Hydroponics Hype

Boy, there sure are a lot of recalls happening, toys that will poison our kids, tainted foods, even simple little household items with lead-laced paints.  It is hard to know what to grab on the shelves of stores.  That is why a lot of people have begun to shop more locally, like the Farmer’s Markets, grow their own foods and find more earth friendly alternatives to many of the products they buy.  A surge of being informed as to how and where our foods and other products came into our possession is on the upswing.  If you are one of these savvy consumers who have already begun to tread on the path of gardening to feed yourself and your family, you might want to consider throwing your hat into the hydroponics ring for year round fresh from the vine goodies.  You’ll know just what is in your food and where it came from leaving at least the kitchen a safe haven from the mad, mad world where life can be a roll of the dice.

The basic concept of hydroponics is soil less gardening.  This technique of gardening has been around for thousands of years, the Hanging Garden of Babylon for instance and the Floating Gardens of China are two of the earliest examples of the use of hydroponics.  The word itself comes from the Greeks, “cidra” or “hydro” meaning water and “punikos” or “ponics” meaning labor, literally translating into “waterworks”.  The question at hand when researchers began to explore the idea of soil less gardening was, does a plant get its nutrients from the water or the soil?  Farmer’s had often said it was water because they would see their crops shrivel and die in droughts.

Hydroponic gardens need a sterile environment and with the introduction of plastics a renewed curiosity arose in the technique.  In fact, the US Army used this method of gardening to feed soldiers during WWII on the Pacific Islands, and today there is a bevy of interest particularly for parts of the world where environmental concerns regarding controlled groundwater pollution are a common everyday dilemma. 

Commercially

Dr. Chuck Marr, Retired Professor of Horticulture at Kansas State and State Program Leader for Extension Horticulture for 37 years, has spent much of his career studying hydroponics.  He states, “I began hydroponic research and demonstration plantings to provide information to Kansas producers that were developing production systems for commercial hydroponics – primarily in greenhouse tomato production.”  Commercially is chiefly the area in which hydroponics has steadily grown.  Commercial crops are turning to soil less cultivation increasingly because of the speed of growth combined with the control over the growing environment together it means a higher quality of crops and when plants are your livelihood, higher yields and rapid harvests can be a huge plus.

“I’ve had great success with hydroponics for greenhouse tomatoes, greenhouse cucumbers, greenhouse peppers, lettuce and strawberries.”  Says Marr, he goes on, “We have also experimented with a small, pot-type hydroponic growing system using a variety of vegetable and flower plants.”

So what are the benefits of hydroponics?

• 30-50% faster than soil plant growth under the same conditions.
• The yield of the plant tends to be greater because all its energy is used in production, the plant does not have to exert energy in search of water in the soil.
• Uses less water than soil gardening because of the constant reuse of nutrient solutions.
• Fewer if any pesticides are used.
• No digging or weeding.
• Superb flavor.
• The growing mediums, an inert material used to anchor the plants, can be reused and recycled.

Home Use

Hydroponics can be an expensive endeavor for the home gardener and be fairly time consuming as well.  Marr suggests for home gardens, “It requires a certain level of expertise to manage the hydroponic system as well as manage growing plants.  You’ll want to not just jump in without doing a lot of reading, studying and preparation.  This is not a particularly easy form of gardening.”

A home gardener will need to make sure to rely on a modern, commercial nutrient system to get started, they will also need a clean, sanitary growing area in order to avoid any algae or pest issues, and invest in a ‘kit’.  Marr explains, “There are a variety of companies offering ‘kits’ including nutrient solutions which are probably a good way to start for the average gardener.  Don’t purchase the cheapest on that you can find but make sure that the company has a solid reputation and has been in business for a number of years.  Avoid TV ads or commercials as an avenue to purchase these products.”

Future

As the climate changes, as pests evolve and as we explore our surroundings more, the future for hydroponics looks very bright.  When you consider that we could feed a village on remote sloping mountain side where erosion makes traditional farming impossible, or in the driest of desert sands where nothing could grow before, or even places like urban concrete jungles, with the technology used in hydroponics it is versatile and is equally applicable to developed, developing and under-developed countries.  Or perhaps not even countries at all but the great unknown, the final frontier, scientists have been developing and researching the exciting prospect of gardening in space with the techniques of hydroponics. 

There are many opportunities for soil less gardening, whether it is in our own cramped basements, a sprawling commercial greenhouse, or the Space Station, the dream of the gardening future is also the reality of serious gardeners today.