Growing Plants Hydroponically
If you are interested in growing plants hydroponically, we recommend that you use our lesson plans. These lesson plans are geared toward students doing scientific experiments with hydroponics, but they can easily be adapted to simply growing plants hydroponically without experimentation.
Recommended for ages 10 and up. This lesson gives a brief overview of what hydroponics is, some history of hydroponics, and why it is useful in science and agriculture. It is interesting but not necessary if you want to grow plants hydroponically.
Recommended for ages 14 and up. A good knowledge of chemistry, as well as access to a chemistry lab, is recommended to attempt this. This is the most complicated of the lessons. It gives complete directions for making a nutrient solution for growing plants hydroponically.
Alternatives: If you are not able or do not want to mix your own nutrient solution with chemicals, you can buy products such as Miracle-Gro from your local gardening supply store that you can use to make a nutrient solution. Another method favored by organic gardeners is a "compost tea," which you can make by letting water run in with composting organic material and then siphoning off the water.
Recommended for ages 10 and up. This lesson gives directions for setting up a wick system for growing plants hydroponically. It also gives an overview of good growing conditions for plants and gives directions for germinating seeds and planting them in a hydroponic apparatus with Perlite.
Recommended for ages 10 and up. This lesson gives instructions for maintaining a hydroponic system and dealing with problems that may occur. Steps One, Two, and Three are important even if you are not doing a scientific experiment. The remainder of the lesson deals with making observations, organizing data, and drawing conclusions in a scientific experiment.
To print out any of the lesson plans, simply click the link in the navigation bar that says "click for printable version." You may use and distribute the lesson plans freely, but they must be labeled as the property of S.H.A.R.P. If you distribute the lesson plans, you may not change them in any way without the permission of S.H.A.R.P. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions regarding the content of the lesson plans, if you are confused by any parts, or if you find any factual errors, please post a question to the message board or send some e-mail to the members of S.H.A.R.P.
© 2001 S.H.A.R.P.: The Super Hydroponic Awesome Radish Project. All rights reserved. Photographs from this page may not be used without permission.