Hydroponics – An Overview for the Curious, the Dabbler or Anyone Considering Growing Without Soil for Pleasure or Profit
Hydroponics can win over the most ardent, conformist of dirt diggers. No, really. Even seasoned gardeners who dare wander away from their soil-bound habit get turned on by the extraordinary results they obtain. They soon become convinced that hydroponics beats dirt hands down when it comes to minimizing time commitment and hassle. But, before you dive in, let’s see how much you already know:
Ready?
Circle T for true or F for false, and then check your answers in the box below.
TRUE or FALSE?
Hydroponics…
- Has been studied on long NASA space missions.......................T F
- Sometimes uses soil to grow, depending on the technique............T F
- Provides growth rates 30-50% higher than plants grown in soil......T F
- ame derived from Greek for hydro (water) and ponos (labor).........T F
- Has been around since the time of the Great Pyramids in Egypt......T F
CHECK YOUR ANSWERS HERE
How did you do? If you didn’t get 100%, don’t worry; you’ll get another chance to show us your stuff later on. Okay, so let’s get started!
Hydroponic TRUE or FALSE
- Is a new-sprung, faddish development - FALSE!
- Mainly involves genetically modified crops - FALSE!
- Always has to be expensive - FALSE!
- Is an obscure gardening technique - FALSE!
- Mainly operated by hippies and avid marijuana growers - FALSE!
1) Hydroponics is a new-sprung, faddish development - FALSE!
From the Egyptians on, people have practiced hydroponics for centuries!
2) Hydroponics mainly grows genetically modified foods - FALSE!Though hydroponics promises solutions to solve global hunger as do genetically modified crops, there’s no connection. Hydroponic food is 100% natural and not modified by chemicals whatever, so please help end that bad rap!
3) Hydroponics always has to be expensive - FALSE!
As proven by Filipino ingenuity, small scale hydroponics can cost way less than traditional crop growing at the same scale. Besides, it’s possible to offset costs when compared to traditional growing, as you eliminate the necessary items used to grow plants in dirt.
4) Hydroponics is an obscure gardening technique - FALSE!
In some places, hydroponics is fast surpassing traditional growing methods. For example 90% of greenhouse-grown plants in British Columbia are hydroponic.
5) Mainly operated by hippies and avid marijuana growers - (mostly) FALSE!Although marijuana growers take advantage of the same hydroponic growing benefits as other growers, the vast majority of crops grown hydroponically are fully legal and unlikely to create highs or hallucinations. As far as hippies are concerned, the jury’s out. We just can’t cite a single scientific study. Next: Some-Basic-Facts-&-Figures