Hydroponics Gardening The Organic Way w/ Grow Lights

Hydroponics is a form of indoor gardening that produces fresh, organic plants, herbs, and vegetables. Grow lights assist in the process and act as sunlight to the plants. The nutrients are fed directly to the plants which helps them grow much faster than tradtitional growing.

Organic gardening is becoming pretty popular in this day and age and it seems like the right way to go. When you are thinking about organic gardening, do you ever think about the methods you will be utilizing on that organic garden? If you do not have any techniques, then the bacteria and pests may take over that garden in no time. True organic gardening is impossible without that rich, lovely soil, right? Wrong. If you are a organic gardener, or you are interested in organic gardening, then this article is for you. Within this article, we are going to tell you how to grow that organic garden you have always wanted, without using any soil. We know it sounds impossible, but continue reading.

Hydroponic gardening is every organic gardeners dream. Before you go looking up hydroponic gardening in the dictionary, it is simply gardening using no soil. The plants in the garden will by relying on water to give them the nutrients they need in order to promote their growth. In many cases, plants who are growing the hydroponic way are more healthy then those plants who have their roots stuck in soil. You can even do this indoor with grow lights.


In organic hydroponic gardening, the main growing medium can be obtained from any source of organic material. For instance, in hydroponic gardening, perlite and Vermiculite are generally used. Please note: Always be careful when you are using Vermiculite because it’s actually a source of asbestos. Some other organic material that would make great choices for the gardener are cotton, straw, plant fiber or any other type of organic material you can think of.

In order to provide nutrients to the plant, keep in mind that the water is essential. Anything you put in the water should be organic in order to stay with those organic standards. In organic hydroponic gardening, many individuals use compost tea. You can use compost tea by soaking it in the water, then straining the solid material. When you do this, the water is going to be enriched with nutrients and the plants will feed on it. Another thing individuals use in organic hydroponic gardening consists of manure tea. This is a great source of bacterial contamination, therefore the manure should be sterilized before you make manure tea.

Some more organic choices are fish emulsion and seaweed. What you use in your organic garden is solely up to you, but be sure you stick with those organic standards.

This post was written by Craig Vandaal.

More Kids At School Using Hydroponics

It appears that more and more kids at school are being taught the uses of hydroponics for their school projects. The hydroponics industry is excelling at a high speed of rate for school children nationwide. There was even a hydroponic system at Disneyland for the kids to see and learn.

With temperatures set to a blistering 88 degrees, the plants are thriving in the brand-new greenhouse at the Alfred Letourneau School.

Retired chemist Wilson Sallum is overseeing the project and is responsible for the design, maintenance and set up of the greenhouse. Currently, Sallum is growing lettuce, cherry tomatoes, peppers and nasturtium, an edible flower. The goal is to teach the students to care for these plants so that they can assist in the day-to-day operations.

A large portion of these plants are being grown hydroponically, where roots are placed in a liquid nutrient solution rather than soil. Sallum has an extensive background in hydroponics. He is affiliated with the Eastern Fish Farm in Tiverton, which has utilized hydroponics to grow organic lettuce for the last 12 years.

Growing plants hydroponically allows for easier demonstration as they are not rooted to the soil. Hydroponic plants are also stronger and more vibrant than others, which tend to wilt during the daytime.

“The greenhouse will be something useful for the kids, to let them see how to apply their science,” said Sallum. “I think that is critical at this stage.”

Sallum was recruited for the project by school officials. His wife Gail is a kindergarten teacher at the school and she knew that this was something that he would be interested in.

Sallum presented a detailed plan of what he would need to get the program up and running. The school was receptive to his ideas and he got started on the project a couple of months ago. Sallum recruited Tiverton High School student Cody Braz to assist in setting up the system. They finished the project a couple of weeks ago and students are now getting their first sampling of how a greenhouse operates.

“The school was been great to work with,” said Sallum. “Once they see the possibilities, they will bring in projects related to the greenhouse.”

By Derek Vital