Hydroponics

Successful Growing Without Soil

Here at New Braunfels Hydroponics, we’re proud to have fully embraced the practice of hydroponics, the technique of growing plants using a water-based nutrient solution rather than soil. This practice is observed by numerous small farmers, hobbyists, and commercial enterprises and has seen extensive growth in recent years due in part to a ban on methyl bromide in soil culture. Widely used mediums with hydroponics include expanded clay, vermiculite, brick shards, wood fiber, coconut coir, perlite, and polystyrene packing peanuts.

We’ve closely studied all the equipment and practices in many successful hydroponic operations today. We’ve carefully followed the details of every necessary step in hydroponic and indoor gardening, including greenhouse setup, soilless media choices, seed starters, transplants, nutrient solutions, pest management, harvest, and marketing.

Crops we have been able to grow hydroponically include:

Growers of hydroponic gardens have experienced the following advantages:

• Higher crop yields
• Useful in places where in-ground agriculture or gardening is not possible
• More control of nutrient content, pH, and growing environment
• Lower water and nutrient costs
• Faster growth due to more available oxygen in the root area
• Elimination or reduction of soil-related insects, fungi, and bacteria
• No weeding or cultivation required
• Ability to lift crops from ground level to a much better height for planting, cultivation, and harvesting
• Crop rotation/fallowing is not necessary
• Reduction of transplant shock

Some growers have noted a few disadvantages of hydroponics. These can include higher initial and operational costs, advanced knowledge and skills requirement, and the possibility of certain diseases spreading more quickly through specific varieties.