If I had the space available, I would like to try growing my veggies using a hydroponic system. I’ve always been amazed at how efficient, clean, and easy it is to grow plants in this manner. If you are wondering what the up-side is to growing plants without dirt, then take a look at the following list. Here are 5 benefits of hydroponics.
Hydroponics systems are set up inside a building or some type of protective structure to keep the area clean. It is easy to build systems that are fully automated, from lights to watering and everything in between.
All the nutrients your plants need are right there for them to utilize. They don’t have to separate them out of the soil, since there isn’t any soil used. When plants don’t have to fight for their food and water, then this means crops can be harvested early because they are maturing at a quicker rate.
The material used to grow plants using the hydroponic system is sterile. Fungi and bacteria often are found in the soil. Eliminating the use of soil thus squelches the chance of plants being riddled with diseases.
Most pests are outside in the garden, while hydroponic systems are set up indoors away from where most pests can reach the plants. A number of insects will burrow into the soil and attack plants throughout the year. When insects continue to appear throughout the growing season, plants need multiple doses of pesticides. If you can eliminate the use of pesticides on edible plants all together, then you won’t be ingesting any of them later on when you harvest your crop.
I’m all for not having to pull weeds, which seem to emerge out of the tiniest patch of dirt imaginable. Hydroponics systems don’t use dirt, so there aren’t any weeds. It’s as simple as that.
I think these 5 benefits are enough to get most people interested in trying out a hydroponic system for their own gardening needs. Have you heard of any additional benefits of using hydroponics?
Top Photo Credit: button bistro