Hydroponics, the system of growing plants without soil, originated thousands of years ago and now is considered by many to be the future of the agricultural industry.

hydroponicsPlants grow if they receive water, sunlight, carbon dioxide and mineral nutrients. The minerals, such as potassium, nitrogen, and phosphorus, usually come from the soil, but most farmers supplement the natural minerals with fertilizer added to the soil. So it is not the soil that plants need, but the minerals in it. In hydroponics, the soil is eliminated and the minerals are added to water in which the plants grow.

Does it work?

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, known as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, were built in 600 B.C. along the Euphrates River, and are believed to have grown as a result of a system in which water was carried up from the river and trickled down to each level of the gardens, following the principles of hydroponics.

Modern gardening using hydroponic methods vary, but all include a nutrient solution which is provided to the plant roots. The containers, or reservoirs, holding the solution are covered so that light does not penetrate and form algae. The water level is maintained so that the roots always have access to the nutrients the solution provides.

Why use hydroponics?

Space

hydroponicsOne of the most significant benefits of hydroponics is that someone living in a small apartment can grow plants in a small space, using a vertical space instead of long rows of plants in a garden plot or field. Hydroponics can also be done in greenhouses on a very large scale.

Control

It works well even in arid climates or in very remote island locations with limited space and saves the cost of importing produce. Locations with short growing seasons because of weather conditions or restricted sunlight use hydroponic methods to grow more crops because light and temperature can be controlled.

Scalability

Growing population and poor land management are problems for traditional farming methods, and hydroponics may be the answer to the need to feed more people despite the projected decrease in land available for growing crops.

Hydroponics in Action

This practice is already successful in Tokyo, where hydroponic rice production has proved to be the answer to feeding a large population and still preserve the valuable land of the island nation of Japan. Japan has reported that the environmental control of hydroponics had allowed four cycles of rice harvest each year instead of just one.

American farmers have had the luxury of successful soil-based farming for hundreds of years, but as climate change and land development challenge traditional farming methods, the ancient practice of hydroponics may provide a bright farming future.

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