Ever thought about growing your own food? If you like science and stay-at-home hobbies, and are maybe a bit of a control freak, hydroponic gardening—an art, science, and hobby all rolled up into one—might be just for you.

Hydroponic gardening can be a cheap way to grow your own food at home. Hydroponics uses a water-nutrient mixture to feed plants instead of the traditional soil and water method. In today’s tough economic times, this is attractive to people looking to save a buck. On the Internet, gardeners can buy hydroponic supplies at steep discounts. Wholesale hydroponic supplies are even available at deep discount retailers, such as Sam’s Club.

Why Grow Your Own Food At Home?

Growing your own food provides self-satisfaction unmatched in other pursuits. It hearkens back to our earliest days, when we were all hunters and gatherers, and yet today, hydroponic gardens can be built in the confines of even the most cramped apartment. Hydroponic gardening allows people to grow food year-round. This means, if you decide to grow carrots in a hydroponic setup in your own home, you can grow seventeen crops per year instead of just seven. Hydroponic supplies bought at deep discounts can be used to grow virtually any plant, from peppers to perennials.

Growing food hydroponically allows gardeners to more precisely control the amounts and types of nutrients taken in by their plants’ roots. This means that hydroponic gardeners not only experience more crop yields, but the plants themselves are of a higher quality, stronger and more nutritious.

Some discount hydroponic supplies can be bought at retail department stores like Wal-Mart and K-Mart. The discount for these hydroponic supplies are often due to the fact that these supplies are not necessarily labeled as “hydroponic.” Supplies that can be used in various hydroponic setups include rubber tubing, which can be found in the hardware/ plumbing section of most department stores.

Other discount hydroponic supplies can be bought in the pet section of department stores. These include fish tanks, which can be used as reservoirs in virtually any hydroponic setup, as long as they are painted black to stifle the growth of algae, which can be dangerous for plants. Near the aquariums, you can also find PH testing strips, which can be used to ensure the proper acidity of the nutrient mixture. Finally, look no further than the aquarium section to find air pumps at a discount, hydroponic supplies that can be used in bubble bucket and air pump setups.

A Hobby That Will Last A Lifetime

Even hydroponic supplies bought at discounts can set hobbyists back quite a few bucks, especially at the beginning. Good news though, virtually all the supplies you use are reusable and can be used time and time again to grow your plants, so while it may at first seem like an expensive hobby, hydroponics can provide a viable alternative to rising food prices.