From the ArcaMax Publishing, Features Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/features/s-323197-860273
Hydroponic gardening has been hyped as a better alternative for years.
Inground gardening is basically simpler and more straightforward than
hydroponic gardening. The necessary condition for engaging in regular
gardening is having garden space and soil for planting. The soil, in
its natural state, supplies the nutrients that your plants need.
Hydroponics eliminates the soil as a necessary precondition for
gardening. In hydroponic gardening, many materials like coconut fiber,
sand, gravel, etc, may be used as a medium for growing plant life. You
remove the dependence of plants on soil by giving these plants their
required nutrients through specially formulated fertilizer that easily
mixes with water and is readily absorbed by plants and crops.
The hydroponics process is, of course, much more complex in practice.
Because your plants do not have a naturally occurring nutrient source,
you have to be extra careful about monitoring all aspects of raising
your plants. You have to follow strict and regular water cycles. As
such, you may even use advanced applications and computing
paraphernalia which could automate the processes for you and leave
little room for gross errors.
Hydroponic and Field Gardening Square-off
Inground and hydroponic gardening mainly differ in the method by which
the plants receive nutrients. Regular gardening makes use of what's
readily abundant in nature, soil. Hydroponic gardening makes use of
whatever medium is available and just makes sure that the plant
receives sufficient amount of nourishment through the use of specially
formulated fertilizers. Both regular gardening and hydroponic
gardening, however, still require the right amount of sunlight and the
right pH level for the plants to survive.
Advantages of Hydroponic Gardening
Hydroponics allows for a precise and scientific system through which
the amount of water, the nutrients in water, the frequency of
hydration, and the amount of sunlight the plants receive can be
strictly monitored and controlled. Hydroponics therefore does not
leave much room for error and thus endows the gardener control over
the outcome of his gardening efforts. If you are interested in a
horticultural or agricultural career, you may wish to try hydroponic
gardening methods. Or maybe you want to make better use of a hobby
greenhouse? Square foot production and overall quality can both be
improved with hydropnics.
Regular gardening is more of a hit-and-miss thing because you rely on
the soil's natural nutrients to support your plants. You can only try
to increase the soil's nutrients using fertilizers, but there's no
assurance on whether the nutrients you're supplying is too little or
too much. Regular gardening therefore, provides little stability in
the crop produce.
Advantages of Regular Gardening
In a nutshell, regular gardening is preferable if you are a hobbyist
who likes puttering in your backyard garden. You also do not need much
money and expensive gadgetry to experience the benefits of regular
gardening. Nature has a way of balancing things out, even given some
natural disadvantages and deficiencies.
Mark Sheppler is a handyman and home improvement writer. When not
working in the house he enjoys gardening
around the house.
Read more in the Spring
Gardening Guide