1st Edition

Hydroponics for the Home Grower

By Howard M. Resh Copyright 2015
    352 Pages 205 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    352 Pages
    by CRC Press

    Hydroponics offers many advantages to traditional soil-based horticulture. These include greater control over many of the limiting factors, such as light, temperature, and pests, as well as the ability to grow plants in all seasons. With instruction from one of the top recognized authorities worldwide, Hydroponics for the Home Grower gives you step-by-step guidance on how to grow tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, eggplant, lettuce, arugula, bok choy, and various herbs year-round within your home or in a backyard greenhouse.

    Read an Interview with Dr. Resh here

    With Dr. Howard Resh’s help, you’ll learn:

    • Background information on how hydroponics evolved
    • The nutritional and environmental demands of plants and how to control these factors
    • How to provide formulations of nutrients optimal to the plants you wish to grow
    • The many different hydroponic systems you can purchase or build for yourself
    • Designs for different types of greenhouses with components to fit your personal taste and budget
    • Crop selection and step-by-step procedures, including seeding, transplanting, training, pest and disease control, and harvesting—along with when to plant and when to change crops
    • How you can grow microgreens on your kitchen counter

    The book includes an appendix with sources of seeds and other supplies, along with helpful websites and lists of books, articles, and conferences on growing hydroponically and caring for your crops. By following the guidelines in this book, you’ll understand everything you need to know to get your home-growing operation up and running in no time.

    History and Background of Hydroponics
    How Hydroponics Started: Its Present and Future Applications
    The Popularity and Benefits of Hydroponic Gardening
    Why You Should Garden Hydroponically
    Understanding Hydroponics and How Plants Grow
    Why Hydroponics Is Not Just Chemistry
    Plant Growth: The Environment and Its Effects on Plants
    Water Needs, Management, and Irrigation Practices
    Nutrients Essential to Plants and Their Sources
    Essential Nutrients to Plants and Their Functions
    Sources of Nutrients for Plants in Soil versus Hydroponics
    Nutrient Formulations and Solutions
    Signs of Plant Nutritional and Physiological Disorders and Their Remedies
    Hydroponic Systems
    Substrates to Use and Their Sources for Hydroponics
    Small Indoor Hydroponic Units: Types and Construction
    Large Indoor Hydroponic Units: Designs and Construction
    How to Start Your Plants
    Choosing Hydroponic Systems for Specific Crops
    Environmental Control Components for Hydroponic Systems
    Year-Round Growing in Greenhouses
    The Greenhouse Environment for Plants
    Benefits of a Greenhouse to the Homeowner
    Design, Layout, and Construction of Backyard Greenhouses
    Hydroponic Systems for Backyard Greenhouses
    Sources of Supplies and Components for Backyard Greenhouses
    Vegetable Crops and Their Cultural Techniques
    Most Suitable Crops and Varieties
    Seeding, Transplanting of Vegetable Crops
    Training of Vegetable Crops
    Pest and Disease Control
    Sprouts and Microgreens
    Sprouts versus Microgreens
    Growing Techniques for Microgreens
    Final Advice on How to Get Started
    Appendix: Sources of Supplies and Information
    Index

    Biography

    Howard M. Resh has a doctorate degree in horticulture and is a recognized authority worldwide on hydroponics. He has written five books on hydroponic culture for both commercial and hobby growers and his website (www.howardresh.com) presents information on hydroponic cultures of various vegetable crops. Dr. Resh is the hydroponic greenhouse farm manager for the first hydroponic farm associated with a high-end resort-CuisinArt Golf Resort and Spa in Anguilla, British West Indies. He is a consultant for many unique hydroponic greenhouse operations, including Lufa Farms in Montreal, Canada.

    "By following the guidelines in Hydroponics for the Home Grower, you'll understand everything you need to know to get your home-growing operation up and running in no time."
    —Paul T. Vogel, California Bookwatch