Gardening is painful, be it indoors or outdoors. Using a hydroponic system, however, lessens that pain to a great extent. Whether you are doing it as a hobby or commercially, setting up an indoor garden with hydroponics has many benefits. From saving resources to ensuring better production, this system has a lot to offer.
Here are six reasons why you should switch to a hydroponic system for your indoor garden.
1. No Need for Soil
One of the many benefits of gardening with hydroponics is that you do not need any soil for the plants to grow. Instead, you will have to grow the hydroponic plants in containers filled with water. This is especially beneficial for those of you who live in areas that lack fertile or nutrient-enriched soil for growing plants. Those living in urban areas can also benefit from this.
One thing you need to understand is that just because the plants do not need soil does not mean they will not need any sort of nutrients. Instead, you will have to use mineral nutrient solutions in the water for the hydroponic plants. The solution you use needs to contain varying quantities of calcium, oxygen, potassium, magnesium, boron, iron, zinc, etc. You can check out this link to find out more about how you can make a hydroponic formula at home on your own.
2. Can Save You Space
Thanks to the nutrient-enriched hydroponic formula, the plants you grow need not spread their roots in search of minerals and other nutrients. As a result, their roots will remain pretty much the same size when you initially planted them. That will allow you to grow more hydroponic plants closely together, which in turn will save you a lot of space. This is something that is highly appreciated in indoor gardening, where maximum utilization of your space is a must.
3. Faster Growth and Better Yields
Indoor hydroponic gardening leads to faster growth of the plants as well as better yields. The reason behind this is simple. Hydroponic plants are grown in a controlled environment. You are providing these plants with all the nutrients they require through hydroponic solutions. And as long as they have the right amount of exposure to natural lighting, and are not affected by pests or diseases, they will continue to grow fast and produce better yields.
4. Water Saving
In hydroponic gardening, you are simply using containers filled with water to grow the plants. These containers are sealed from the bottom to prevent water from seeping out. At the same time, the container tops are covered to make sure that you do not lose water through evaporation.
Hence, what happens is that the plants can use the exact amount of water they need for a particular day or cycle. The rest remains intact inside the containers. And since there are no openings for the water to leave, it will stay there until the plant uses it all up. That way, you somewhat save water. Unlike soil or outdoor gardening, you do not have to water the plants constantly.
5. Fewer Chances of Pests and Diseases
There are two reasons why pests and diseases are not common in hydroponic plants.
Firstly, it is a controlled environment without any contact with the soil. So, the plants are kept isolated from any sort of contamination or pests. The few diseases that may arise in these systems are probably genetic, and the affected plants can be isolated easily.
Secondly, since you are continuously providing them nutrient-enriched solutions, these plants turn out to be more versatile. Hence, they do not give into diseases that easily.
6. No Need to Worry About Weeds
Weeds are opportunistic plants. They will grow around your plants if they can find room. After that, they will start consuming all the nutrients that are meant for your plants. And due to this, your crops cannot get sufficient amounts of minerals and other nutrients it needs to grow properly.
In a hydroponic system, you do not have to worry about weeding, because weeds cannot grow there. Since each plant has its own enclosed space, and the entire environment is controlled to a great extent, seeds from other plants cannot enter the containers. Thus, there is no chance of weed growth in this system.
Getting into hydroponic gardening, you will discover more benefits the system has. For now, these are all you need to know to get yourself started.