A Super Simple Salad in Stor(age): A DIY Home Hydroponics Example
Say the word “hydroponics” or the even more mysterious sounding “controlled environment agriculture” and the image that most people conjure in their minds is of large greenhouses or artificially lit rooms filled with complex hoses and tubes using all manner of technological gizmos to pump water and nutrients to plants. True, modern ag technology does allow for some pretty amazing and technical production of food but hydroponics can be super simple and so easy that just about any home gardener can do it.
Why grow hydroponically at home?
Growing vegetables can be pretty easy and straightforward for outdoor production – seeds, soil, water, and wait (sure, there’s a few other steps in there), so why complicate things by growing hydroponically? Aside from the challenge and the novelty that delights many gardeners, intensive growing with hydroponics can allow gardeners with the smallest of spaces to grow impressive amounts of produce in a short amount of time. Most of these systems also do well for winter production indoors with the use of grow lights or some good-sized south facing windows.
Hydroponic or similar-type production systems are the “craze” right now for folks wanting to grow some of their own produce at home, usually in smaller indoor spaces, but these systems can run into the hundreds or thousands of dollars making production less than economical. Plus, most of these systems require the use of pre-made plant/seed plugs that add to the expense.
Why is hydroponic production important?
On a larger scale, hydroponic and controlled environment agriculture has a few benefits that will help in feeding a growing population on a warming planet. Hydroponic production can be pretty intensive, meaning that it can grow a large amount of food in a relatively small amount of space.
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