There are just a lot more options when it comes to soil, and that means it can grow a much wider range of plants. It can be free-draining or it can hold water. On the other hand, soil also has an advantage when compared with hydroponics, and it’s the diversity of plants it can support. Soil, by comparison, requires more work as it relates to watering. All hydroponic grow setups rely on a reservoir of water that has been enriched with nutrients, and the plants are set up in such a way that they can water themselves as and when they need to. The main benefit of hydroponics is the maintenance they require. Now you know that the two main growing methods for indoor gardening are soil and hydroponics, we will now compare these two based from their benefits. It is popular for indoor gardening because it tends to be more space efficient and is less messy. Hydroponics refers to a technique for growing plants without soil. Yes, soil is one way to provide these things, but it’s not the only way. What plants do need, however, is something to support their root zone, and a system for delivering water and nutrients to those roots.

Substrates for Indoor GardeningĪ lot of people think that plants need soil to grow. There are food (nutrients), water and light. The Fundamentals of Any Garden - And How To Manage Them IndoorsĪs you may recall from high school biology all plants have some basic requirements that you are going to need to attend to. 1) we’re likely to have less space, so space optimization is important, 2) we’re likely to have less light, and 3) we’re less exposed to weather - so it is conceivable that we do this year round, not just in Spring/Summer. INDOOR gardening means that we’re not doing this outside.Light requirements for edible plants can be 5-10x higher compared to non-edible plants. Edible plants tend to grow much quicker than non-edible (decorative) plants, and therefore they need much more light. EDIBLE gardening means that we’re talking about food.Before we explain the process of starting your Edible Indoor Garden, it’s important to understand how this differs from other types of gardening:

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