Difference between Hydroponics and Pot Culture – The Things to Know

One of the very first things that any grower who is new to the entire concept of indoor gardening always needs to decide is whether to go with pot culture or to go with a hydroponic set up and then choosing if they’ll be able to choose the right hydroponic pots or the suitable pots for the otherwise pot culture.

Now, if you’re wondering what is this all about and where is all the difference, then here’s some information in the write-up that will work wonders for you.

Pot culture involves growing plants in normal plant-pots and involves manual hand-watering. This type of growing lends itself better to water-retentive mediums such as soil, coco or something like a soilless medium. There are some other substrates such as clay pebbles that dry out very quickly which would mean that the grower would need to hand-water their plants several times a day, which is simply not practical for the average person to fit into their lifestyle.

While pot culture could be a choice for lot of people but hydroponics provides the convenience of low maintenance and fast plant growth. A very simple point you need to consider is that hand watering hundreds of plants can be an absolutely time-consuming activity, even if it is only once every two or 3 days.

This is when a hydroponics set up takes care of the watering on a day-to-day basis. All that the grower needs to do is to top up the reservoir once every few days and change out the (mineral-based) nutrient solution completely once a week.

Here’s a better look into the two options so you will be able to choose the one that’s best for your indoor garden –

Benefits of Pot Culture

·        Extremely low initial expenditure – a few pots, saucers and soil cost

·        A easy growing technique that suits all kinds of gardens

·        Offers a “back-to-nature” way of growing that all gardeners enjoy

·        Allows the use of organic, biological and natural feeds

·        Allows the production of a higher quality, organically or naturally fed product

Drawbacks of Pot Culture:

·        Making up fresh feed and then hand-watering many plants consumes time

·        Plants cannot be left for many days without having them watered

·        Plants cannot be left for days without watering which can be inconvenient

·        Plant growth is comparatively slower

·        Produces lower yields

Benefits of Hydroponics  

·        Allows gardeners to optimise plant feed strength and watering frequency

·        Optimized plant feeding results in unmatched speed of plant growth and yields

·        Requires lower maintenance compared to pot culture

·        Systems may be left unattended occasionally (sometimes even for few days)

·        Perfect for the technically – minded due to higher levels of automation

·        Allows for a huge choice of growing medium

Drawbacks of Hydroponics

·        The initial set up may cost slightly higher compared to pot culture

·        Only chemical and mineral based nutrients may be used

·        An expert needs to hand and manage the system very carefully

·        The root diseases (if ever occurs) may spread though every plant within hours.

·        Preventive measures need to be taken in all cases

Whether you’re choosing pot culture or hydroponics it is important you understand all details about the same and then go ahead with it.

Personal View: Considering the many benefits that are associated with hydroponics it is always advisable to choose this method over the regular pot culture. Hydroponic pots are a great way to set up your grow room and if you are looking for them online in UK, then getting in touch with Hyjo is highly recommended.