Hydroponics-Growing Plants Without Soil

Hydroponic systems are perfect for people who have limited space or access to fertile soil. They're easy to assemble and can be used to grow a wide variety of plants.

Supplies:

• Plants
• Some form of container (I used a small plastic storage container)
• Hydroponic nutrients (available on Amazon)
• Some form of nutrient medium, like Perlite of Vermiculite
• Optional: air hose to aerate the water

Cut holes in the lid of your container for the plant holes. I used an X-Acto knife. I used a permanent marker to trace around the plant pots so I would know where to cut. I then took the knife and made some slits going from the holes outward to make the lid more flexible so I could really wedge the plant containers in.

The first thing to do is wash the soil off the roots of the plants. Removing the soil also removes the risk of weeds and decreases the risk of pests. What I did was use my hands to remove as much of the soil as I could, and then I washed the rest off with water.

An optional step is to cut holes in the plant containers to maximize root space.

Add your solid nutrient medium if you're using one (warning: some of the holes in the plant containers may be too large).

Fill the container as full with water as you need it and then add the liquid nutrients. There should be instructions on the bottle as to how much to use.

Once you have everything ready, make sure the plants are securely in the lid and then put the lid on the storage container. If you're using a water hose, you can drill an extra hole for it or you can thread it through one of the holes in the plant pot.