Help Files

Hydrohobby Hydroponics Help Files

Welcome to the hydroponics help and advice section of our website. Growing with hydroponics can become an addictive hobby and most hydroponic growers are determined to get the best results and yields.

In these hydroponic help files you canlearn about plant growth and flower cycles, lighting, roots, nutrients, water temperature, seasonal influences, humidity, air temperature, and foliar feeding plus much more.

You will find specific product information such as feeding schedules, assembly instructions and reviews within the description pages of products.

1. Taking Cuttings - a practical guide
2. The Basics - Temperature, Humidity, pH and EC
3. Growing with Hydroponics
4. Growing with COCO
5. Growing with Soil
   

Introduction to hydroponics

Hydroponics what is it?

The dictionary defines Hydroponics as “the process of growing plants in sand, gravel or liquid, with added nutrients but without soil”. The term hydroponics comes from the ancient greek hydro means water and ponics meaning labour.

Plants grown using Hydroponics can have with their roots suspended in a mineral nutrient solution or in inert growing medium, such as clay pebbles, Coco Coir fibre made from coconut husk, Grodan rockwool, perlite or gravel.

In the 18th century researchers discovered that plants absorb essential mineral nutrients as inorganic ions in water. Soil naturally acts as a mineral nutrient reservoir but the soil itself is not essential to plant growth. When soil is watered mineral nutrients dissolve and plant roots are able to absorb them. Hydroponics allows mineral nutrients to be introduced artificially into a plant's water supply so soil is no longer required for plants to survive. Just about any plant will grow with hydroponics. Hydroponics is now a standard technique in biology research and teaching. NASA continues with hydroponics research developing techniques that ultimately will allow humans to live on other planets. Many commercial hydroponics growers around the world use hydroponics to produce food crops in greenhouses.

Why should I use Hydroponics?

There are many benefits using hydroponics to grow your plants. The biggest advantage of hydroponics is nutrients are freely available to the root system at all times allowing plants to develop much quicker with increased yields. No soil is needed when using hydroponics this removes the risk of soil borne pests and diseases.  Nutrient solution stays in the system and can be reused reducing water consumption and costs. Herbs, fruit and vegetables can be grown using hydroponics all year round with the addition of hydroponic plant lighting. Hydroponics with plant lighting can be used in places like greenhouses, conservatories, indoor rooms, sheds and garages where normal gardening is not possible.

Is hydroponics easy? 

Hydroponics can be easy but you will need to follow instructions and learn about the following hydroponic topics nutrient control, lighting and environmental control to get the best results. There are many types of hydroponics systems available some are more complicated to use than others. At Hydrohobby hydroponics we can offer advice on hydroponics system including NFT, Flood and Drain, DWC, Aeroponics, Dripper Systems and of course growing in pots. Whether you’re a beginner or an expert grower with our many years combined hands on hydroponics growing experience we can help to make sure you get the right hydroponics system.

Is it hard using hydroponics indoors? 

When you have a hydroponics grow light in a grow room it produces heat and your plants can get too hot. You will need to use a hydroponics extractor fan to draw hot air out of your grow room to maintain good air temperatures and a constant supply of carbon dioxide which is essential to the process of photosynthesis. Hydrohobby hydroponics best advice is to purchase a fan capable of working all year round in conjunction with a fan controller.

Is the quality of produce good with hydroponics? 

Producing quality results using hydroponics can take some practice. Hydroponic grown plants when conditions are correct produce quality results.

Can I grow indoors and keep it organic?

The answer to this question will depend on your views of organics, using an artificial hydroponics light to grow your plants is not organic. You can grow in pots with organic soil and feed them with organic nutrients this produces lower yields compared to full hydroponics systems but the results can be quite tasty.

What do I need for a basic hydroponics set up?

The most important thing is going to be a hydroponics grow light, for propagation and growing a fluorescent light or metal halide will work best because they produce blue light which encourages strong and vigorous growth. When it comes to flowering a Sodium lighting system will produce the highest yields. Sodium lights have the best output in the red spectrum which is essential to the flowering fruiting process. Amazing results have been achieved by using LEP or plasma lights in conjunction with high pressure sodium HPS lamps to give a full spectrum of light. LED lighting is still developing we have tried it and would not recommend using it yet. Complete lighting systems consist of three components the lamp either sodium or metal halide, a digital or standard ballast one good thing about digital ballasts is they are dimmable so they can be turned up and down when needed and a reflector to direct the light towards your plants.

The environment in the grow room is one if not the most important factor in achieving good results. This is acheived by obtaining the correct hydroponics equipment for the job. Extractor fan, inlet fan with optional carbon filter to control smells. Fan controllers will maintain the fans speed to keep the temperature constant.

A growing system either a hydroponics system like NFT, Flood and Drain, DWC, Aeroponics, Dripper Systems or in pots. Nutrient control equipment will be needed including a pH test kit and EC meter to maintain the nutrient solution in your hydroponics system.

Where is best to set up my hydroponics grow room? 

With hydroponics you can grow just about anywhere a spare room, loft, basement, conservatory, greenhouse, garage or shed. We supply a range of reflective sheeting to you can DIY sheet a whole room or timber frame. Hydroponics grow tents are very popular because they allow you to easily and quickly use part of a room to grow in. Hydroponic grow tents these days are very strong, highly reflective, lightproof and include zip up openings, outlets and inlets for fans and wires. Ultimately where you setup your hydroponics grow room will depend on your situation. At Hydrohobby hydroponics we can offer help and advice on the best way to set up a grow room.