If you are a gardener, there is always one item you would like more of, and that is more plants. If you garden hydroponically, one of the primary hydroponics supplies you will require are new plants on a regular basis. It can get expensive buying them at a gardening center, but it is easy and fun to start your own plants.

There are several ways to make more plants. You could try the cloning and propagation techniques of seed starting, cloning kits, or other forms of plant propagation to create a wealth of plants. Indoor gardening provides the ideal conditions for starting new plants using any of these methods.

What are the differences among cloning and propagation techniques?

1. Seed starting

Seed starting is an excellent way to build the number and variety of plants inexpensively. Depending on the variety, seeds require light or dark to germinate, and they vary in the number of days to reach germination. You can start seeds in homemade containers, or you can use seed starting kits. This is an excellent method to use when growing indoors.

You will need seed starting supplies such as containers and a seed starting mix, which is moistened with water to the consistency of a wrung-out but damp sponge. Place the dampened mixture into your starting trays, and place the seeds on the soil. It is important that the seeds are in firm contact with the soil, so you will want to lightly press them in. Cover the seeds, (or not, depending on their light requirements for germination), and place them in a plastic bag or with a piece of plastic over the top of the trays. This will create a mini greenhouse effect, conducive to seedling emergence. After the seeds germinate, remove the plastic and grow them on under bright lights and feed them regularly with a weak fertilizer solution.

2. Cloning and propagation techniques using cloning kits

Cloning is another method of plant propagation. You place cuttings taken of an existing plant into the cloning kit, and very quickly--in a few days--through repeated applications of rooting hormones, roots are formed on the cutting. The cutting is them removed from the cloning kit, and is grown on in a growing medium under lights. Cloning kits are a great choice when you want to propagate plants quickly, which is common in commercial greenhouse settings.

3. Other cloning and propagation techniques

You can create more plants by using other methods of propagation. Layering is one easy method. Take a branch which is still attached to the main plant, remove some of the leaves, and place the bare portion of the branch on the soil. Hold the branch down with a rock, and leave it in place. Over time, roots will form on the part of the branch that is touching the soil, after which you can sever it from the main plant and have a new plant to grow on in a container.