By the urban gardener

Australia's online hydroponics supplies & indoor grow shop

Hydroponics is a method of growing plants indoors without soil. The plants gain all the necessary nutritional elements from the water solutions, in which the roots are dipped. To create your own hydroponic garden you will need a number of important hydroponic supplies.

Taking into account what hydroponic system you are going to use, you will have to get the necessary supplies. Some pieces of the equipment are similar in all the systems, others slightly differ. So, you will need a pump and some type of the reservoir, aerator and a tray or a net to support the plants crowns above the nutrient solution.

Let us start with such hydroponic equipment as the reservoir, which is actually a basin, big enough to keep the nutrient solution. A pump will help to carry the solution to the plants roots. An important component of the system is an aerator, which is designed to oxygenate the solution, as plants require oxygen for proper growth. Finally, the crowns should not soak in the water; thus they should be held above with the trays or nets, so that the roots could still be in the solution.

There is, however, one more important thing for the plants growth – lighting. Artificial lights in hydroponics, which would mimic the natural sunlight, are almost an integral part of the equipment.

When choosing the lighting, take into account the stage of the plants growth and their quantity. To grow seedlings a gardener should purchase the lamps with the blue color spectrum, as they activate their growing. If it is necessary to make the plants bloom and produce fruits, lights with the red spectrum are the right choice. A gardener may also use other hydroponic equipment, as light reflectors to make the most from the lights, digital ballasts to control the flow of current to the HID lights, and fans to reduce the heat produced by the lamps.