[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-89688-en":3,"doc-seo-89688-105":31,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":92},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":20,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":21,"is_downloadable":21,"audit_status":21,"page_count":22,"language":23,"language_code":24,"site_id":25,"html_lang":24,"table_of_contents":26,"faqs":27,"seo_title":28,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":29,"read_time":30},89688,7971461740909,"Levi","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d",10,"Lifestyle","Hydroponics - Growing Crops without Soil - Intermediate Guide","Hydroponics offers a practical way to grow crops without soil by using nutrient-rich solutions or disease-free growing media such as sand, gravel, or coconut fibre. The guide explains how hydroponic setups can be built from basic local materials, and highlights benefits including year-round production, smaller space requirements, fewer weeds, and faster plant growth. It also covers disadvantages like equipment costs, the need for regular monitoring of pH and nutrients, and rapid spread of pests and diseases in enclosed systems.","Hydroponics Growing Crops without Soil  \nlevel: intermediate  \nEnglish Agriculture  \nHydroponics Growing Crops without Soil  \nIt uses material from Footsteps 110, the literary publication of Tear Fund  \nwith kind permission  \nIllustrations by MissionAssist  \nEnglish  \nBerkshire, England  \nCopyright © 2020, MissionAssist  \n[http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)  \nYou are free to make commercial use of this work. You may adapt and add to this work. You must keep the copyright and credits for authors, illustrators, etc.  \nIt uses material from Footsteps 110 the literary publication of Tear Fund with kind permission  \nIllustrations by MissionAssist  \nThis edition published in the United Kingdom in 2020 by MissionAssist  \nPermission is granted for non-profit reproduction and other use of the MissionAssist materials.  \nHydroponics  \nGrowing Crops without Soil  \nWhat is hydroponics?  \nHydroponics is the practice of growing plants without soil. You can grow the plants directly in a nutrient-rich solution; or you can plant them in a disease-free growing medium such as sand, gravel or coconut fibre, which you then water with nutrient solution.  \nA simple hydroponic system can be set up using locally available materials such as a water barrel and some plastic piping  \nWhat are the benefits?  \nFirst of all, you don’t need fertile land to grow crops hydroponically. Crops can be grown anywhere – indoors or out— in a much smaller space than traditional farming requires. You are working in a more controlled environment so there are fewer weeds, and a lower risk of pests and diseases.  \nWith the proper set-up, plants will grow and mature more quickly than if they are grown in soil. This is because the plants do not have to work as hard to obtain the nutrients they need to grow. Their exact needs are met so they can concentrate on leaf and stem growth instead of spending energy expanding their root systems. Crops like tomatoes or strawberries reach the flowering stage faster and therefore produce their fruits sooner.  \nFodder for livestock can also be grown quickly using hydroponics, reducing pressure on grazing land.  \nWater is recirculated so less is used and none is wasted. Where growers have greenhouses, rainwater can be collected from the roof and piped directly to the plants.  \nAre there any disadvantages?  \nThe biggest challenge is the cost. A lot of equipment is needed to create a large-scale hydroponics system: containers, pumps, lighting, nutrients etc. However, there are smaller, cheaper options.  \nFor larger systems, a high level of knowledge is needed to manage the system well and avoid costly mistakes. The plants need to be monitored and the pH and nutrient levels in the system adjusted regularly.  \nAs the plants grow close together in an enclosed system, pests and diseases can spread rapidly. It is important to make sure you have a disease-free water supply and to use a disease-free growing medium when you set up your system.  \nTypes of hydroponic systems available  \nThere are six hydroponic systems to choose from:  \n• wick system  \n• water culture  \n• ebb and flow  \n• drip  \n• NFT (nutrient film technology)  \n• aeroponic system  \nWhich one you decide to use depends on the amount of money you want to spend and how complicated you want your system to be.  \n1. Wick system  \nThe wick system is cheap and, at its very basic level, only requires a bucket, wicks, nutrient solution and something for the plants to grow in, such as sand.  \nThe wicks draw the nutrient solution up from the bucket and release it into the growing medium, making it available to the plant roots. Wicks can be made out of any absorbent material including string, wool or cut-up bits of old clothes.  \nIf you decide to use this system, make sure that you flush out any excess nutrients with fresh water every 1-2 weeks.  \n2. Water culture system  \nThe water culture system is another very simple type of hydroponic syst","cbCaivrFZOKvpFow","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaivrFZOKvpFow","pdf",447297,2,1,20,"English","en",105,"# What is hydroponics?\n## What are the benefits?\n## Are there any disadvantages?\n## Types of hydroponic systems available\n## 1. Wick system\n## 2. Water culture system\n## 3. Ebb and flow system","[{\"question\":\"What is hydroponics and what do plants grow in instead of soil?