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Building a Hydroponics System Yourself

Love fresh produce, but just don't have the space for an outdoor garden? When you lack the land for a traditional garden, consider building an indoor hydroponics system.

Hydroponics is the common term used for soil-less gardening. The technique of growing with hydroponics can be traced back to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, which is still considered to be one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

The technique received a boost when, in the 1890s, a group of German scientists developed nutrient formulas and brought the technique into modern agriculture. Today, the hydroponics method has developed beyond simply gardening using water, to a new system of using media other than soil.

There are six basic types of hydroponics systems, including wick, water culture, ebb and flow, drip, aeroponic and N.F.T (nutrient film technique). There are other methods available on the market, but they are simply variations on these six basic types of hydroponics.

Wick Hydroponics

For most indoor gardeners, wick systems provide the simplest method to grow plants using hydroponics. This is a passive system, so there are no moving parts. All you do is place a wick into a reservoir containing nutrient solution to grow plants using the wick method. The wick draws nutrient solution into the growing medium, and moving parts are completely unnecessary.

Other components of the wick hydroponics system may include:

* Growing tray

* Grow medium

* Hydroponics system air stone

* Air pump

The wick hydroponics system will incorporate a growing medium. Perlite, vermiculite, coconut fiber and Pro-Mix are common media used in hydroponics gardening. There is a major drawback to using the wick system. Large plants, and those plants that require a substantial amount of water, may use the nutrient solution faster than the wick can supply it.

Water Culture

One of the easiest ways to grow with hydroponics systems to use the water culture system. Components include a floating platform, air line, air stone and air pump. The floating platform serves as a support system and keeps plants in place while the roots are allowed to dangle in the nutrient solution. The air pump is located outside of the tank and sends air through the line to the air stone. In turn, the air stone aerates or "bubbles" the nutrient solution, providing oxygen for the plant roots.

The water culture hydroponics system is the best choice for growing leaf lettuce. This fast-growing plant loves water, making it the ideal candidate for this type of hydroponics system. In fact, lettuce is one of very few plants that will actually thrive in a water culture system.

Ebb and Flow

Sometimes called the "flood and drain", the ebb and flow hydroponics system works by temporarily flooding the grow tray with nutrient solution, and then draining the solution out of the tray and back into the reservoir. A submerged pump connected to a timer is usually used to complete this ongoing cycle.

When the timer turns the pump on, the nutrient solution is pumped into the grow tray. Then, when the timer shuts the pump off, the nutrient solution flows back into the reservoir. This process is carefully timed, and repeated at several intervals throughout the day. The size and type of plants, humidity, temperature and the type of growing medium used can all affect the number of times the hydroponics system will "ebb and flow".

If you love eating fresh produce, but don't have the space or ideal climate, you can grow great tasting vegetables indoors with a hydroponics system.