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Horticulturists and home gardeners are known to get grimy from rooting around in soil to eliminate weeds and apply pesticides and fertilizers. They are constantly planting, dividing, and replanting. They take these steps to enjoy the rewards of growing plants that are both beautiful and nutritious to eat or view. What if these values could be derived without having to ever touch soil?

Hydroponics is the science and practice of growing plants without using soil. Water is the most common medium used instead. There are more technically accurate definitions, to be sure. But for the home gardener, hobbyist and occasional teacher that’s what it comes down to.

But how is such a thing even possible? Don’t plants need soil for nutrition, heat, support, water and all the other things they need to grow and reproduce? Not necessarily.

Plants definitely do need water. But they needn’t get it from the soil, even though that’s one of the most common methods. Even in nature, some plants grow in sand, gravel or even on the surface or underneath a body of water.

The majority of plants that interest the hobbyist or home gardener will require some physical support. One of the most common ways to achieve this support is planting them in soil. When this is done the stems become wind resistant and the roots will spread. These plants wouldn’t be in existence is they hadn’t evolved in this manner.

Most plants that interest the home gardener or hobbyist do require physical support. Planting them in soil is one common and effective way to achieve that. That’s one of the reasons roots spread and stems are wind resistant. If they hadn’t evolved that way, those types of plant wouldn’t be here to discuss. But artificial aids, such as strings on supports, ice cream sticks glued to the top of a glass and dozens of other methods will work quite well.

One of the most important elements for a plant is without question proper nutrients. Nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and a host of trace elements (zinc, copper, iron and others) are essential to plant growth. Absorbing those elements from the surrounding soil is, of course, one usual way of obtaining them. But, here again, nutrients can be fed to plants in a number of ways.

One very effective method would be to immerse the plants roots in water that contains liquid nutrients. There are other methods as well. People that are involved in hydroponic gardening house their plants in an enclosure that will retain moisture. The roots are sprayed frequently with a mister that contains a nutrients solution. This method does cross into an area that is known as aeroponics.

Hydroponic gardening methods can be used to grow a number of plants like lettuce, tomatoes, strawberries, and other plants that are not fruits or vegetables, like orchids. Hydroponics can be used to grow a long list of plants. There are thousands of plant species that thrive without the use of soil as long as they are properly cared for. The effort can be fun as well as instructive. Hydroponics can be use to grow nutritious and beautiful plants, without the drawbacks of using soil.

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