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Advantages of Hydroponics

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The advantages of hydroponics are many and varied – they make certain crops grow faster, tastier and more efficient just about anywhere. Hydroponic gardening is the practice of cultivating planets in a soilless environment. In the 19th Century, scientists figured out it isn’t soil that helps plants grow, it’s the nutrients in the water of the soil.

After that, it was a short leap to begin cultivating food-producing plants and flowers using hydroponic methods. Some of the advantages of a soilless method include:

• Faster growth
• Less disease
• Less labor
• No weeds
• No dirt
• No waterlogging
• No flavor difference

Hydroponically grown plants grow faster and thicker because the nutrients are applied directly to root systems, unlike traditional agriculture where water and nutrients must travel through soil to get to the roots. Just this fact makes hydroponic gardens yield more than twice-to-three-times as many crops. And it has been shown that no matter how many times a hydroponic plot is multiplied in size, yield output will remain relatively consistent.

There are two main categories of hydroponic gardening with several sub-methods attributed to each: solution culture includes static solution culture, continuous flow solution culture and aeroponics. Sub methods here include passive sub-irrigation (also called semi-hydroponics), ebb & flow (also called flood & drain), top irrigation (drip) and deep water culture. These are all considered active techniques of cultivation.

Medium culture is named for the type of medium used. Any of the following are suitable medium for hydroponic gardens – choosing one depends on the type of plants being grown.

• Vermiculite
• Expanded clay
•Diahydro
• Brick shards
• Coco Peat
• Perlite
• Rock wool
• Sand
• Gravel

The Eurofresh company in Arizona is a great example of commercial success using the advantages of hydroponics. Eurofresh maintains 318 acres of greenhouse where they grow tomatoes, bell peppers and cucumbers using top drip irrigation in a rock wool medium. Rock wool is inert and is ideal for promoting free drainage and recirculation. According to their Web site, employing hydroponic methods is just the first step in their journey to sustainability. Their produce is pesticide-free, their operation conserves land and water, and all of that reduces the carbon footprint of the business.

One of the advantages of hydroponics is that it uses much less water than traditional agriculture. This seems counter-intuitive, but a lot of water in traditional agriculture is lost in the soil and arrives at root systems indirectly. In hydroponic methods, water is applied directly to the roots.

There are disadvantages to hydroponics as well but it would seem that overall, the advantages of hydroponics are greater. The level of sustainability of this type of gardening shows great promise for the future of solving world hunger problems and leaving less of an impact on the land itself. No doubt, the industry will continue to make improvements to methods and equipment for commercial and residential use.

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