Greenhouse hydroponic gardening is a method of growing flowers, herbs, vegetables, and other plants in an indoor environment in a water solution without using soil or natural sunlight.
For gardeners interested in growing vegetables year round, greenhouse hydroponic gardening is an excellent way of letting them do that.
One of the main functions of dirt and soil in normal gardening is to support the plant's root system.
In hydroponic gardening, this functionality of soil is generally replaced with crushed rock or gravel.
Another function of soil, however, is to provide nutrients to the plant.
Since plants cannot get nutrients from rock or gravel, In hydroponic gardening, an alternative method had to be devised.
This consisted of feeding plants with a water solution that was rich in nutrients.
Hydroponic gardening has been used by professional growers for decades.
In the 1960's, it was also a popular fad among amateur pot smokers to grow their own weed stashes.
In recent years, however, more mainstream home gardeners have become interested in hydroponically growing plants in greenhouses.
In addition to extending the growing season, a green house also lets you control and consistently simulate and maintain the perfect climate and conditions required for a specific plant.
This includes simulating conditions such as humidity, sunlight, rain, nutrients, and so on.
With the exception of natural beneficial bugs, you can literally give your specific plant the perfect environment in which to thrive.
A green house hydroponic garden can be a great asset anywhere, but it can be especially useful if you live in a part of the country that is hostile to plant growth.
Also, aside from being able to control the environment, another advantage of hydroponic gardening is that weeds and insects are rarely a problem.
When setting up a hydroponic greenhouse, you have a few good options.
If you are handy with a hammer, saw, and other building equipment, you can get a set of blueprints and build your own.
If you are somewhat competent with tools, but by no means an expert, you can buy a hydroponic greenhouse kit and simply put it together.
Failing the necessary skills, as the last option, you can hire someone to build it for you.
Just make sure that you get references before you go this route.
Once you've set up your system, you'll need to decide what to feed your plants.
You'll need a special form of fertilizer.
With normal gardening, plants are expected to receive a certain amount of their nutritional needs from the soil.
Therefore normal fertilizer omits some necessary nutrients.
As a hydroponic gardener, you will need to obtain fertilizer that fills in the nutritional gaps.
You'll feed your plants the necessary nutrients by pumping them to the plant's roots where they will be absorbed.
Many of the more modern pumping systems contain sensors that give visual feedback when more nutrition is required.
If you are having trouble finding a local gardening center where you can purchase hydroponic supplies, try Hydroasis.
It is an online store where you can purchase hydroponics components and supplies such as environmental controllers, indoor plant lighting, fertilizers and other nutrients, etc.
as well as complete hydroponic systems.
They also have a decent selection of organic gardening teaching resources.
For those looking for greater adventures in gardening, greenhouse hydroponic gardening may be just the ticket.