Any hydroponics system is based on the same primary principle: you replace the soil with something else to support plant roots, in an effort to give a chance in areas of the world where nothing grows because of poor soil quality, such as sand and ice deserts, high mountain platforms and many more. If we look at the word’s meaning : “hydroponics system”, ‘hydro’ means water and ‘ponos’ refers to labor, so a hydroponics system is defined as the “working water”.

How hydroponics systems evolved and who used them

A hydroponics system was attested to have been created and used for the first time by the Babylonians, and we also know that the Aztecs possessed similar knowledge about building it too. When referring to a hydroponics system as we know it today, we must take into consideration that the actual concept appeared at the beginning of the 19th century.

Over the last several hundred years, horticulturists and many scientists have tried to develop various hydroponics system models attempting to grow crops in regions of the globe where the soil makes traditional agriculture impracticable. A version of a hydroponics system was included in the NASA spacial program bringing fresh vegetables in space and helping astronauts clean the air.

Before the late 1970s very few people were interested in hydroponics system models and those pioneers were scientists or horticulturists. In the years that followed more and more people were attracted by this idea, and many hydroponics system models were bought to be used as a hobby.

Agriculture using hydroponics system models needs very few or no pesticides at all, since almost all the problems plants have are generated by soil, so practically you will have ecological crops at a decent price. If you are a professional horticulturist buying a hydroponics system isn’t an expensive and risky investment, because the need for ecological food has increased all over the world. Thus it is sure fact that there will be buyers for your crops. But not only horticulturists benefit from the advantages of hydroponics system models, teachers also find them very useful especially when teaching children about plants and crops.

What is the potential of hydroponics system models?

As I said before hydroponics system models bring something new, they are an innovation based primarily on technology and electrical power supply. I also have some doubts about those who say that hydroponics system models can bring food in poor countries, in such cases a hydroponic system needs an electric infrastructure first in order to serve community interests.

The potential of this new agricultural opportunity attracted many investors especially after the 80s, when all the hydroponics system components were made out of plastic, which is cheap and easy to replace when needed. Maybe this is the agriculture of the future.



By: Ann Marier

About the Author:

Tomatoes are in my opinion the best fruit vegetable there is. Cherry tomatoes with their sweet and tangy taste can be eaten whole. As they are small in size you can just pop them in your mouth. Tomatoes give salads a dash of red color. Pasta and pizza are made even tastier with fresh tomato sauce poured over them. And these are just some of the benefits you will get from tomato gardening.

While tomatoes come in many different shapes, sizes and colors there are actually only two varieties of tomatoes. One is the Determinates and the other is the Indeterminates. Determinate tomatoes grow on vines that stop growing at a certain point. These tomato plants are small and compact vines that produce fruits early in the growing season. Determinates tomatoes plants can be grown in containers or even in small spaces.

The best way to grow Determinates is to space them out about 1 to 2 feet apart. The tomato rows need to have a distance of 4 feet between them. With determinate tomato gardening if you wish to plant any other vegetables near the tomatoes, then you will need to keep some additional space around those tomato rows.

Indeterminates tomatoes on the other hand continue growing. They need support in the form of cages or trellises. The distance that you should keep between the cages is about 3 feet. Once the Indeterminate tomatoes have caught on to the trellis or their cage, you will need to train them to climb the supporting frame. Sometimes it will be necessary to tie the vines to the frame stakes so that the whole tomato plant does not fall over due to its own weight.

You can start your tomato gardening with seeds or starter plants brought from nurseries. The best new tomato plants are those without any yellow speckling on their leaves. The other thing to check is to make sure that your plant roots are not coming out of the containers bottom. The root’s growth can tell if your plant will grow successfully or if it will be stressed out and produce a poor harvest. For the best growth to be made, a good vegetable gardening tip is to see that your soil is a rich, sandy loam type of soil.

The best time to start tomato gardening is when all of the other trees in your garden are fully in leaf. By this time the season will be warm and your acclimatized tomato plants will receive about 8 hours or more of life giving sunlight. The roots of the tomatoes should be fully embedded within their soil bed. This lets the tomato receive all the nutrients that it can from the soil.

With tomato gardening you need to keep an eye on the weather. Hot sunny days might be great for you, but they mean that your tomato plants will need regular watering at least once a week. Other than this you can sit back and relax. Once your tomatoes are fully ripe, just pluck them off the vines and enjoy your fresh tomatoes.



By: Dtm

About the Author: