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Conventionally grown plants extract water nutrients and oxygen from soil, but because of the physical characteristics of soil it is likely that one or all of these essential nutrients are of limited availability to the plant roots.

When plants are grown in water i.e. hydroponically, the system if set-up correctly provides the plants access to an unlimited supply of water, containing exactly the right amount of nutrients along with a perfectly balanced pH.  Enabling a grower to keep their plants growth at a much more vigorous rate throughout the crop and achieve maximum yield.

Hydroponic Techniques.

• Flood & Drain-  Otherwise known as Ebb & Flood, in its simplest form, consists of a tray above a reservoir of nutrient solution.  The tray is filled with growing medium (clay pebbles being the most common) and planted directly, or pots of medium stand in the tray.  At regular intervals, a segment timer causes a pump to fill the upper tray with nutrient solution, after which the solution drains back down into the reservoir.  This keeps the medium regularly flushed with nutrients and air.  To find out more see our Flood & Drain article.
  
  
• NFT - In NFT, the plants grow through light-proof plastic films placed over shallow, gently sloping channels.  A steady flow of nutrient solution is maintained along the channel, and the roots grow into dense mats, with a thin film of nutrient passing over them (hence the name of the technique).  To find out more please see our NFT article.
  
  
• Aeroponics -  In Aeroponics a fog or mist of the nutrient solution is sprayed over the root system.  This has the advantage of minimizing water usage as well as giving the roots ample access to oxygen.  Aeroponics is mainly used for cuttings and seeds because the system needs to be quite large for older plants. To find more please see our Aeroponics article.

Contrary to some expectations, the roots of the plants grown hydroponically are not usually totally submerged in water.  As having the root totally submerged in water would be counter-productive, the reason for this is oxygen is a key factor to all hydroponic systems.

The idea of hydroponics might still intimidate some people, most gardeners prefer and enjoy the simple, quick and easy process of Hydroponics.  It is no more complicated than traditional gardening methods, and the same growing principles apply to the both. Although slighty more technology is used in Hydroponics you should not be daunted by this.