Plants that have been started and raised in soil can be moved to a hydroponics system if the roots are carefully cleaned of all soil and organic material.   The reasoning for the careful cleaning is to prevent the introduction of pests and disease from the garden where the plants originally came from.

hydroponicsBy starting your plants from seed, you have a lot of control over the early development of your hydroponics crop. Seeds are usually free of pests and diseases. If you start your seeds in a hydroponic system, there is no transplant stress and low chance of diseases. Seeds need moisture and moderate temperatures to germinate, which can also be provided by hydroponic growing systems.

Direct seeding into the hydroponic garden is a common method of propagation. Direct seeding does very well in perlite, rockwool and other growing mediums that are fine enough not to loose the seed. It is essential to thoroughly moisten your hydroponic growing medium before starging the seeding process.

Once seeded the hydroponic growing medium will need to be flushed out on a regular basis to keep it damp. You can initially use water for germination, right up to the point that the seed coat cracks open and the root is exposed. At this point you have a seedling which will need water, hydroponic nutrients, light and warmth. If your system is located indoors or shaded from the sun, hydroponic grow lights are needed to supplement.  You will also need to change your growing medium depending on the type of medium. If you are using perlite or rockwool, it will probably need to be changed every 2 or 3 hours.

Keeping the proper temperature is essential for high quality seed germination. Some hydroponic growers start their seeds in an incubator, propagation system or similar setup to keep the ideal temperature throughout the germination time frame. If proper temperatures are not maintained, germination will be delayed or fail. If you are using an incubator or propagation table, you can seed directly into the hydroponic growing medium.

When you plant seeds for your hydroponic setup, you should over seed anywhere between 25-50%. Once the hydroponic seeds have developed into seedlings, you can select the stronger plants and keep those. The smaller and weaker plants can be removed by pinching the plant off at the base above the roots. Pulling the plant out with the roots may disturb or damage the roots of the plants that you intend on keeping.

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