Health Topic Report on Hydroponics

Health Topic Report

What is Hydroponics? The word Hydroponic is Latin in origin and means “working water.” Simply put, it is the art or technique of growing plants without soil. So how does it work? Before you can understand how hydroponics works, you must first understand how plants themselves work. Generally speaking, plants need very little to grow. They can subsist on a simple blend of water, sunlight, carbon dioxide and mineral nutrients from the soil. Plants are able to transform light energy into chemical energy to form sugars that allow them to grow and sustain themselves. Thus, plants convert carbon dioxide, water and light into sugars and oxygen through a process called photosynthesis. The photosynthesis process requires that the plant has access to certain minerals, especially nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. These nutrients can be naturally occurring in soil and are found in most commercial fertilizers. Note that the soil itself is not required for plant growth: the plant simply needs the minerals from the soil. This is the basic premise behind hydroponics -- all the elements required for plant growth are the same as with traditional soil-based gardening. Hydroponics simply takes away the soil requirements.
So again, how does it work? Hydroponic gardening achieves all the same goals as conventional gardening, but with a different approach. Plants need water, sunlight, and nutrition. Plants absorb water and nutrition through their roots. In nature, soil acts much like a "sponge" for water and nutrients. It "holds" the water and nutrients within reach of the plants roots. The soil itself isn't consumed by the roots. Strictly speaking, if the plants roots receive all the things that they need, soil isn't necessary at all. Why choose hydroponics over a traditional garden and lose the soil? The advantages truly are endless and I could easily go on