Gone are the days when soil used to be the main requirement for growing plants. For, now with the technological advancement, water is proving to be just the right substitute. Hydroponics involves the use of a nutrient solution and is definitely an improvement over the traditional gardening systems. The term literally means "working water". It eliminates the use of soil and introduces a nutrient solution that helps the plant grow and remain healthy. With the problem of constant reduction in fertile lands, the technique of hydroponics can serve as just the right solution.

 It serves various advantages over the traditional methods of gardening .The yield is more and the growth process is speedier.  It eliminates the problem of soil erosion, since no use of soil is involved. The nutrient solution is easily recycled and thus, the quantity of water used is much lesser.  The nutrients are easily absorbed which ensures higher yield and productivity. Higher supply of oxygen ensures effective root system and happier plants. It enables faster growth and therefore, hydroponic plants can provide fruits much before the soil plants. Almost all terrestrial plants can be grown by the method of hydroponics. This method can effectively eliminate the problems of bug intrusion and weeding. "The hanging gardens of Babylon" built by Nebuchadnezzar which was once included in the "eight wonders of the world" provides an excellent example of hydroponics in the past. 

The major nutrients required by a plant are potassium, nitrogen and phosphorus. An adequate amount of each nutrient in the solution is required to effectively implement the technique of hydroponics. There are two major types of techniques of hydroponics : Solution culture and Medium culture.

 Solution culture requires only the nutrient solution for growth while medium culture on the other hand requires the solid medium for the plant growth.  The ph of the solution is required to be perfectly suited to the needs of the plant. A ph of 6.3 is however considered optimal.  Choice of an appropriate growth medium is necessary before you try hydroponics which would mostly depend on the growth techniques used. Various growth mediums like clay pebbles, rice hulls, sand , gravel, pumice are available.

Hydroponics is a type of indoor gardening. Therefore ,replicating the outside conditions by matching the temperature and humidity levels is required . The technique proves to be costly as the start up cost of going hydroponic is normally high. Also, the hydroponics grow lights which are used to provide proper light to the plants are expensive. A detailed plan and proper skill set is required before you step into such a venture. With increasing needs for land , a technique like hydroponics can serve pretty well.