Take heart my fellow hobbyist gardeners. Just the colder winter months are soon upon us doesn't mean we can't continue to grow vibrant, healthy plants indoors. One method I plan on trying out this winter season is aeroponics. Surprisingly, an aeroponics system doesn't need a large amount of space nor potting soil to see luscious results.

Aeroponics is a way of growing plants indoors using air or mist instead of a soil environment. The basic principle is to grow plants in a closed or semi-closed environment. Aeroponics works by spraying the roots of the plants with a nutrient rich solution. The growing environment is kept free from pests and disease so your plants can grow healthier and quicker than normal plants grown outside.

Growing with aeroponics is not as difficult as it may sound and its benefits far outweigh the potential drawbacks. Most plant can be grown using aeroponics. Vegetables using an aeroponic cloner are a great example of this being true. The plants grow faster, with more flowers and fruit produced.

Plant cloning has been known and practiced for centuries. The cloning of plants, through aeroponic prorogation for example, allows gardeners to replicate a genetically identical plant from the parent plant. The cloned plant will hold the exact same characteristics as the original. Everything from growth habit, disease resistance, fruit shape, flower color and yield potential will be exactly the same.

Plant cloning is not a new concept. The process of aeroponic cloning is basically the exact same thing. Only in aeroponic propagation, the cultivation of sibling or cloned plants is done using an aeroponic system instead of the more traditional soil-potting.

If aeronponic propgation sounds like something you may be interested for your home garden. Here are some basic, step-by-step guides to starting your own aeroponic cloning operation:

- Select a healthy branch from the parent plant with several clusters of leaves.
- Cut off a piece of the branch leaving at least 2 leaf nodes intact.
- Remove the largest few leaves as they can be hard for a rootless plant to maintain in the early stages.
- Then remove all branches and leaves apart from the top 2 sets. Make sure they are within close proximity to the aeroponic fogger and aeroponic mister.
- You are now well on your way to procuring your first crop of cloned plants.

The only drawback to growing and cloning plants with aeroponics is that everything needs to be kept extremely clean. These systems are a continually moist environment, making them very susceptible to bacteria growth. You also need the money up front to pay for an aeroponic cloner, aeroponic fogger, and aeroponic mister.

So if you are looking for another alternative for growing plants this winter, think about growing your plants with an aeroponic cloner. This method works great for growing plants indoors. Aeroponics cloning yields healthier, more abundant growth.