For many people, the thrill of the scientific hobby of homemade hydroponic gardens is enthralling and rewarding. Hydroponics aficionados use the art of hydroponics to grow everything from simple indoor herb gardens on windowsills, to elaborate closet setups complete with fluorescent lights growing hydroponic citrus trees.

What To Look For In Hydroponic Gardening Supplies

The first instinct of many hydroponics enthusiasts might be to track down the first discount hydroponic supplies on the Internet and buy as cheaply as possible. In order to be successful, however, hydroponic gardeners need to educate themselves in order to purchase the best available hydroponic gardening supplies for their project, regardless of the price.

The most important of all the hydroponic gardening supplies are the nutrients from which hobbyists create the nutrient solutions to feed their plants. People who practice hydroponics might try to take a shortcut here and buy the first plant food they see on the shelf at Wal-Mart, with the idea of simply mixing it with water in order to create their nutrient solution.

While plant food on department store shelves might seem to be an easily available and cheap alternative to mixtures found in more elaborate hydroponic gardening supply stores, they do not have the proper trace elements needed for hydroponically grown plants to develop correctly. In addition to the three main plant foods of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium-based elements, which are available in any plant food, hydroponic growing also requires chlorine, calcium, boron, manganese, iron, sulfur, zinc, copper, magnesium, and molybdenum.

These trace elements are not found in the simple plant foods available on the shelf of your local K-Mart. Discount store plant foods are created without these trace elements because they are designed for use with soil-based plants. Soil contains these trace elements naturally, so manufacturers do not add them into their plant food mixtures.

Even when shopping at specialty hydroponic gardening supply stores, it is advantageous to make sure that the three main plant nutrients and all the trace elements are present in the formula, even if the label on the box claims the food is suitable for hydroponic use. In addition, different formulas are optimized for different types of plants and different styles of hydroponic growing.

What Else To Look For In Hydroponic Gardening Supplies

After nutrients that will make the nutrient solution, the second most important part of any hydroponic gardening supplies is choosing the correct reservoir. Reservoirs can be bought commercially or made at home from other items. The key thing to remember in choosing a proper reservoir is to make sure the sides are opaque. If the sides are transparent of even translucent, algae will dominate the tank, killing or making the plants unviable.

More information on hydroponics and choosing the right hydroponic gardening supplies can be found in “How-To Hydroponics,” an excellent book by Keith Roberto.