Over the last few years there has been a huge push for organic and more natural food
. One of the best ways for a person to get food that is more natural and therefore healthier is to grow it themselves. A great way for at home gardeners to grow their own plants is through hydroponic herb gardening. Hydroponics is a method of growing plants without the use of soil. This method utilizes water instead of a traditional soil nutrient base. One of the biggest advantages of hydroponic gardening is that plants and herbs can be grown year round.
Another advantage of hydroponics is that this type of gardening is more accessible for people. It is much easier for people that have limited space to grow herbs in a hydroponic environment than in a traditional garden. This makes hydroponic gardening perfect for people who live in urban areas or have only limited space to grow their plants. This type of gardening also cuts down on the amount of care that people have to put into their gardens. Traditional gardening requires weeding and maintenance but plants that are grown in a hydroponic gardening environment on the other hand require very little care. Since there is no soil it is more difficult for pests like insects, groundhogs and other things that can destroy plants to harm the herbs. This means that the gardener will have a higher yield in their crop because they will not be loosing plants to these factors. Since hydroponic herb gardening is done indoors it will keep the plants away from harsh weather, insects, and other annoyances allowing herbs to be grown year round.
One huge advantage of hydroponics is that it eliminates the use of harmful pesticides and fertilizers. Pesticides and fertilizers that are used in traditional gardening are harmful to the environment and can contribute to water and air pollution, and even greenhouse gas emissions.
One of the drawbacks of hydroponic herb gardening is that it does require a significant amount of electricity. The ultraviolet lights that are required for this type of gardening use a large amount of energy and can raise the electrical bills of a home quite a bit. The benefits of hydroponic herb gardening are huge so if you are interested in growing herbs that taste better, last longer, and do not destroy the environment you may want to look into getting your own hydroponic herb garden started.