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Hydroponics is an often misunderstood part of the field of horticulture. Let’s separate the fact from the fiction and take a look at what exactly hydroponics means to the world of gardening and food production.

The term hydroponics is taken from the Latin and means “working water.” Hydroponic growing is the soil-less cultivation of plants. All of the nutrients plants normally get from soil are instead delivered to the plants through water. To feed the plants all the tiny amounts of metals, calcium, and trace organic substances the hydroponic practitioner uses special formulations of feed.

One common misconception about hydroponics is that is a new fangled, fashionable trend. The reality is that although we think it new, it isn’t and has been used for crop growing for hundred of years. Even the ancient Egyptians used hydroponics to grow their food. Big advances have been achieved in the subject in the last thirty years since agriculturalists began studying teh idea as an alternate means of food cultivation, which potentially is why such a lot of people think it is a new technique.

Contrary to popular belief, hydroponics has absolutely nothing to do with genetically modified food. It is a fact that GM crop modification has been declared a solution to starvation among the world’s poor, in the same way as hydroponics has, that is where all similarity ceases. Due to the fact that genetically modified food production is so disliked, by association, hydroponics has been getting a bad press. In fact, hydroponic food is 100% natural food, not modified in any way, and no chemicals are added to the plants to make them grow that they would not get in traditional fields. It’s simply a different way to grow food; no genetic manipulation involved.

Some people believe hydroponics is bad for the environment and climate change. Nothing could be further from the truth. Hydroponic plants require much less water than traditional plants do – in most cases, they require around a tenth of the water of traditional plants. The water is used for the desired plants only; there is no water wasted on weeds. In addition, no run-off of pesticides into the surroundings is possible. It is accepted that hydroponic methods do consume energy especially for lighting those crops would normally always need such power anyway.

Despite what many people think, hydroponics plant cultures can be set up without costing a fortune,. True, nutrient mixtures and growth mediums are expensive, but the field has come a long way in developing reusable materials to balance some of these costs. In principle, there is no reason why hydroponics should be more expeensive than traditional production using soil-base techniques.

Nor is hydroponics an obscure gardening technique. It is utilized throughout the globe, and in some parts of the world, it is the most often used system. For instance, in British Columbia, 90% of the plants grown in greenhouses are hydroponic plants.

One thing people consider a benefit of hydroponics is actually a myth as well. Don’t think hydroponics and organic farming are synonymous – they are not actually connected. Most hydroponic growers used pesticides on their crops. A big advantage is that in traditional agriculture the pesticides and fertilizers used tend to run-off and pollute the area around the field, whereas this alternative does not. We have often seen organic hydroponic crops for sale, but the term does not imply whether organic methods will be used or not.

You would be wrong to think that hydroponics is of little use other than for the illegal drug growing in attics and garden sheds. That is completely untrue. Some illegal growers do use hydroponics, but many more people use this technique to grow legal crops. 

Hydroponics can be safely predicted to expand massively over the next few years due to its ability to provide food. With more understanding of the field, hydroponic growers will find it easier to convince the public about the viability of their crops.

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