Grow Lights Depot

Hydroponics growing systems first become popular in the 1920's, when one Dr. William F. Gericke demonstrated that tomatoes could be grown without the use of soil. He didn't "invent" the technology, per se: instances of hydroponics growing systems can be traced back to ancient Aztec culture, and may even have been used in the infamous Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

Most hydroponics growing systems, though soil-less, are not truly hydroponic. They usually incorporate what is called a growing medium; this can be any inert substance from sand to Styrofoam that the roots of the plant are fitted around. More complicated systems, and thus more expensive procedures, enter the realm of true hydroponics. Deep water cultures work by suspending the plant above a nutrient solution, into which its roots dangle. The solution is aerated so that the plant can breathe, and is then regulated with computer operated pumps. Another true hydroponics growth system, the rafting method, is commonly used for cultivating lettuce. The plants are placed onto Styrofoam "rafts" with holes bored through them. The plants are set atop this, and literally grow, floating on the water.

More advanced hydroponics growing systems such as Nutrient Filming, allow the roots of the plants to grow into narrow plastic channels, where they eventually matt up. A thin film of nutrient-charged water is then allowed to flow over the roots; Wikipedia, without citing a source, says that this is one of the most effective ways to cultivate hydroponics.

The natural evolution of hydroponics growing systems, Aeroponics, takes the idea of hydroponics even further. Instead of dipping the plant's roots in and out of water, or trying to control the flow through natural and artificial methods, the nutrient water is released as a mist into a chamber beneath the plants, feeding the roots, while still allowing them the necessary amounts of O2.