March 29, 2024

Hydroponics provide growing alternative

DECATUR, Ill. — As the weather starts to remind us of the upcoming gardening season, it’s a great time to experiment with a do-it-yourself home hydroponics system. Most people have heard of hydroponics, but believe that using this method to grow plants is too difficult.

The use of hydroponics has been documented as far back as the first century when Roman Emperor Tiberius grew off-season cucumbers under what was described as transparent stone.

Indoor hydroponics systems can be constructed with items such as a 5-gallon bucket with lid, net pots, a growing medium, an air stone and an aquarium pump.

Studies have shown that plants grow up to 30% to 40% faster than a plant in soil, and there is a greater yield, according to Doug Gucker, University of Illinois Extension local food systems and small farms educator.

Hydroponics allows plants to thrive in environments where there is no soil or the soil is contaminated, such as roof tops, abandoned buildings, vacated urban lands and so forth.

Weeding is not necessary, less water is used up to 10 times less and exposure to insects and other pests is decreased in indoor hydroponic systems.

There are two categories of home hydroponics systems, Gucker said. The passive hydroponic system relies on the capillary effect or what is sometimes referred to as wicking. The capillary effect helps bring nutrient rich fluid up into the roots. In a passive hydroponic system, the fluid is drawn up and absorbed by the growing medium.

An active hydroponic system relies on the nutrient solution to be delivered to the roots by a pump, and any excess solution simply drains away. A growing medium is not necessary in an active system.

“Hydroponic growing allows us to grow in locations or at times that would not be possible with the typical growing of plants outside in the soil,” Gucker said.

“In addition for the do-it-yourselfer, there are many plans for repurposing plastic buckets and other containers into easy-to-use hydroponic growing systems for use indoors or outdoors on a balcony or porch.”

To find out how to build an indoor passive hydroponics system, read this month's Know How Know More blog post Gucker at go.illinois.edu/KHKM.