Hydroponic and Organic Gardening

Hydroponics is a Latin phrase, which means ‘working water’. In agriculture, hydroponics refers to a style of farming, whereby seeds or shoots are grown in water, instead of being grown in soil as is the norm. This form of growing has been in existence since the 17^th century, but since the beginning of the last century, it has become even more popular, especially with the advent of plastics. Hydroponics was made possible after it was discovered that soil merely acts as a reservoir for plant nutrients, and that plants do not essentially need soil to grow.
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The water used in hydroponics gardening contains nutrients and minerals that plants get from the soil including nitrogen, Phosphorus, calcium and potassium. Terrestrial plants are grown in a solution of nutrients and mineral or other media like coconut husk, mineral wool, and gravel (the last two of which are inert).

Organic gardening on the hand is growing plants using nutrients that are naturally occurring as opposed to artificial fertilizers. Organic hydroponics gardening fuses the two techniques and the end result is a form of growing plants that uses any other media for growth apart from soil, and the sources of nutrients and minerals is mother nature.

Hydroponics has many advantages. First, soil is not needed; meaning that vegetation is preserved, as there is no need to clear land for agriculture. In addition, not much water is used in organic hydroponics gardening; the little that is used is recyclable and can be used over and over again. The system of planting is controlled; this means that, any nutrients and minerals that are not used up by the plant will not spill out into the surrounding soil, as would be the case if the medium of planting were soil.

Since the nutrients are introduced into the water, it is easy to control the levels of nutrients, hence reducing the cost of the nutrients. The level of control also means that the yield is high and the stability of production is ensured. With hydroponics gardening, it is easier to control the menace that can be pests and diseases. The use of organic nutrients ensures that the harvests are healthier than inorganic farming.

The main disadvantage, however, is that the water medium poses some danger to the environment. This is because the humid conditions and the presence of fertilizer makes it conducive for other organisms like salmonella and verticilium to thrive.