A hydroponics garden provides nutrient-enriched water to your plants roots through a growing medium that is not soil. Although this can be accomplished in countless ways, they all are based on the six basic systems. (read more)
The most basic of systems for hydroponics is the wick system. There are no moving parts in this setup making it completely passive. Nutrients are provided to your plants roots and growing media from a reservoir via a wick. A variety of mediums are available for the wick method including cocoanut fiber, Pro-Mix, Vermiculite, and Perlite. The main draw back to the wick system is that if your plants grow too large, they many use nutrients faster than the wicks can provide it.
Moving into active hydroponics systems, the water culture system provides the most basic setup. Using Styrofoam (or similar medium) to hold your plants on top of your water reservoir (nutrient solution) air is provided using pumps. These air pumps force air through air stones allowing oxygen to the roots of your plants. The water culture system is the preferred system in classrooms as it is very inexpensive and can be made out of a simple aquarium or other watertight container. The biggest negative to this system is it does not work with large or long-term plants.
The Ebb and Flow system works by flooding your grow tray with water for a short time and then allowing the water to drain back into the reservoir. This is usually achieved with a submerged water pump and timer that turns the pump on and off several times a day. The major drawback to this type of system is if you experience a power outage your roots may dry out. This can be helped slightly by using a growing media the will hold water for a longer period of time.
Drip systems are the most widely used systems today. Solutions are provided to your plants from a pump via a drip line at the base of each plant. This solution is then either recovered or not depending on what way you choose to setup your system. If you use the recovery method, you can use an inexpensive timer because your solution will not run out as fast, but you will have to check your solution more frequently for pH levels that will change often. With the non-recovery method you will not have to worry about pH levels since they will not change, but you will have to use a precise timer to make sure your plants get enough nutrients and keep runoff to a minimum.
The nutrient film system is the most commonly thought of hydroponics system. Water and nutrients are pumped up to the growing tray and run back into the reservoir constantly, no timers required. There is no grow medium and the plants are usually grown in plastic baskets where the roots are exposed to the flowing water. The N.F.T system is the most susceptible to power outages and pump failures. Roots will dry out very fast when the flow of water is removed or interrupted.
The most high tech hydroponics system is the aeroponic system. This system requires a very accurate timer that can turn on for several seconds every couple of minutes. With the roots floating in the air like the N.F.T. system, the aeroponic nutrient pump will provide a mist of water to the roots every couple minutes. If the pump fails or there is a power outage, you plants roots will dry up very quickly.
