Preparing Your Hydroponic Garden

Hydroponics is fun experimenting with different plants grown in water or rockwool leads to a new appreciation of the factors required for them to thrive. With any successful project however, a certain amount of preparation is required.

The first, and most obvious thing needed is the plant itself, either in the form of seed or a pre-existing plant. Luckily, and with the proper care, nearly any plant can be grown hydroponically. Tomatoes are a favorite starting plant for those new to hydroponics. They drink up large amounts of water anyway and can grow to enormous size in containers without soil.

Since hydroponics doesn’t use soil to support the plant as it grows, some substitute has to be found. Water is the most common medium, but it won’t support a growing plant against gravity. The hydroponic gardener uses a number of different methods instead.

A small container with proper supports for the stem will do well – hose supports can be as simple as wooden ice cream sticks or plastic straws glued to the container or secured with string. There are also kits are available that will supply all the structural components the novice hydroponic gardener will need.

The container size will vary depending on what it is intended for but a good first try will be about 6-12 inches deep and 2-3 feet wide. A smaller container will work with smaller plants or gardens – but even a single tomato plant will require room to grow, so better to overestimate than start out too small. Transplanting is a more advanced activity that should be reserved for later.

Fill the container with water and reserve non-aqueous methods such as perlite or rockwool for later when hydroponics cultivation has become more familiar. Start with clean, but not necessarily distilled, water; plants in fact, grow better in water with minerals. However, the water you use should be free of organisms you can sterilize or microwave it to be certain.

The water will have to be aerated because plants grown in water still need to get oxygen from the medium for cellular respiration in the roots even though photosynthesis consumes CO2 and gives off O2. However, plants use up any dissolved oxygen quite quickly and this means it has to be added artificially. An aquarium pump and filter will do the job, but one designed specifically for hydroponics is best.

As with most plants, light is essential; there are some exceptions, of course – not all plants need to photosynthesize. Most plants will require 8-10 hours per day of intense light and that is best supplied by natural sunlight. It is possible to substitute, to a considerable degree, with artificial lights and sodium lamps and other types made especial for hydroponics are available.

Plants need nutrients. A good supply of NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium) fertilizer with certain trace elements is fine but you should look for those with the right percentage for growing in a hydroponic setting. Too much nitrogen, for example, can easily burn a plant living in water just as it can burn soil-grown plants. Pre-mixed solutions are the easiest to work with, but you need to ensure that they contain roughly the following elements or compounds:

Substance	Amount (per 25 gallons of nutrient solution)
Potassium Phosphate	1 tsp
Potassium Nitrate	4 tsp
Calcium Nitrate	7 tsp
Magnesium Sulfate	4 tsp
Boric Acid	1/2 pint
Manganese Chloride	1/2 pint
Zinc Sulfate	1/2 tsp
Copper Sulfate	1/2 tsp
Iron Sulfate	1/2 pint

Some water sources may already have some of these and water testing kits will help you ensure you have the right compounds and a close to neutral pH. You need to be prepared to change the solution about every two weeks.

A means of keeping the water at the right temperature is vital as most plants don’t grow well in continual cold and that is especially true of tomatoes! Unless the climate supplies all the warmth the plant will require a heating element is essential. You will also need a thermometer to measure the temperature.

Once you have your plants and the materials to support and care for them, then being a hydroponics gardener is just a matter of a little bit of research.