Hydroponic Company | Hydroponic Companies | Hydroponics Businesses
What these businesses do, and what to expect from one
A hydroponic company supplies the equipment for growing plants without soil. That is the whole of it. The systems hold plants above a nutrient solution, the solution does the job soil normally does, and the company selling it should be able to tell you what is in the box and what is not.
What growing without soil actually changes
Soil does three things for a plant: it holds water, it holds nutrients, and it holds the plant up. A hydroponic system replaces the first two with a nutrient solution and the third with a basket.
The practical differences follow from that. The solution recirculates rather than draining away, so the same water does several passes and a system gets through less of it than a garden bed. Growing under cover means fewer pests arrive in the first place. And because nothing has to be searched for, roots spend their energy on growth instead of on hunting.
It suits leafy crops best. Lettuce, herbs, rocket, spinach, celery and beetroot all do well. Root vegetables and heavy fruiting plants are harder work and usually not worth it at home scale.
What a supplier should be honest about
Three things get overstated in this trade often enough to be worth naming.
Organic. You will see hydroponic kits sold on the promise of growing your own certified organic produce. In the European Union that is not available: Regulation (EU) 2018/848 requires organic crops to be grown in soil, and soilless production is outside the scheme. You can buy nutrient solutions marketed as organic and use them. The crop still cannot be certified here.
Nutrition. A growing system does not change how nutritious the food is. What it can do is get the food from the plant to your kitchen in minutes rather than days, and freshness is a real thing. That is a different claim and a smaller one, and it is the true version.
Speed. Growers do generally report faster growth than the same crop in soil, because the roots are not searching for anything. How much faster depends on the crop, the light and the solution, which is why we do not put a multiplier on it.
What to ask before you buy a system
- What is actually in the box, and what do I have to buy separately? Most kits do not include the reservoir, the nutrient solution, the seeds or the growing medium.
- Does it need a pump running to survive? Nutrient film systems drain when the power stops. Deep water culture systems do not.
- How much light does it need, and is that light included? It generally is not.
- How big is it really, and is there room to get around it once it is planted and full of water?
Who we are
The Hydroponics Company is a division of Caruso Consulting Co Ltd. We sell nutrient film and deep water culture kits, LED grow lights, grow tents and seed starting equipment, and we ship across Europe.
Delivery is 5 to 7 days after a 24 to 48 hour handling time, free on orders over €50 and otherwise €22. Express delivery is available at checkout.
We have also introduced Eco Pack packaging and work with our delivery providers on reducing the carbon footprint of getting orders to you.