Hydroponics is the method of agriculture which circumvents the use of soil by suspending plants in aqueous nutrient and mineral solutions. Most, if not all, crops are able to be grown through this.
“Ebb and Flow Hydroponic System Creator.” Hydrobuilder.com, https://hydrobuilder.com/ebb-and-flow-system.html. Accessed 15 Jan. 2022.
Why Hydroponics?
The problem at hand is the sustainability of industrial agriculture serving the increasingly urbanizing and growing population. According to the United Nations, 68% percent of the world’s population is estimated to live in an urban setting by 2050, leaving many without an opportunity to grow fresh produce and decorative plants. Additionally, issues like climate change, chemical pollution, loss of arable land, ecosystem decline, and water scarcity may affect current traditional practices. Hydroponics may be the solution to many of these developing problems.
As all of the plant's nutrients are sourced by the solution, both the pH and content of the solution must be managed and regulated to support the plant being grown. Not every plant is the same, and each may require varying levels of nutrient and mineral concentrations.
Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium are the most important nutrients to plant growth. When buying fertilizer, the fertilizer will be labeled with N-P-K. These are the ratios of nutrients in solution. A common all-purpose fertilizer will contain a 5-5-5 NPK ratio. These numbers are the mass percentage of that certain ingredient within the solution/fertilizer.
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