Before we begin comparing the two categories, it’s
important to clarify just what we are calling hydroponic
and what we are not. The decision often breaks down to
whether plants are being grown indoors or out. However,
this classification misses many significant points. If based
on the original idea of the absence of true soil particles,
this would improperly group many techniques incorrectly.
One aspect of hydroponic growing that is commonly
noted is the increased control over various aspects like
temperature, nutrient concentration, and even root-zone
oxygen. This can be accomplished inside a grow tent
or many types of greenhouses, but not really outdoors.
The variation of nutrient concentration can most
quickly be accomplished in deep water culture (DWC),
as compared with other grow medias. This is due
to the residual nutrient level in other-than-water
type media remains and any change in that level
is stabilized. In DWC, the entire reservoir can be
rapidly changed over and the resulting nutrient
formula completely different.
Let’s compare DWC with old fashioned “grow
in the dirt” outdoor agriculture, which are prob-
ably the two extremes of hydroponic-versus-soil
grow techniques. This dirt, we can assume,
includes a good supply of organic matter in
addition to the traditional soil particles.
grow cycle
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