Hydroponics and Water Conservation for a Garden

What do Hydroponics have to do with Water Conservation?

Hydroponics offers a tremendous advantage over soil gardening in the area of water conservation.  Through the years, many people have come to realize the tremendous benefits of growing plants or vegetables hydroponically, and using far less water is probably the largest benefit of all.

Why Growing Hydroponically Conserves Water

There are a few specific reasons why hydroponics encourages water conservation. Listed below are the characteristics and methods that make it possible to save water while growing hydroponically:

Garden Watering Methods

With hydroponics, watering is done individually and directly with each plant.  Instead of dispersing large volumes of water to a whole row of plants, both water and "nutrient" water are applied directly to the source - the root.

This controlled process enables the use of far less water because each individual plant does not use much water.  All or most of the water is used by the plants, and there's no wasted water.

No matter which method or tool is used for watering and irrigation, the watering process can be controlled to use only the needed amount of water.  Whether using the drip method, misting or spraying, the water volumes can be controlled and directed to the roots of the plants.

Recycling the Water

The water used in hydroponics is normally recycled using a water collection system, and the gardener is able to recycle some of the water  after use.  This recycling process conserves a tremendous amount of water because new water doesn't have to be applied for each session.

No Soil to Absorb the Water

Hydroponic plants don't use soil, but instead use either rocks, granite or some other form of support for the roots.  Some are even suspended in air with no support cushion around the roots. This enables the root of the plant to absorb all of the water applied.  Soil absorbs a tremendous amount of water, therefore, higher volumes of water are needed to provide the actual plant with enough water to survive.

It takes much less water to get the necessary water supply to the plants when planting the hydroponics way.

No Competition with Other Plants

Plants grown in the soil near other plants are constantly competing for the water source.  When two or more plants are located only feet or inches away from one another, the water source gets pulled toward both plants.  The plants are often strained from trying to force the water to their own root, while also lacking water if the other plant wins out.  This is a tug-of-war that can be avoided while using hydroponics.

Hydroponic planting allows you to apply the water to one plant at a time, and the plants are not sharing the same soil (no soil at all is used). The plants don't have to strain to get water because the right amount of water is applied to each plant separately.  This saves water because there's not a continual need to accommodate the plant who "lost the battle!"

Tests Prove it All

During comparison tests, hydroponically grown plants used over eight times less water than plants grown in soil.  This is a tremendous difference, and on a large scale, could  potentially save literally tons of water each year.

Water conservation is probably one of the most sensible reasons to grow hydroponically, especially if you're planting a large garden.  It helps to reduce water costs while also reducing the waste of water in communities.  You can grow more using less water with hydroponics.