are grown is indoors – the pests that are found in the natural environment are not able to thrive in the indoors.

Another benefit of Hydroponics is the fact there is no digging or weeding required. There are no plant pieces within the air, and no pesticides are used within the environment because of the lack of pests.

There are many Hydroponic farms that provide food that we eat on a daily basis. Some say that is the future of our food source, as food is grown twice as quickly than it would be in a traditional garden or outdoor environment.

Did you know that Hydroponics has the ability to increase the flavor of the crops? Think about the vegetables that we ingest on a daily basis, the more green the vegetables, the more intense the flavor. There are some aspects of the environment which can take away from the taste of these vegetables. When hydroponics is used, we experience greater taste potential within the vegetables and fruit – as they are in their purest form.

Hydroponic growing allows the gardeners to determine the amount of water that is going to be used on a regular basis. This tight schedule means that all water is going to reach the plants, and less will be wasted. Less wasted water is better for the environment and creates sustainable growing condition.

Compared to traditional gardening, there are countless benefits. Perhaps it is the way of the future?

Dealzer.com
Samples of Hydroponic Grow Boxes.

Friday, October 31, 2008

What is Hydroponics?

What is Hydroponics

Hydroponics is a type of gardening, where instead of soil, you use water to grow the plants. If the plants that are growing are doing so be simply dangling their roots down into a pool of water, that is considered Nutrient Film Technique, or N.F.T. This is just one way of growing things using hydroponics, as there are hundreds of ways of doing so.

There are six basic methods of hydroponics. All the other methods are just combinations of these first six. To start, let's take a look at wicking, as done in this type of gardening. The wick system is really simple. There are wicks leading from a tank of water into the growing medium. This is a passive system, meaning no moving parts.

In water culture, the plants float usually in Styrofoam containers. An air pump will supply the water with the needed oxygen. The best type of plant for this kind of gardening is leaf lettuce plants. They love the water, and grow rapidly this way. Also, this method is very popular with school teachers, and is used a lot in their classrooms. You can make this system from an old aquarium.

The next type of hydroponic gardening is ebb and flow, or more commonly flood and drain. This system works by temporarily flooding the grow box with your nutrient solution, and then draining it back off, into the reservoir. Some people like to have their plants in separate containers as it is easier to move them around, but you can place them all in the grow box in the same growing medium, such as gravel, perlite, or grow rocks.

Drip systems will pump the nutrients and water into the grow boxes, and a small drain tube will drip into the reservoir. The drip system seems to be the most popular of all hydroponic systems.

Aeroponic systems use primarily air as a growing medium. The roots hang in mid air, and are misted with the nutrient solution in intervals.Be careful, though. If the roots are not sprayed with the nutrient solution, because they are hanging out in the open air, they will dry out.

All methods of hydroponics are simple easy ways to enjoy indoor gardening. Try one, or a few different ones. Combine them to make the system that is just right for your gardening needs.