Hydroponics from the Greek 'water working', is simply growing plants without soil. (Hydro=water and Ponic=working)

Hydroponics is as old as the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Today this technology is widely used to grow lush, healthy indoor plants and premium grade vegetables, fruits and herbs.

The physiological requirements of plants can be met without the use of soil or natural sunlight. Plants are rooted (and thus supported) in an inert medium and nutrition is provided by water soluble mineral elements.

Through years of research determining which elements and their combinations affect plant growth, scientists (inadvertently at first) discovered the first hydroponic formulas. This allowed for greater control over plant nutrition and therefore increased production.

With use of proper nutrients and the right artificial light source, today’s' indoor gardener can achieve amazing results.

The plants can have an ideal environment since the gardener determines everything which is normally up to mother nature.

Canada is second only to Holland, for glass house vegetable production. Hydroponics is already used extensively in Canada for commercial greenhouse vegetable production.

Hydroponics may also be called 'controlled environmental agriculture'.

In a complete controlled environmental agriculture system you control:
light, temperature, water, CO2, oxygen, pH and nutrients.

Recommended reading: 'Gardening Indoors' by George Van Patten