Hydroponic nutrients are basically the pillars behind any successful indoor garden. The exceptional growth rates that are realised using indoor cultivation methods are all based upon the nutrients which determine to a larger extent, apart from the natural elements such as light and air, every element of growth of a plant.

Unlike conventional agriculture where the plant nutrients are usually in the soil, hydroponic farming calls for a different approach to be employed where the growing medium is the provider of the plant nutrients by itself. This is realised by dissolving the nutrients in water which are in turn absorbed by the plant directly.

Thus, water plays an integral part in every hydroponic farm and should be supplied in large quantities. Plant nutrients are usually grouped in to two: primary and trace elements or macro and micro nutrients. Modern hydroponic nutrients try to strike a balance between the two by proving plant nutrients with a balance of the two elements. Macro nutrients are needed by the plant in large quantities since they are very essential for plant growth and should be supplied right from seeding up to the time of harvest.

These include nutrients rich in Nitrogen, Phosphorous, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium and Sulphur. Trace elements on the other hand, are also essential for plant growth but they are needed by the plant in small or trace quantities. They are responsible for orchestrating a whole range of physiological functions and they include Iron, Cobalt, Chromium, Copper and Zinc among others.

Different hydroponic nutrients are needed during different stages of growth; this calls for the use of different nutrients during frequent intervals during the whole cycle. Most of the nutrients required contain the same elements and it could be wise to go for rock-bottom priced ones instead of going for the high-street ones; which cost much higher yet they deliver the same results as their lowly priced counterparts.