There are two basic types of hydroponic gardening. These two types of hydroponic gardening are medium culture and solution culture. As their names suggest, medium culture is the type of hydroponic gardening where there is still a medium in which the roots may cling to whereas, in solution culture, the plants are suspended over the nutrient solution.  

Soil Is Not Important

In hydroponic gardening, researchers have found out that soil is actually just a reservoir where nutrients are stored for the plant’s consumption. The reservoir is just where the plant’s food is stored. Therefore, this reservoir is not essential if the plant can get the nutrients some other way. Hydroponics research has found out that the nutrients in the soil dissolve when they come in contact with water, thus making it easier for the plants to absorb. Hydroponics has done away with the need for soil for some plants.

Aeroponics is the type of hydroponic gardening where the plants’ roots are exposed to the nutrient solution via fine mist or drops. Exposure to the mist is frequent and plants have responded very well to this type of solution culture. The mist is what carries the nutrients of the plants and they are absorbed directly by the roots as the mist or drops cling to them.

In medium culture, the basic question is which media to use for the plants in hydroponic gardening. There are actually many different mediums that can replace soil and these include, but are not limited to, mineral or rock wool, gravel, clay pellets, brick shards and perlite. These media are quite easy to use for hydroponic gardening and provide the roots with some stability as well as provide the nutrient solution with something to cling to.  

Hydroponics has certain advantages such as cultivation in a clean environment with the fuss and mess of soil. Another advantage of hydroponics is the absence of many soil borne disease that target plants and produce. Hydroponics also provides a solution to barren places such as deserts and rocky areas for cultivating plants. Soil is not necessary to grow most plants; therefore, greenhouses can be made for better crops that have nutrients directly provided for them without the excesses of soil.