\",\"answer\":\"Hydroponics is growing plants without soil. Plants can be grown directly in a nutrient-rich solution or in a disease-free medium such as sand, gravel, or coconut fibre that is watered with nutrient solution.\"},{\"question\":\"What benefits does hydroponics provide compared with traditional farming?\",\"answer\":\"Hydroponics does not require fertile land and can be used indoors or outdoors in smaller spaces. The controlled environment reduces weeds and lowers the risk of pests and diseases, and plants often grow and mature faster.\"},{\"question\":\"What disadvantages should be considered before using hydroponics?\",\"answer\":\"The biggest challenge is cost, since larger systems require equipment such as containers, pumps, lighting, and nutrients. Larger setups also need knowledge for proper management, regular monitoring of pH and nutrient levels, and careful prevention of disease because pests and diseases can spread quickly in enclosed systems.\"}]","Hydroponics - Growing Crops without Soil - Intermediate Guide | PDF",1784287011,31,{"code":4,"msg":32,"data":33},"ok",{"site_id":25,"language":24,"slug":34,"title":13,"keywords":35,"description":14,"schema_data":36,"social_meta":87,"head_meta":89,"extra_data":91,"updated_unix":29},"hydroponics-growing-crops-without-soil-intermediate-guide","",{"@graph":37,"@context":86},[38,54,69],{"@type":39,"itemListElement":40},"BreadcrumbList",[41,45,48,51],{"item":42,"name":43,"@type":44,"position":21},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":46,"name":47,"@type":44,"position":20},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",{"item":49,"name":12,"@type":44,"position":50},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/lifestyle/",3,{"item":52,"name":13,"@type":44,"position":53},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/hydroponics-growing-crops-without-soil-intermediate-guide/89688/",4,{"url":52,"name":13,"@type":55,"author":56,"headline":13,"publisher":58,"fileFormat":61,"inLanguage":24,"description":14,"dateModified":62,"datePublished":63,"encodingFormat":61,"isAccessibleForFree":64,"interactionStatistic":65},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":57},"Person",{"url":42,"name":59,"@type":60},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-07-29","2026-07-17",true,{"@type":66,"interactionType":67,"userInteractionCount":20},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":68},"ViewAction",{"@type":70,"mainEntity":71},"FAQPage",[72,78,82],{"name":73,"@type":74,"acceptedAnswer":75},"What is hydroponics and what do plants grow in instead of soil?","Question",{"text":76,"@type":77},"Hydroponics is growing plants without soil. Plants can be grown directly in a nutrient-rich solution or in a disease-free medium such as sand, gravel, or coconut fibre that is watered with nutrient solution.","Answer",{"name":79,"@type":74,"acceptedAnswer":80},"What benefits does hydroponics provide compared with traditional farming?",{"text":81,"@type":77},"Hydroponics does not require fertile land and can be used indoors or outdoors in smaller spaces. The controlled environment reduces weeds and lowers the risk of pests and diseases, and plants often grow and mature faster.",{"name":83,"@type":74,"acceptedAnswer":84},"What disadvantages should be considered before using hydroponics?",{"text":85,"@type":77},"The biggest challenge is cost, since larger systems require equipment such as containers, pumps, lighting, and nutrients. Larger setups also need knowledge for proper management, regular monitoring of pH and nutrient levels, and careful prevention of disease because pests and diseases can spread quickly in enclosed systems.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":52,"og:type":88,"og:title":13,"og:site_name":59,"og:description":14},"article",{"robots":90,"canonical":52},"index,follow",{"doc_id":7,"site_id":25},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":93},[94,98,102,106,111,116,121,126,130,133,135],{"id":21,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":95,"show_sort_weight":96,"slug":97},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":20,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":99,"show_sort_weight":100,"slug":101},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":53,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":103,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":105},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":107,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":108,"show_sort_weight":109,"slug":110},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":112,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":113,"show_sort_weight":114,"slug":115},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":118,"show_sort_weight":119,"slug":120},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":122,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":123,"show_sort_weight":124,"slug":125},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":22,"slug":129},9,"Religion & Spirituality","religion-spirituality",{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":131,"show_sort_weight":22,"slug":132},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":11,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":12,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":134},"lifestyle",{"id":136,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":137,"show_sort_weight":107,"slug":138},19,"General","general"]