hydroponics has grown a lot in recent years. Due to environmental, health, and consumer demand for products from alternative farming systems, hydroponics went from being an average geek hobby of biotechnologists to a potentially lucrative commercial venture.
Naturally, in a situation like that, hydroponics books soon followed.
You are reading: Best books on hydroponics
However, the sheer number of books on hydroponics does not mean that all books are worth our attention. Different gardeners and growers have different needs and expectations when it comes to literature, and sometimes it’s hard to figure out what’s best for you.
so what is the best book on hydroponics out there?
well, you should know that there is no such thing as a “hydroponic bible”; no publication on hydroponics perfectly covers all aspects of the practice. It’s highly unlikely that a single book will give you everything you need to know to build a flawless hydroponic system.
And how to choose the book that best suits your interests? That’s where the good reviews come in!
Take a look at some of my recommendations for quality literature on hydroponics.
varieties of hydroponics books
1. Hydroponics: The Essential Guide to Hydroponics: A Step-by-Step Hydroponic Gardening Guide to Growing Fruits, Vegetables, and Herbs at Home
here is a relatively recent post, from 2016. author andy jacobson has nearly 30 years of experience in hydroponics, aquaponics, and other advanced gardening methods and home practices.
The book is aimed at beginners and explains in detail and bluntly all the concepts of hydroponics and related practices that you will want to know at the beginning. the language is clear, simple and easy to follow, with diagrams and images to help you along the way. Andy’s focus on sustainability and self-sufficiency will make the tone of this book appealing to like-minded readers.
however, while it’s a great first book on hydroponics, if you have any hydroponics experience, it probably won’t have much to offer you.
2. how to hydroponics 4th edition by keith roberto
Each hydroponics publication has a particular focus on a certain aspect of the practice. keith roberto’s “how to do hydroponics” pays special attention to hydroponics and aeroponics equipment, giving you a good knowledge base to buy or make exactly what you need on your own and with confidence.
However, the weakness of “how to do hydroponics” is that it doesn’t go into detail about plant care, which is an anxiety-provoking topic for many beginners. Overall, it’s a good read for beginners in hydroponics, and is best paired with books that cover plant care in more detail.
3. DIY Hydroponic Gardening: How To Make Your First Hydroponic System Without Spending Too Much Money Or Time By James Coble
The “DIY Hydroponic Garden” is another basic, short, beginner’s book for beginners in hydroponics. covers five hydroponic methods suitable for your entry into the world of hydroponics. As the title suggests, it also offers a few tips, like teaching how you can use cheaper than commercially available hydroponic substrates.
Price-wise, it’s one of the more affordable books on the list. perhaps related to that, I should note that it’s quite amateurish when it comes to language, grammar, and style, but on the other hand, it’s easy to understand.
4. Hydroponics: A Practical Guide for the Soilless Grower (2nd Edition), by Dr. J. benton jones
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The next book on the list is written by someone with incredible credentials. dr J. Benton Jones, Jr. He is a professor emeritus at the University of Georgia, with an impressive 50 years of experience in hydroponics.
the title does not always accurately reflect what is inside the covers. i would suggest that dr. Jones’s book is not exactly a “practical guide”, but rather a valuable scientific report that explains the biological and chemical mechanisms of hydroponics, something that is crucial to understand if a successful and innovative hydroponic practice is to be achieved.
This especially applies to the details and theory around nutrients and nutrient mixing, something that is rarely explained in such detail in other publications.
Despite the complexity of the subject, the language of the book is easy to understand for anyone with basic scientific knowledge. could be assessed as college-level reading. those without prior science education might have trouble with it.
however, since we can’t have it all, keep in mind that this book doesn’t contain much practical advice.
All in all, an excellent book to refer to and find out exactly what goes on behind the scenes and substrates of your hydroponic systems.
5. hydroponics for the home grower by howard m. fresh
Here’s another practical book from one of the pioneers of hydroponics. howard m. Resh, a Ph.D. in plant science, is one of the pioneers of modern hydroponic practice. He has been writing about hydroponics since the late 1970s and has done hydroponic projects large and small all over the world, from his home in Canada to Venezuela and Taiwan.
