Growing hydroponically means feeding your plants all the nutrients they require. Hydroponic growing medium does not contain nutrients, so the nutrient solution must contain everything the plants need to survive and thrive. These hydroponic nutrients have been tested by thousands of hydroponic gardeners across the country and have been found to be among the best you can buy. Indoor Gardening and Hydroponics
Provided by HydroFarm, Inc.

What are the benefits of hydroponic growing?

Cultivating plants hydroponically is an easy and environmentally sound way to grow a wide variety of healthy plants. It offers numerous benefits over growing in soil, including:
Plants grow up to 50% faster because they have easy access to food and water.
Plants become vacation-proof and neglect-resistant as rockwool retains water so well, you only need to water every three to six weeks.
Plants can tell you when to water, because they droop before wilting and damage occurs.
The absence of a buffer in the growing medium means plants get all the nutrients available (they don't remain bound up as occurs in buffered mediums like peat moss and coco fiber).
Little or no pesticides are necessary. Plants start our in a disease-free medium.
If disease occurs, it may only affect one plant, not a whole row.
You use smaller containers, because the roots can grow throughout the media without being root bound.

Hydroponics Is Simple
Plants don't use soil; they use the food and water that are in the soil. Hydroponics basically is growing plants without soil because it is simply a more efficient way to provide food and water to your plants. Soil's function is to hold nutrients and anchor plants' roots. In a hydroponic garden you provide your plants' roots so they have easier access to the food and water.
In a soil garden, food and water are randomly scattered; plants have to expend a lot of energy growing roots to find them. In a hydroponic garden, the food is dissolved in the water so it goes directly to the roots. The plants will grow quicker and be ready for harvest sooner because their growth will be above the surface, not under it. Since the root systems will be compact and not competing for food and water, you may also have many more plants in a given space.

Hydroponics Is Not New
Hydroponics has existed in different forms for thousands of years. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon used hydroponic techniques. Today hydroponic installations can be found in all 50 states and many countries around the world. In fact, in colder climates, a majority of vegetable and flower crops are grown hydroponically. Hydroponic Nutrients & pH
Hydroponic nutrients are a key factor in indoor gardening. A complete and balanced formula is an essential consideration in getting the most from your hydroponic system. In soil, it's hard to know how much or how little of the essential elements exist or if they are present at all. Since your plants will be growing in an inert medium that doesn't provide any nutrients, your hydroponic nutrient solution must contain not only nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium, but also include all the trace elements.

Nutrients ratios are commonly noted as N-P-K numbers representing different percentages of Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium, the three main elements (but not the only ones) required for plant growth.

pH Monitoring
pH is a measure of how acidic or alkaline your hydroponic nutrient solution is. The pH scale goes from 0-14, with 0-7 being acid, 7.0 being neutral, and 7-14 alkaline. Most plants prefer the pH to be in the 5.5 to 7.5 range; beyond this, some nutrients become less available for your plants to absorb.

Most tap water is in the 7.0 to 8.0 range. Hydroponic nutrients are typically acidic and, when mixed in tap water, usually drop the solution into the proper range. Monitoring pH periodically is a good idea to help ensure optimum nutrient availability.

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