How to Buy Hydroponic Gardening Supplies

If you're a beginner who wants to grow plants indoors year-round, learn how to buy the right hydroponic gardening supplies.

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Up next in Gardening Tools & Equipment (9 videos)

Whether you're a beginner gardener or an experienced one, there's something to learn in this Howcast video series about gardening tools and equipment.

 
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How to Buy Hydroponic Gardening Supplies
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You Will Need

  • Peat, sand, gravel, rock wool, or vermiculite
  • Premixed nutrient solution
  • pH testing kit
  • Artificial light

Steps

  1. Step 1

    Understand what hydroponics is

    Know what hydroponics is: a method of cultivating plants in liquid nutrients without using soil. Consider starting out with an inexpensive hydroponic gardening kit.

  2. Hydroponic gardening kits and supplies are available at gardening centers as well as hydroponic specialty stores.

  3. Step 2

    Learn about hydroponic systems

    Learn about hydroponic systems. Ebb and flow delivers nutrients via a pump. With the wick system, plant roots absorb nutrients via dangling ropes.

  4. Because the wick system requires no pump, it's easier to maintain. Ebb and flow, however, can produce a heartier yield.

  5. Step 3

    Use porous materials

    Use porous materials like peat, sand, gravel, rock wool, or vermiculite in an ebb and flow system. These materials deliver liquid nutrients to the roots.

  6. Step 4

    Get a premixed nutrient solution

    Get a premixed nutrient solution at a garden supply store. You'll typically use 2 to 3 teaspoons of nutrients per gallon of water.

  7. Step 5

    Get a pH testing kit

    Get a pH testing kit to measure a nutrient solution's hydrogen content. If pH levels are too high or too low, plants won't be able to absorb nutrients.

  8. Get a water pH test kit at any pool or aquarium store.

  9. Step 6

    Consider buying artificial lighting

    Consider buying artificial lighting such as High Pressure Sodium (HPS) lights for flowering plants, or Metal Halide (MH) lights for leafy vegetables. Now start hydroponic gardening with confidence.

  10. In 1938, early hydroponics experiments occurred on Wake Island, a Pan-Am Airways refueling stop -- hydroponic vegetables fed the airline's crew.

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