Neither perfect outdoor growing conditions or even a yard are required to produce fresh herbs, vegetables, fruit or flowers. Indoor plant growing systems such as aeroponic or hydroponic garden allow you to do that, all year-round. Most of these allow you to keep watering and feeding to a minimum, and give you enough light that these green mother-loads will survive pretty much anywhere in your house.
There are three distinct systems used by people to grow plants indoors today − soil based, hydroponic and aeroponic. This article focuses on hydroponics and aeroponics, and we will look at some of the benefits of each. Let’s start with hydroponics.
#1 Water Efficiency
Hydroponics uses far less water than soil-grown plants. With in-earth agriculture, you might use a gallon of water per tomato plant. With hydroponics, the water you give your plants doesn’t drain away – it’s collected and pumped back to the plants. The water is used once, and only once. Irrigate your plants and collect the water. Irrigate your plants and collect the water. Irrigate your plants and collect the water. When your plants have used all the water, it’s gone.
#2 NO WEEDS!
Farmers and home gardeners spent how many weekends a year fighting weeds? You don’t know? A LOT! Weeding is one of the most back-breaking and time-consuming chores of anyone growing plants in the soil. In hydroponics, growers don’t have any seeds from weedy plants in their growing medium, which effectively means there is nothing to grow and compete with your crop.
#3 No Pesticides
Without a plot of earth suckering up pests, gardening presents no reason to spritz our soil and produce toxic nasties like herbicides. Ultimately you are rewarded with a bosc pear fresh from the pod and a healthier plate.
#4 Fewer Pests
Soil-based farmers are beset by an enormous array of unwanted pests that can devastate a season of labor overnight, from birds and squirrels to gophers and deer, among others. Hydro setups can be located where these pests don’t exist, or where you’ve built them effective barriers, like four walls and a roof.
#5 Year-Round Growth
Hydroponic session allows you to grow all year long and supply local produce 365 days a year regardless of the season. Year-round growing lowers the business risk for farmers of having a poor crop season. It also increases the supply of a local food source to your community.
And now onto aeroponics.
#6 Fast Growth & Higher Yield
The fastest obvious advantage of growing in aeroponics is the ability to grow faster than ever and maximize yields. In soil, the plant might find nutrients more slowly.
Aeroponics delivers essential nutrients and oxygen to the root system by misting water onto the roots as opposed to submerging them in water. This method of nutrient delivery allows plants to grow fast and efficiently as it deposits the water directly onto the root hairs.
#7 Small Space Requirement
Aeroponics provides for small space usage since the plants are grown vertically. In most of the commercial aeroponic set ups, plants are grown in vertical rows/shelves/stacks which allows utilization of space in its most efficient form. This feature makes the aeroponic technique very useful for urban and city areas where land is scarce and expensive.
#8 Clean and Disease-Free Crop
By removing soil, we also eradicate a major source of soil-borne pathogens, thus reducing total crop failures due to these pathogens. In addition, since plants in aeroponic systems are kept away from soil and aeroponic farms are enclosed completely, both the crops and the system are far less vulnerable to common pathogens such as fungi, bacteria and insect pests. There is a decreased need for the use of chemical pesticides and herbicides, thereby leading to a cleaner, safer crop. This is due to the fact that, by using UV sterilization and proper filtration, aeroponics can minimize the chance of disease outbreaks and pests.
The Aeroponic Tower Garden, like those supplied by Gardyn, is an aeroponic system popular with those who want to grow their own at home, and provides disease-free plants. It accomplishes this by eliminating the plants’ contact with soil altogether – a near-guarantee for avoiding pests and diseases. Owners of these systems frequently claim that their plants stay healthy and pest-free, and they don’t have to resort to nasty chemical interventions to get rid of their unwelcome visitors.
#9 Conservation Of Nutrients
The high absorption rate of aeroponics, where the nutrient solution is only tangentially in contact with plant roots, means that practically all of the nutrients in the nutrient solution are utilized by the roots, as compared with other farming where the nutrients in the soil may leach out, become inaccessible to plants, or run off to water bodies, which can create environmental problems. The closed-loop nature of aeroponics ensures that the nutrient solution is used with near 100 percent efficiency.
#10 Sustainability and Environmental Benefits
Aeroponics has often been touted for environmental benefits, because growing in a purpose-built, all-season greenhouse has better water-use efficiency, and less reliance on chemical pesticides. Most aeroponic growers are now also utilizing the principles of integrated pest management (IPM) as part of biological control of pests, cutting down chemical pesticides.
By providing plants with nutrients and water directly, aeroponics can not only grow crops in urban areas but also lead to a smaller environmental footprint. Aeroponics can also be integrated with renewable energy to help cut carbon emissions.
