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Hydroponics is the growing of plants in a medium not using dirt. Most of the time they are grown in water, with nutrients added to the water. Hydroponics is from two Greek words roughly translated as "water working".

I became interested in Hydroponics a few years ago when I was visiting Disney World in Orlando, Florida. My husband and I had taken a tour of their Land exhibit at Epcot, and we got to take a ride through their hydroponic garden. It was a great sight to see all the plants that were growing in just water. Two years later I signed up for a behind the scenes tour. We got to see how they started the plants and how they bred friendly insects to counter the bad ones. We all got to release some ladybugs in to the garden.It was fascinating!

While hydroponics has grown over the last 50 years, it is still unknown by most gardeners. Plants can be grown in gravel, sand, water or even styrofoam.

Three centuries ago, there were experiments to see if soil or water was the best thing for plants. It was found if soil was added to water, the plants would improve. Many experiments followed. But in modern times when there were droughts in the midwest, it was found plants would not grow without water, no matter how rich the soil was. Professor Julius von Sachs in 1860 first came up with the first formula for a nutrient solution, where plants could extract nutrients from the water.

There are many advantages to hydroponic gardening.
There are no weeds, and soil-borne pests are immediately eliminated. Also, there is little labor compared to a dirt garden.One of the biggest advantages is being able to grow more plants in less space. In an acre of space you could grow, 5 tons of beans in soil, and 21 tons of beans in a soil-free medium. Cucumbers, 7,000 lbs in soil, 28,000 lbs in a soil-free medium, peas 1 ton in soil and 9 tons in soil free medium.

Since you can reuse the water and nutrients, you use less then with a garden using soil. Plants grow faster and produce more.

Plants can be grown in any containers, from fish tanks(without the fish) to elaborate vases, There is room for hydroponics in the city and in the wide open spaces.

One of the goals with hydroponics is control. You can control the climate and the function of soil and water. One of the best ways to do this is with a greenhouse. If that is something you can not afford you can still do it in your living room in a nice window. You can also grow plants in your basement using grow lights. There are many different ways to do hydroponics, but once you start you won't want to stop. For more info try http://bluhobo.selfsuff1.hop.c lickbank.net/

Learn more about this author, Marilyn Wright.
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