All organic gardening includes growing small biota.

Growing small biota will plug up a hydro system in a trice and nothing will work.

The nutrients in hydro are exactly the same as organic, they just have a different physical appearance.

Howdy Stu,

Organic Gardening is a brand.

On average consumers will pay 15% more for produce labeled "Organic" than they will for regular produce.

This is why there is a legal framework to determine what can be sold as "organic".

Sir Albert Howard is the first person who is credited with writing down the techniques which Jerome Rodale branded as "organic".

The last time I checked, the State of Texas included soil in the legal definition of "organic". In other words, in this jurisdiction, no matter the hydroponic techniques, if there is no soil, there cannot be an "organic" label.

Moreover, in Oregon, where I live, the law states that if there is any fish emulsion or fish parts used in any fertilizer, it cannot be "organic" unless the seller has paperwork from the company that harvested the fish certifying that the fish were caught "dolphin safe".

I swear, I am not making this up.

My suggestion is to rely on the Organic Materials Research Institute. OMRI certifies products and has reasonable guidelines.

If reading through all of that hasn't bored you to tears, to answer the question you actually asked, during the past 10 years, more and more hydroponic fertilizer manufacturers have blended workable Organic solutions.

A websearch will show what is available.

There is also another term coined by the late Dr. Luther Thomas called "bioponics". In bioponics, you encourage microbial activity in the root zone. It turns out that many microbes are beneficial to plants and help the plant absorb the nutrients more efficiently and more effectively. Hence, more Organic Hydroponic nutrients have come onto the market.

willard33 has a good point. If you are going to encourage microbial activity in the root zone, then there must be somthing for the microbes to cling to. So, bioponics works when there is a substrate like rockwool, or growrocks, or coir, etc. It does not work well in an NFT system or in an aeroponic system where the microbes have no place to grow.

Good info DRKboss - Dolphin safe = organic, eh? Since when are dolphins inorganic? Isn't fish emulsion just fish poop? Does a dolphin poop get in the mix too?

Anyway - there are tons of hydro nutrients that are certified by OMRI and other organic certification organizations. And more are being released everyday. Biobizz, B'cuzz, Earth Juice, Budswell, Iguana Juice, Mother Earth's, and Fox Farm are all examples of 100% organic nutrients. However not all of them are certified by OMRI.

Organics in a hydroponic system are very beneficial. I use some in every grow. Depending on how much of your system you want to be organic will determine your options. Most people don't think beyond their organic nutrients. But what about pH down & up? There are very few options for Organic pH down & up, but they exist.

Another thing to think about is your growing medium. According to the SoCal Grodan sales rep - Rockwool like dirt cannot be certified organic because it comes from the earth. It's made of rock, lime, and an organic binder. Grodan is one of the larger manufacturers of rockwool in the world.

Another option is Coconut Coir, which is just ground up coconut husks. I don't know whether or not Diatamite counts as organic... anyone?

How about your tap water? Is is chlorinated? I bet that's not organic either... reverse osmosis... soo many inputs... so little time.

woops fish emulsion is just fish.. cool.

read about it here: how a fish becomes fertilizer