What is hydroponics? Hydroponics is the method of growing plants using a soilless media which could include a wide variety of examples like: gravel, peat, vermiculite Perlite, old rubber tires, rockwool, and expanded clay aggregates. The minerals that the plant needs are dissolved into the water which is then watered directly to the plants. So, in short instead of the plants searching throughout the soil for their minerals they draw them directly from the water that they are being fed.Hydroponics is commonly referred to as the cultivation of plants in water. However, study shows that various media can support the growth of the plant, so the definition was broadened to the cultivation of plants without soil.Hydroponics, from the Greek words (water-working).