Killing us Softly
The main causes of diseases nowadays are the things what we intake to our body such as cigarettes, liquor, the air we breathe and lastly, the food we eat. We can't deny that most of the vege in the market were grown through the use of a variety of chemicals such as pesticides, insecticides and etc. The health tips that they always recommend is to use the organic vege or better to plant our own in our backyard for us to be sure that what we eat is a chemical-free vege. If you dont have enough space to have a garden, then don't worry - there is a technology we used today in planting vege that is soil-less.
What is Hydroponics
It is said that this hydroponic technology was used way back in the time of King Solomon (The wisest man lived on earth) - it was famously known as hanging gardens of Babylon.
Hydroponics is a technique in growing plants with the absence of soil and it is an aquatic-based environment wherein it uses minerals to feed the plant. It uses a pump to control the flow of the water so that the mineral nutrients will travel through the last line of the plants and enhance the flow of oxygen within the water. There must be a shade to avoid the penetration of rain and make the system flood, washing-out the nutrients in the water. The sun rays should penetrate the shade in order for the plants to process the photosynthesis in its system.
Hydroponics vs Conventional Planting Method
According to several studies, hydroponics yields 5-15 times (depending on what type of plants that is compared) more than to that of conventional farming.
A recent Research conducted in Arizona, lettuce growing capital of the US, compared lettuce growing using hydroponics vs. conventional agriculture. The research concluded that via hydroponics, lettuce yields increase 11 times, while at the same time water consumption reduced by 250 times. According to the researchers, this is the first quantitative research comparing lettuce grown by hydroponics vs. conventional agriculture.
The research lists additional benefits of using hydroponics, relating to growing parameters as well as to positive effects on environment. As for growing parameters, some advantages are the continuous production year around, shorter growing time and multiple growing cycles per year.
As for the beneficial environmental effects of hydroponics, the research names many: water saving is achieved by a better utilization of water (less water percolation into soil which does not reach the plant roots); the prevention of undesired seepage also prevents soil contamination by nutrients, herbicides and pesticide, a common negative impact on environment in conventional agriculture.
The use of hydroponics eliminates the need for arable land, allowing flexibility in greenhouse location, potentially reducing the distance travelled for distribution (therefore saving transportation costs and fuel consumtion, followed by reduced carbon footprint).
In a world where land and water are becoming scarce and population grows rapidly, new cultivation methods must be developed, and hydroponics is an appealing alternative.
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