There are so many advantages to hydroponic gardening that it is not difficult to see why it has become so popular. Growing plants hydroponically almost always results in better quality. They also grow more quickly. It saves time and labor, since there is no weeding, manuring, or digging in hydroponic gardens. Without the digging and soil, hydroponics is a very clean and tidy business. There are also much more consistent results when using hydroponics, because it is such a controlled environment. And because hydroponic systems are inside greenhouses, crops can by grown year-round, without being affected by the weather. "Hydroponics gives the farmer precise control of the plants and often even the seasons."

The hydroponic grower is in control of the pH level and nutrients his crop receives. In Western Washington, for example, the soil in general is very acidic, which gives traditionally grown tomatoes a very acidic taste. But tomatoes grown hydroponically in Western Washington have a flavor just and tasty as those grown elsewhere in much less acidic soil. The locally grown tomatoes do not have to travel far the market, cutting shipping costs, and they are more likely to sell because they are so fresh.

A hydroponic gardener does not need to worry about rotating crops, since their nutrients are fed to them through the water, and not sought out of the soil. The yield per acre of hydroponic crops over outdoor crops is much higher, since space requirements and growing time are lessened. Even though it seems contradictory, hydroponics uses less water than traditional gardening. Water is not lost to the soil, and is slower to escape into the air when trapped inside a greenhouse.

There is a trend right now in growing smaller hydroponic gardens for personal enjoyment and consumption. Homegrowing hydroponics kits are presently available that start at about fifty dollars. The yearly costs of fertilizers and pH control for a system that will produce two hundred pounds of tomatoes annually is around sixty to eighty dolloars, which calculates to about three cents a pound.

As you can see, hydroponics has developed tremendously in the last century, and become extremely successful within the last twenty years. Today it is a very popular and growing form of gardening.