Hydroponics for the Home Grower PDF

Introduction

Most of us growing vegetables in our backyard gardens face lots of challenges with the soil structure, fertility, watering, pests, and diseases. You may think that all you have to do is to sow some seeds in the soil and they will germinate and grow into productive plants. This, however, is wishful thinking, unless you know the proper techniques for successful soil growing. So, if you are faced with these challenges, is there another way to give you better control of these limiting factors to your production? The answer is hydroponic culture.

Basically, growing plants in soil or hydroponically requires similar needs from their environment for good yields. However, with hydroponics you have control over many of the limiting factors that plants encounter in soil. One step further is to grow them in a greenhouse hydroponically. In this way, you can also control some of the outside limiting factors, such as light and temperature, and exclude to a large degree pest and disease problems with your plants. In addition, you can grow yearround in a greenhouse, producing high-quality plants even during winter months. Experience production during the winter and escape from the darkness and stress of winter doldrums during these short winter days.