As the title suggests, this book focuses on small-scale home hydroponic systems. what makes it stand out is the author’s expertise. when someone with that much knowledge introduces even the simplest hydroponic concepts, it sounds really profound.
While they certainly have their value, many hydroponics books on the market are written by amateur enthusiasts. If you are looking for a book written by someone with authority in the field, give this publication some serious consideration.
however, there is another side to that whole experience: people who are completely new to growing plants and/or lack any knowledge of plant science may find the book a bit more difficult, though not impossible , to follow if you already know you’re struggling with the topic, it may be best to choose a more casual style hydroponic post to break the ice.
6. hydroponic tomatoes by howard m. fresh
another book by howard m. resh focuses specifically on growing tomatoes.
Tomatoes are one of the most desired hydroponic plants. still, they are considered a more advanced crop that can be successfully grown within a hydroponic system, and many novice hobbyists are easily discouraged.
That’s where a book like this becomes invaluable, and new gardeners are precisely its target group. provides many original and proven tomato growing practices that you may find useful even if you grow them conventionally.
However, keep in mind that the book is not just about tomatoes, it also introduces the reader to the basics of hydroponics itself.
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The problem you might have with the post is the small dimensions. It measures 6 x 0.3 x 9 inches, which makes some of the book’s detailed and helpful diagrams difficult to understand. Also, since it was published in 2002, some of the information is a bit outdated, but it is still some of the most relevant (if not the most relevant) for hydroponic tomato growing.
7. commercial hydroponics by john mason
here is an old school hydroponics book from australia. was first published in 1990, when hydroponic food production first made the leap from university labs and experimental projects to civilian home gardens and farming operations.
Although the last edition came out in 2000, it remains a relevant publication on commercial hydroponics, especially considering that books on this level of hydroponic gardening are still rare.
The information offered by “commercial hydroponics” is extensive and detailed. it lacks the “fluff talk” and friendly voice typical of newer posts, but you don’t need that anyway if your goal is to take your hydroponics game to a professional level.
However, there are a couple of problems. The nutrient formulation sections are not very detailed, so consider combining this book with another that has a high focus on plant nutrition, such as the already reviewed “Hydroponics” by J. benton jones.
Also, some of the information presented in the book, such as the provider directory, will not be useful to readers who live in the northern hemisphere. if you’re from the northern half of the world, you may find yourself irritated by information that isn’t relevant to you. still, if you manage to look beyond that, the core information on commercial-scale hydroponics can be used well anywhere in the world.
8. plant factory: an indoor vertical farming system for the efficient production of quality food by oyoki kozai
As a country with a large number of people and limited land area for cultivation, the large-scale hydroponic initiatives in Japan that we see today are quite a logical development.
Japanese universities and research centers have become one of the world leaders in developing large-scale indoor aquaponics operations that literally resemble plant factories.
The Plant Factory book is an incredibly detailed account of this new vision of a Japanese garden.
Although the book is not a practical guide, it gives you a lot of scientific and technical knowledge, all backed by research. covers many aspects of vertical indoor production: planning, design, equipment (especially lighting), housing, and growing.
“plant factory” is a noncommercial book in the best possible sense. While today you can never be sure if the book is really trying to sell you on an expensive piece of equipment that it’s “factually” recommending, Kozai and other contributors don’t shy away from recommending the most efficient and affordable solution, with no other interests. keep the best possible results in mind.
conclusion
As you can see, it’s not always easy to find your way. I hope these reviews help you choose the right book for you or your loved one.
As a general rule of thumb, it’s important to do some research and find a book that suits your current education and experience level, ideally from a credible author.
however, even if you get the experience level wrong, my humble opinion is that money spent on a good book is never wasted: if you end up with a book of higher quality than you can comprehend at the moment, it may save it and wait until it reaches the required knowledge level.
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