Species	Medical matter	Technique of Cultivation	Harvest t/ha	Content of biologically active compounds, %
Aloe Aloe arborescens	Fresh shoots	Hydroponics	100-120	Anthraglycosides 1.13
		Soil	30-40	1.16
Nightshade Solanum lacinatum	Fresh shoots	Hydroponics	120	Solasodin 1.17
		Soil	25-40	1.16
Kalanchoe Kalanchoe pinnata	Fresh shoots	Hydroponics	160	Tanning matter, catechin 267 mg %
		Soil	59	245 mg %
Cathrantus Catharantus roseus	Dry shoots	Hydroponics	5.0	Cumulative alkaloids 1.2
		Soil	1.15-1.7	0.5-0.9
Motherwort Leonurus quinquelobatus	Dry shoots	Hydroponics	3.5-4	Cumulative flavonoides 1.32
		Soil	2.0-3.0	0.74
Java tea Orthosiphon stamineus	Dry shoots	Hydroponics	8.9	Extractive matters 46.1
		Soil	1.0	43.7
Bur marigold Bidens tripartite	Dry shoots	Hydroponics	85-105	Cumulative flavooides 0.66
		Soil	60-70	0.57
Opium poppy Papaver somniferum	Boll with seeds	Hydroponics	1.6-1.8	Morphine 0.73
		Soil	0.7	0.63
Valerian Valeriana officinalis	Dry root	Hydroponics	2.5	Essential oil 0.41
		Soil	1.2	0.23

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A similar study was conducted on the quality and productivity of essential oils.  The rose geranium Pelagronium roseum was among the valuable aromatic plants that were cultivated in Armenia.  Yields of 117-138 tonnes of geranium green material and 137-149 kg. of essential oil can be obtained from a single hectare of hydroponic surface with balanced hydroponic plant food.  By contrast the soil crop gave figures of 21 tonnes per hectare and 23kg/ha respectively.

Many schools are teaching and growing hydroponically.  Children enjoy setting up and maintaining their gardens.  They find it very rewarding bringing a plant to life and nurturing it to maturity.  Unfortunately, children are out of school during most of our outdoor growing season.  Hydroponics indoors, provides the perfect opportunity for kids to learn about plant growth and development.

Hydroponic gardening indoors has become very popular with home hobbyists for both culinary and medicinal herb cultivation.  The gardener virtually controls the environment simulating ideal growing conditions.  Each plant receives exactly what it requires for optimal growth.  Lighting, nutrition, temperature, air quality, pH can all be controlled by you, the grower. 

Not long ago it was very difficult to achieve satisfactory results growing indoors.  Flourescent tubes were the only supplemental light source available and did not supply an adequate amount of light for plant growth.  Technological breakthrought and scientific research have shed bright light on indoor horticulture by producing the metal halide lamp.  Reasonably priced, the metal halide lamp simulates sunlight for strong, healthy vegetative growth.

The delicate fragrance and soft textures of an attractive hydroponic herb garden will bring charm and grace to any location.  A sunny window with a southern or western exposure should make it possible to grow a satisfactory crop. However, using supplemental metal halide lights will speed growth, enhance flavour, colour  and fragrance.   Easily grown and maintained, hydroponics is the perfect environment for herbs to flourish indoors. You will be delighted with the results and simplicity of hydroponic gardening.

To start your seedlings use a basic nursery tray and dome with inexpensive rockwool starter cubes, available at any hydroponic retail outlet.  Cover and keep in a dark, warm place until seedlings appear.  Place in a sunny window or under flourescent lights until the secondary leaves form.  They are now ready to transplant into your hydroponic garden.   

The most common method used for windowsills and small areas is deepwater culture.  Seedlings are inserted into a mesh basket filled with a growing medium such as clay pellets.  The plant roots are suspended over a container filled with nutrient solution and a small aquarium air pump provides oxygen to the root system.  For larger scale herb production ebb and flow trats are ideal.  Mesh pots or rockwool cubes are used to anchor plants on a ribbed plastic tray.  The tray is then flooded with nutrient solution from a reservoir and immediately drained back into the reservoir.  This is done 2 or 34  times a day.  This system makes it easy to dultivate many plants in minimal space.

Premixed nutrient concentrate provides the exact balance of required minerals,  just add the recommended amount to the container of water.  Solutions are topped up for about 30 days then replaced because the plants use nutrition in different proportions.

In hydroponics it is necessary to determine the pH or acidity of your solution.  This is easily accomplished by adding a drop of tester to 2 ml of solution and checking the colour against a chart. Desirable readings range from 5.5 to 6.5.  pH may be easily adjusted up or down to achieve the desired reading.  These products are inexpensive and available at retail hydroponic stores.

A hydroponic garden can produce an impressive number of herbs in a very small area.   Salad greens can be added to your garden for a fresh harvest all year long.  There is no backbreaking weeding or tilling and no pesticides.

A wonderful book which is an easy stem-by stem guide to hydroponics is:

Hydroponics for the Home Gardener by stewart Kenyon.

Mr. Kenyon has an entire chaper dedicated to recipes using herbs, contributed by chefs who use hydroponic systems in their kitchens.

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