Since you’re thinking about starting a hydroponics garden, there’s an excellent chance that you’re a proponent of complementary and alternative medicine. Currently, around 38% of adults and 12% of children living in the United States are using some type of this form of medicine.
Survey Results on the Usage of Complementary and Alternative Medicine
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine conducted a recent survey. The results showed that herbal therapy was the most common type of alternative medicine being used by 18.9% of their participants. In case you’re unaware of the distinction, when someone uses herbal therapy, it means that they’re using natural products other than vitamins and minerals. This doesn’t mean, however, that they aren’t taking vitamins and minerals along with herbal therapy.
The Growth of Alternative Therapies
You may already know that the use of alternative therapies has increased within the United States. This applies to the use of herbal medicine, in particular. In 1990, for example, the expenditures for these types of treatments was $13.7 billion. By 1997, it had actually doubled. Given this, you may have considered growing your own herbal remedies.
Growing Herbal Remedies in a Hydroponics System
You may have heard that hydroponics systems can often produce a higher quality plant. If you’re planning to have an indoor rather than an outdoor garden, you won’t need a large amount of space. Were you aware, for example, that you can grow even more plants in the same amount of space when you use a hydroponics system? This can amount to four times the yield of those plants that are grown traditionally in soil.
While it does depend on the type of plants you’re planning to grow in your hydroponic garden, some will actually grow twice as fast. One of the reasons for this is due to your having more control over the environment. As a result, your hydroponics garden will be able to receive just the right amount of nutrients, water, and oxygen.
Make Sure You Have all the Essential Supplies
If you’re planning to set up your hydroponics garden indoors, you’ll need a variety of hydroponics gardening supplies. Just a few of the supplies you’ll need include specific types of grow lights. Since the wattage level you’ll need will depend on a variety of factors, be sure to consult with a hydroponics garden expert. To give you an example, you may need 400 watt or 1,000-watt grow lights.
It’s a good idea to have extra indoor grow room supplies on hand, such as nutrients, grow lights, and 8 light controllers. When you have eight or more grow lights, for example, you will need to have at least 8 light controllers. To ensure that you always have everything you need to maintain your hydroponics garden, you may want to have a second or third set of 8 light controllers just in case.
