A hydroponic irrigation system reduces the time spent actively circulating a nutrient solution through one or more growing beds to provide an ebb-and-flow irrigation cycle. Nutrient solution is pumped from a nutrient tank to each growing bed via a liquid transport unit, having a liquid tube connected to a pump located in the nutrient tank at one end, with the other end anchored in the growing medium in the growing bed. A controller coordinates the operation of the pumps, selectively operating each pump to supply nutrient solution until the growing bed is saturated to a specified depth, after which the pump returns the nutrient to the tank, either passively via gravity or by actively pumping, to drain the nutrient solution from the growing bed back into the nutrient tank. The pumps can be activated sequentially, with the sequence initiated at selected time intervals to suit the plants being grown.
