Methods of Organic gardening (part 1): Hydroponic Gardening

Organic gardening uses natural and organic materials to enrich the soil and fight pests thus ensuring a good crop. Far different from conventional gardening, it follows the important principles of organic agriculture in soil building and pest management. Conventional gardening is chemical-based, whereas organic gardening is a more natural process and relies on materials like composts and manures to enrich the soil.

However, the main concerns of organic gardening are the quality of soil, and the pesky soil-dwelling critters that harm the soil and space. Organic gardening that relies on conventional soil culture requires hectic maintenance and attracts lot of pests. That’s why gardeners look for soil-free alternative ways that require little work and bestow great advantages to plants. Hydroponic gardening is one such great alternative method to conventional soil-based gardening.

One of the greatest benefits of hydroponic organic gardening is that it does not rely on conventional soil culture to aid in the growth of flowering plants. The principles of organic hydroponic gardening are similar to traditional organic gardening, but it depends more on water than soil to provide essential nutrients needed for the growth of a flowering plant. However, it does require a growth medium to substitute for the soil. The growing medium can be any organic material, but most gardeners use different materials, such as cotton, straw, or plant fiber as a growing support for plants.

Water is the most essential element in organic hydroponic gardening. Organic materials are dissolved in water to provide nutrients to plants. The best way is to dissolve compost into water and drain out the solid material. The water gets enriched with nutrients and is ready to feed the plants. This is how compost tea is prepared.

Plants depend on nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, sulfur, phosphorous, potassium as well as iron, manganese, copper, and zinc in smaller amounts. Compost tea is enriched with all these nutrients that help plants to survive.

Hydroponic organic gardening is the best alternative way to grow plants in those areas where the soil is too depleted to grow crops. This method of gardening is mostly used in urban rooftops or indoors. Besides water, plants also need ample amounts of light for survival, so some gardeners use LED lights or grow lights to help them survive and grow. Today, many gardeners rely on organic hydroponic gardening to grow vegetables. However, it is not advised as a way to grow food as it may lack nutrition and may not be as healthy as compared to foods grown using conventional organic methods.

With the growing need for this technique of gardening, organic hydroponic systems are introduced in the market. The system boasts a unit that is comprised of a water reservoir, some containers, a water pump that circulates the water, and a growing medium. There is a wide variety of organic hydroponic kits available in the market, but all come with a certain limited number of pots to grow plants them. The growing pots range from 12 to as much as 24 pots for those who have ample space on their gardens. Buying hydroponic systems can also be a great way to harness this technique of gardening. Hydrogardenshop.com is a very good website to buy hydroponic systems.

Organic hydroponic gardening is followed by many gardeners today and it can be the next step in organic gardening in the near future.

The next part will give a brief insight on raised bed gardening and its uses.

"Organic Hydroponic Gardening" http://www.organic-gardening.net/articles/organic-hydroponic-gardening.php

"Hydroponic Systems" http://www.hhydro.com/