History of Hydroponics

History of Hydroponics

Hydroponics may be defined as the science of growing plants in soilless, inert media, to which is added a water soluble nutrient containing all the essential elements needed by the plant for optimum growth and development.  The term “hydroponics” was derived from two Greek words, “hydro”, meaning water, and “ponos”, meaning labor.  There have been many types of hydroponic systems in the past, some of which have failed while others have met with varying degrees of success.

Growing media used have included sand, gravel, peat moss, rice hulls, cottonseed hulls, and vermiculite.  Most, if not all, of these systems no longer find acceptance in the industry due to the inherent problems associated with them.

Only recently has the NFT (Nutrient Film Technique) systems become recognized as the single best way to grow fancy lettuces and other leaf crops, including herbs.
Research on plant nutrition and physiology dates back to the early 1600’s.  However, plants were grown by soilless methods far earlier than that.  The Aztecs of Mexico devised a system of floating gardens to utilize a non-arable swamp land.  The famous hanging gardens of Babylon are another example of hydroponic culture.  Egyptian hieroglyphic records dating back to several hundred years B.C. describe the growing of plants in water.

It wasn’t until the early 1930’s that researchers began to realize the agricultural potential of hydroponics.  W.F.  Gericke, of the University of California, coined the term “hydroponics”, and grew vegetables, grain crops, ornamentals, and flowers using water culture.

Gericke’s application of hydroponics soon proved itself by providing food for troops stationed on non-arable islands in the Pacific in the early 1940’s.  In 1945 the U.S. Air Force solved its problem of providing its personnel with fresh vegetables by practicing hydroponics on the rocky islands normally incapable of producing such crops.

With the development of plastics, hydroponics took another large step forward.  Plastics freed growers from the costly construction of concrete tanks and beds previously used.
Today, computerized environmental control systems, automated injector feed systems, plastic plumbing, extruded pvc channels, and other technological innovations, have allowed growers to become increasingly efficient in their production of crops using hydroponics, thereby reducing both capital, and operational costs.

Hydroponics have become a reality for growers in all climate regions.  Large hydroponic greenhouse complexes exist throughout the world including Holland, England, Germany, the Middle East, Spain, and even Africa.

Hydroponics Worldwide

Holland has been a leader in the hydroponic industry.  In this small country, no larger than the state of Connecticut, there are over ten thousand acres of greenhouses utilizing hydroponic technology.  Much of the production is shipped to the United States and other countries at very high prices.

England’s hydroponic industry, while somewhat smaller than Holland, still includes well over four thousand acres of hydroponics.  Canada has over one thousand acres, but in the United States, there are only about seven hundred acres of hydroponic greenhouse production.  Most of this hydroponic production is in tomatoes, a much smaller amount in cucumbers, and a very small amount in lettuce.

Why this small amount, in a country far larger geographically and in population than their European counterparts?  It is primarily because in the United States, demand for high quality vegetables has lagged behind that of other countries.

Not until the baby boomer generation matured, did the consumer demand the quality that only hydroponics can provide.  Thus, in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, as baby boomers entered the market, they demanded quality produce, and exhibited a willingness to pay a premium price to obtain it.  Hydroponic production techniques had improved, and entrepreneurs eagerly began to meet that demand.

The growing systems used in Holland and several other countries where hydroponic technology is advanced, include the NFT systems for lettuce and perlite and rockwool systems for tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers.

We have chosen in our system to utilize technology that has already been proven by the world’s leading growers to be the most efficient, most productive, and most profitable.