Commercial &Enviromental Benefits

One of the best things about hydroponics is that less land is needed to grow plants, compared to traditional farming methods. For example, when you are planting rows upon rows of cabbage, lettuce or tomato plants in soil, you are consuming a lot of space. Unfortunately, there is a limited amount of space and suitable farmland on Earth. With traditional farming, you can be as compact as you’d like, but it remains a fact that every plant you put into the ground occupies a fixed space that doesn’t change throughout the maturation period of the plant. This is different when you’re using hydroponics. Grow pots can be placed closer together, without causing any problems in the growth rate of plants. Nutrients in the growing solution are distributed differently in water compared to soil. In fact, commercial hydroponics tend to consume only 1/5 of the land needed for the same amount of plants being cultivated on farmland.

Potentially Better for The Earth and Soil

Soil erosion is just one of the problems associated with conventional farming. In some countries, old forests, which are part of the Earth’s “lungs”, are cut down and cleared to turn large areas into agricultural land. The amount of farmable land available for commercial agriculture has been steadily shrinking since the Second World War. Land has become so scarce that we are touching nature’s reserves of forests, just so we can continue growing food for the Earth’s ever increasing human population. Obviously, you still need a little land when you engage in hydroponics. But, unlike conventional farming, the amount of land needed for hydroponics is drastically reduced. So much more can be done with hydroponics in a small space, compared to traditional farming. And, because it doesn’t require soil, hydroponic growing practices can be used in areas with harsh climate and little fertile soil, like in the desert. Additionally, there are different kinds of hydroponics setups. You can combine aquaculture and hydroponics and come up with an aquaponics system that produces not just flowers, fruits, and vegetables, but also fish. The amount of time needed to grow several batches of plants is the same time needed for fish to mature to plate-size. Just imagine the possibilities of applying hydroponics to commercial-scale cultivation of fruits, vegetables and other crops.

Reduced Use of Pesticides and Herbicides

In conventional farming, two kinds of sprays are applied: herbicides and pesticides. Herbicides are sprayed to kill off unwanted plants (these are generally called weeds), while pesticides are applied to control pest insects. The spraying of pesticides and herbicides do great damage to the environment: Pesticides can be swept away by rain, contaminating nearby ecosystems. And, pesticides not only poison the target insect, but can potentially poison other animals as well. However, with hydroponics, there is no weed growth because it takes time for plants to grow into hydroponic grow medium. Hydroponic grow medium does not function exactly like soil. There is no need to use herbicides. There also isn’t much need for pesticide use. Why? For the most part, crops will be protected by closed greenhouses. These greenhouses can be fortified to resist insect pest attacks.

Leading Brands