Hydroponic Farming

Advantages

NO SOILS NEEDED

In a sense, you can grow crops in places where the land is limited, doesn’t exist, or is heavily contaminated. In the 1940s, Hydroponics was successfully used to supply fresh vegetables for troops in Wake Island, a refueling stop for Pan American airlines. This is a distant arable area in the Pacific Ocean. Also, Hydroponics has been considered as the farming of the future to grow foods for astronauts in the space (where there is no soil) by NASA.

MAKE BETTER USE OF SPACE AND LOCATION

Because all that plants need are provided and maintained in a system, you can grow in your small apartment, or the spare bedrooms as long as you have some spaces. Plants roots usually expand and spread out in search of foods, and oxygen in the soil. This is not the case in Hydroponics, where the roots are sunk in a tank full of oxygenated nutrient solution and directly contact with vital minerals. This means you can grow your plants much closer, and consequently huge space savings.

CLIMATE CONTROL

Like in greenhouses, hydroponic growers can have total control over the climate – temperature, humidity, light intensification, the composition of the air. In this sense, you can grow foods all year round regardless of the season. Farmers can produce foods at the appropriate time to maximize their business profits.

HYDROPONICS IS WATER-SAVING

Plants grown hydroponically can use only 10% of water compared to field-grown ones. In this method, water is re-circulated. Plants will take up the necessary water, while run-off ones will be captured and return to the system. Water loss only occurs in two forms – evaporation and leaks from the system (but an efficient hydroponic setup will minimize or don’t have any leaks).It is estimated that agriculture uses up to 80% water of the ground and surface water in the US. While water will become a critical issue in the future when food production is predicted to increase by 70% according to the FAQ, Hydroponics is considered a viable solution to large-scale food production.