Hydroponics – Gardening for Tomorrow

Hydroponics is the word used to describe a method of growing plants in water that has nutrients added to it.  Plants grown in soil use the mineral nutrients dissolved in the soil which are then taken up by the roots.  If the nutrients are already in the water, then the soil becomes redundant. 

Hydroponics is the method used by children at a very young age when they sprinkle cress seeds on a piece of water soaked cotton wool, and grow their very first vegetables.

According to a paper presented at the AGM of the Farm and Food Society in October 1995, the world population is forecast to double in the size to 10 billion within the next 40 years.  We are annually losing productive land to desertification and building and those parts of the world with largest population growth have the smallest reserves of potentially productive land.  Is it possible to feed the large population growth at all.    Could hydroponics be used to do this?

Could hydroponic growing be the answer to the problem of feeding the growing population? 

Hydroponics has been linked to the growth of cannabis, it should be linked to its intended use to provide food for urban populations.    An article in the ‘Independent’  - Pie in the Sky, the Worlds First Edible High Rise -  described how Toronto scientist Gordon Graff has created plans for a 58 storey concept building ‘The Sky Farm’ which would grow crops in the heart of a city, and provide enough food for 35,000 people a day.  Crops would be irrigated by water recycled through the buildings hydroponic systems.  Surely knowledge to do this can be gained by people using  hydroponic equipment to grow their own vegetables and flowers in homes with limited space.

 References

http://www.population-growth-migration.info/essays/woodwardorganic.html

Can Organic Farming Feed the World  (This paper was originally presented at the AGM of the Farm and Food Society in October 1995).

http://www.letsgogardening.co.uk/Information/Hydroponics.htm

The above picture was taken in our shop and shows an aubergine plant growing hydroponically, and a chilli plant growing in an Aerogarden.   Of course our on-line shop is open 24 hrs a day. Our Shop's (Barripper, Camborne, Cornwall) opening Days and Hours are as follows   Monday - Friday 10:00 am - 17:30 pm Saturday 10:00 am - 15:00 pm Sunday Closed   Hydroponics has been around for a long time and many ancient civilizations experimented with this form of gardening. The idea is that plants don't necessarily need soil in order to grow. The soil itself warehouses nutrients for the plants, but if these can be given to the plant in water the plants can then thrive. Hydroponics comes from two Greek words, hydro meaning water and ponics meaning labor. These two terms refer to the process of that is used in hydroponics.   Why should YOU grow your vegetables and flowers using Hydroponics?   All plants have the same basic needs of light, food (nutrients), carbon dioxide (CO2), water, heat and fresh air. If any of these are lacking the plant will have problems growing. Different plants require these factors in differing ratios but they are all needed whether the plant is in the soil or grown hydroponically. With soiless gardening we can control and enhance all of a plant's basic needs, we even have the advantage to ensure adequate Oxygen is available to the roots.