In simple words, hydroponics is a type of gardening in which soil is replaced with nutrient-rich water to grow crops. It uses different materials to support the roots of the plants. In this type of gardening, water is used instead of soil.
There are different approaches that can be used in order to design this type of gardening system; however, the core elements used in this system are essentially the same. So here we have listed a few things that you will need while setting up this type of garden:
Freshwater:
While setting up this type of gardening, this is the primo element. You need to take filtered stuff with a balanced pH. Most plants need water with a pH level of 6 to 6.5, so you are allowed to adjust the acidity of water by finding and applying different solutions at your local hardware or gardening store.
Oxygen:
In traditional gardening services and farming procedure, plants take oxygen for respiration from the soil. But when it comes to hydroponics NZ, you are allowed to leave space between the base of your plant and the water reservoir, or you are allowed to oxygenate your container. This can be done by purchasing an air stone or by installing an air pump.
Root support:
Although you don’t need soil in this setup, still the roots of plants require a little something to hold on to. So for this purpose, the most common materials used are peat moss, coconut fibre, vermiculite, and rock wool. Don’t use the materials that can easily compact, like sand, and also dont use the material that doesn’t hold the moisture like the gravel material.
Nutrients:
Just like the plants that grow in the ground require healthy soil along with fertilizers in order to grow well, your plants will require magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, and many other nutrients in order to stay productive. So when you decide to grow your plants without using soil, you need to add plants’ food in the water in order to feed them well. You can make nutrient solutions on your own, or you can buy mixtures from the market.
Light:
While growing the plants indoors through the method of hydroponics, you need to invest in some special lighting. And we all know that each plant requires a different amount of light as well as the placement of the light.