by Glory Lennon

Created on: November 04, 2008   Last Updated: November 12, 2008

It is truly fascinating how experts can make everything seem much more complicated than they need to be. For the novice the easier you make it the more likely they are to try it and don't we all like to try the new and the different just to see what happens? Of course we do. In this instance let us take a look at Hydroponic gardening a method in which plants are grown without soil. Now, that may sound complicated in itself, growing plants without soil but truly is isn't. You may already have done some soil-less gardening without even knowing it.

How can you possibly garden without soil without knowing it? Easy, if you've ever placed a few branches of Pussy Willow into a vase come early spring and left them to root in the water. Pussy Willow, along with many other plants, often develop roots in water when the water isn't changed regularly. This is a defense or more accurately a survival mechanism within the plant. Once a branch or twig is broken off the plant it senses its demise and automatically exudes a rooting hormone to help it "re-sprout" wherever it may land to perpetuate the species. Vines in particular are good at this possibly to counter all those Indiana Jones types that go hacking away at them in the jungles. You see, when plants root in water you have instant Hydroponics. Yes, that's all there is to it.

In "The Land" building at EPCOT center at Disney World you will see a much more complicated Hydroponics program. They have plants suspended in mid-air and rotating slowly while they get misted with a super-charged solution packed with nutrients. This is all highly computerized, specialized and exquisite to witness but not something your average gardener can possibly do at home unless they have the resources of a sheik.

Luckily, you don't need much to try your hand at Hydroponic gardening in minimalist fashion. Take a few choice pieces of Golden Pathos, Philodendron, Honeysuckle, Peace Lily, Weeping Willow or even Petunia, stick them in a plain jar of water and see what happens. If you are remotely lucky they will root and you can keep them perpetually growing in water with just a tiny addition of some weak compost tea solution to provide it some nutrients. If you have nutrient-rich well-water you may not even need that. With your own little experiment into the "complicated" world of Hydroponics you'll feel like an instant genius and good job, too.

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