How To Hydroponics [Paperback]

Keith F. Roberto (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2000

How To Hydroponics Third Edition is the do it yourselfers dream guide to getting started with hydroponic gardening. Featuring in depth and fully illustrated examples of how to build cutting edge hydroponic and aeroponic systems capable of growing all your favorite foods, flowers, herbs and spices. The third edition includes chapters on indoor lighting for horticulture and ideas for small space indoor gardens. How To Hydroponics is an in depth guide that contains every once of knowledge you will need to be successful with hydroponics. You'll also learn how to make a market for your garden too!

Editorial Reviews

Review

This useful guide is 69 pages, well written, and easy to follow. It provides detailed instructions, step-by-step, on building your own hydroponic systems. The guide takes you from buying the parts to putting the plants into your working system.

It lists all the parts you'll need, approximate costs per item, and what kind of store you can find them in (plumbing, marine supply, hardware, home-improvement, etc.) It also includes information on the basic requirements of plant growth. The guide provides good photos to illustrate the instructions and includes diagrams with measurements for the exact minded. If you have the tools and have been dying to build your own system, I highly recommend trying this guide. Amy Knutson - The Growing Edge -- Publisher Comments

About the Author

Keith Roberto first wrote How To Hydroponics in 1994 as a means to break down the high price barrier between prefabricated hydroponic gardens and the do it yourselfer. His goal was to teach the inside secrets to all who were curious so they too could enjoy the wonderful benefits of hydroponic gardening without the high price tag of commercial systems. The first edition of How To Hydroponics was reviewed by the industries leading magazine, The Growing Edge, and received a very strong recommendation by their staff. Ever since, Keith has made How To Hydroponics a work in progress, constantly adding and revising its content to reflect the most technologically advanced and most productive means for employing the hydroponic method of agriculture.

provide the do it yourselfer with an inexpensive entry to hydroponic gardening

Product Details

• Paperback: 71 pages
• Publisher: Future Garden Inc; 3rd edition (March 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0967202604
• ISBN-13: 978-0967202600
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.2 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,862,601 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A left-brain booklet that gets the message across, February 26, 2000

By 

Paul Simone (Fayetteville, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How To Hydroponics (Paperback)

I've bought four hydroponic books to date and this is the third one I've read. It is packed with data and tells it like it is. I call it a left-brain booklet because it reads like a text book; which it is. This book turned me on to something I didn't know about - Aeroponics! Now I'm beginning to rethink my hydroponics plans and shall look more deeply into Aeroponics. Surprise, there was a great hint on how to grow hot peppers even hotter than usual. If you want to get excited about hydroponics first read "Hydroponics for Everyone" by Dr. Struan Sutherland. Then buy this book and don't skip over it; read it through. In the book "Hydroponics Soilless Gardening" by Richard Nicholls there were two paragraphs devoted to Aeroponics, but for some reason it didn't register with me what was being said. Keith Roberto not only explains Aeroponics but shows how to build a small inexpensive unit. One complaint I have is: in all three of these books that I've read, not one gave a hint as to the cost of the nutrient solutions and how often they need to be purchased for a small operation. After all, you've heard the phrase 'dirt cheap' but I bet in hydroponics you won't hear 'liquid nutrient cheap'. Even the simple construction projects looked tedious; so maybe purchasing kits will be more my style. Mr. Roberto does give a website to access for supplies. Some of the prices made me choke. My advice is to read before jumping into hydroponics. The next book I've purchased and will now read is "Hydroponic Tomatoes For the Home Gardener" by Howard M. Resh. After that I will digest all I've read and make a decision on which way to go; if any. As a very long-time soil organic gardener I know what good vegetables should taste like and it's not what we get from the supermarket. Will it be what I get from Hydroponics?

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW TO START A HYDROPONIC GARDEN!, January 1, 2003

By 

THE HOME GROWN BIOCHEMIST (Norfolk, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How To Hydroponics (Paperback)

It is apparent from reading the publication that Keith is a well read and very experienced gardener. Contained in How-To-Hydroponics is everything you will need to start your own garden whether it be a small spare closet garden or an outdoor plantation.

The book begins by giving a brief overview of hydroponics and then discusses the needs of the plant and how the gardner should meet these needs. The topics in this area include how to maintain proper pH and temperature, lighting, oxygenation, humidity, and nutrition. The book even includes recipes for making your own nutrient solution for the more sophisticated gardners.

Keith then gives blueprints for 3 affordable gardens than anyone can accomplish. The three gardens are

"The Hydroponic Planter" : EXTREMELY easy and cheap. An idiot could build this one in a weekend!!! Perfect for beginners.

"The aeroponic Aerospring" : Offers the reader the chance to build a garden employing the most advanced technique known for growing. Aeroponics! Again, easy and cheap but will require slightly more mechanical ability. ie: measuring and fitting PVC piping on a very small scale. You can learn how to glue the pipes together by simply asking your Homedepot salesman. He will give you everything you need to do the job right.

"The PVC pipe hydroponic System(s)" : This system will allow the reader to build a system that will support as few as two plants to infinitum. Two size systems using 4 and 6 inch pipe are included. The skys the limit here. To build this system you will be required to make more precise cuts and a knowledge of the proper tools and fitting PVC piping is a definite plus.

All of these systems are "doable" by beginners. This is the only book I have seen on the topic that can have you growing in only 2 days.

It also includes lots of pictures and drawings to keep you on target. The pictures are black and white but suffice. If you are interested in color photos, the book is also avialable in pdf format from www.futuregarden.com at the same price.

Good luck and enjoy!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great beginner's guide to hydroponic gardens, January 31, 2001

By 

Carmen Thompson "exsisterwife" (Kearns, UT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How To Hydroponics (Paperback)

Keith Roberto does an excellent job covering all of the basics of soilfree gardening. This book is easy to understand for people like myself who have little knowledge of the subject. The essential components of a succesful soilfree garden are covered very well, such as the balance between lighting and nutrients and the chemical changes that occur in the growth process. All of this explained in "layman's terms" that we can all understand. Three well described sets of plans are included in the book which can get the reader on a small budget started. Indoors or Outside, using natural sunlight or artificial lighting, this book covers it all. I am looking forward to having a year-round fresh salad garden grown in my own garage!