Research Paper
Hydroponics is the method of growing plants in a water based solution; I believe this will have an impact in our future. Hydroponics isn’t a new practice; yet, it is somewhat of a new technology. This means that the principles behind hydroponics have been around for years, but the study of it has only been around recently. One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, was believed to have worked with some of the principles that are used in hydroponics. Through the 10th and 11th century, the Aztecs created their own system based on hydroponics; this was a floating garden idea. Since they were unable to grow crops, they made special rafts made out of roots, reeds, and dirt. After the rafts were made, the Aztecs would then place it on water which had crops on top of them. The roots of these crops would then grow through the raft and into the water below.
Actual research didn’t happen until the 17th century, the man who begun this research was Sir Francis Bacon, a philosopher, who had an important role to the start of hydroponics development. In more modern history, around a century ago, a man named William Frederick Gericke started to spread his idea that plants can grow in nutrient rich water, not just in soil. Logically, the public didn’t believe him. The experiment that proved the public wrong was when he grew a 25 foot long tomato vine using his method alone. Fortunately, his research led into the expansion of the study of hydroponics. He was actually the man who gave hydroponics its name. After his research, the demand for the evolvement of hydroponics wasn’t very high; that all changed in 1925. This was due to the inconvenience of having to maintain big amounts of greenhouse soil.
Sir Francis Bacon was born in York House, London on January 22, 1561 and died on April 9, 1626 due to bronchitis. He experimented and researched many topics, not just topics involving hydroponics. For example, he conducted an experiment to see how long he could preserve the flesh of a chicken, by stuffing the body with snow. In the year 1699, a new scientist had begun his research into the field of agriculture. This man was none other than John Woodward; he conducted the first recorded experiment on plant nutrients. The question that drove his research was; do plants get more nourishment from the soil or from the water? He finds out the answer to his question by conducting a small experiment, he adds small amounts of soil into the water and seeing how that affected the spearmint, which was the plant he was testing it on. As a result, he found out that it was the soil that gave the plant its nourishment, not the water. His experiments led on to many more, and eventually, after a while, scientists were able to understand that it was the nutrients inside the soil that made it its nourishment. These findings allowed for the advancement of hydroponic.
Two German scientists, Wilhelm Knop and Julius von Sachs, created their own experiments which focused on growing plants without soil; these experiments lasted from 1859-1865. They developed systems that ended up growing plants in nutrient rich solutions. The writings these men documented on their experiments set the standards for any hydroponic laboratory procedures for the years that were too come.
On The Healthy Home Economist, a website where you can share helpful thoughts or ideas about different topics, Sarah gave her opinion on hydroponic produce. She believes that eating hydroponic produce is not the way to go, because of the little to no mineral content it has. So basically, hydroponics is not nutrient dense and is a total waste of money. A refractometer is a tool that allows you to measure how nutritious something is. This is done by squeezing a few drops of liquid, from the plant you want to test, into the refractometer. It’s as simple as that. Hydroponic produce contain very low brix levels, which is the amount of carbohydrates something has. Plant with higher brix levels taste better and are more resistant to disease, insects, and rot.
On the other hand, some people believe that hydroponics is in a state of uncertainty, which means they aren’t entirely sure about it. An example could be the author of The World’s Healthiest Food, George Mateljan. Many people don’t believe that hydroponics can be classified as organic, because of the absence of precious fertilizer used in soil and also how there are only some people who use hydroponics that actually grow them organically. For these reasons, people don’t think hydroponic produce can be thought of as organic. The author does encourage you to buy and eat hydroponically grown food, if it comes from a farmer you trust that still certifies organic products, and if they have knowledge about hydroponics.
Hydroponics, just like everything else, has advantages and disadvantages. It helps make the food we eat, air we breathe, water we drink, and soil we use; much cleaner, it is also environmentally friendly. With hydroponics, you won’t need to use harmful pesticides; you can also grow plant anytime of the year (as long as the conditions are right). Growing crops with hydroponics take up less space, requires less work, and are easy to harvest. Some of the disadvantages to using hydroponics are that plants will need to be supervised to insure they are growing properly. You will need to know how to set up the equipment and might even need to manually water the plants (if the water ends up drying out). There is also the issue of money; most equipment needed is quite expensive.
Out of all of the possible hydroponic system choices, I chose only 6. These include the wick system, water culture, ebb and flow system (also known as the flood and drain system), drip system (which can be recovery or non-recovery), aeroponics, and the nft system which stands for nutrient film technique. The wick system is a passive system, which means it has no moving parts. Sadly, if you are trying to grow large plants with this system it is not going to function correctly, the reason being, it is not able to provide large amounts of water. The next type is the water culture, which is an active system, meaning it does have moving parts. It is the simplest of all active systems. A good plant that goes great with this system is lettuce, besides lettuce there aren’t that many other plants that will work with this system. Long-term plants aren’t the best choices for the water culture system. The ebb and flow system, also known as flood and drain system, can be partnered up with many different types of growing medium, such as gravel or grow rocks. This system is driven by electricity; so there is a chance for it to malfunction, which can be caused by a power outage. A way to get around this is by using growing mediums that store water effectively. This next system is the drip system; the cool thing about this system is there are two types, the recovery and non-recovery. This system is probably the most used hydroponic system in the world. The major differences are that a recovery system reuses runoff nutrients solution and a non-recovery system doesn’t. Non-recovery does have its advantages though; it requires less maintenance and can have its nutrients solution filled whenever it need, but it will need to have an accurate timer to make sure it keeps the runoff to a minimum. While in a recovery system there can be a big change in the pH level that will require checking, which basically end up being a big game of guess and check, nonetheless a recovery system is a much more efficient way to go. Aeroponics is a unique spray style system, the roots of the plant get sprayed with the nutrients solution; this allows for just the right amount of nutrients and oxygen for the plant, while still keeping the area circulated. Since, this system doesn't use any sort of medium to hold the plant, it is sometimes considered not entirely based off hydroponics. Last, but not least is the nft system, which stands for nutrient film technology. For this system, the plants roots are given a small river of nutrients solution at the bottom of the container. Luckily, an advantage of using this system is that the plant will never be at risk of drying out because the water will always be in a consistent flow.
As we learn more and more about the science of hydroponics, it will start to be used more and more because of the improvements of it. NASA, which stands for National Astronautical Space Administration set a goal, which is to fulfill the dream of space exploration and head to Mars. We all know that growing plants is the most efficient and effective way of obtaining food, if you are in an enclosed area. Plants are a good source of food for astronauts; they remove carbon dioxide from the oxygen inside the spaceship. NASA has started experimenting on hydroponics and how the effects of space will change how the growing method functions. They are planning on traveling to faraway places such as Mars or even further. It would be way too expensive to send new food to the astronauts each time they run out or get close to running out. NASA is also trying to fulfill the Vision of Space Exploration, which will be very lengthy, long missions. Scientists have started testing on how lighting, pressure, and gravity affect the growing of the plants. "We want to see how plants are affected if we reduce the pressure inside their environment, to make it more like that of the surface," Ray Wheeler, plant physiologist at Kennedy Space Center's Space Life Sciences Lab, explains. "Some benefits of lower pressure would be more leeway in structural material choices, better visibility because you wouldn't need as thick a cover, and fewer leaks."
Hydroponics is the method of growing plants in a water based solution; I believe this will have an impact in our future. Hydroponics isn’t a new practice; yet, it is somewhat of a new technology. This means that the principles behind hydroponics have been around for years, but the study of it has only been around recently. One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, was believed to have worked with some of the principles that are used in hydroponics. Through the 10th and 11th century, the Aztecs created their own system based on hydroponics; this was a floating garden idea. Since they were unable to grow crops, they made special rafts made out of roots, reeds, and dirt. After the rafts were made, the Aztecs would then place it on water which had crops on top of them. The roots of these crops would then grow through the raft and into the water below.
Actual research didn’t happen until the 17th century, the man who begun this research was Sir Francis Bacon, a philosopher, who had an important role to the start of hydroponics development. In more modern history, around a century ago, a man named William Frederick Gericke started to spread his idea that plants can grow in nutrient rich water, not just in soil. Logically, the public didn’t believe him. The experiment that proved the public wrong was when he grew a 25 foot long tomato vine using his method alone. Fortunately, his research led into the expansion of the study of hydroponics. He was actually the man who gave hydroponics its name. After his research, the demand for the evolvement of hydroponics wasn’t very high; that all changed in 1925. This was due to the inconvenience of having to maintain big amounts of greenhouse soil.
Sir Francis Bacon was born in York House, London on January 22, 1561 and died on April 9, 1626 due to bronchitis. He experimented and researched many topics, not just topics involving hydroponics. For example, he conducted an experiment to see how long he could preserve the flesh of a chicken, by stuffing the body with snow. In the year 1699, a new scientist had begun his research into the field of agriculture. This man was none other than John Woodward; he conducted the first recorded experiment on plant nutrients. The question that drove his research was; do plants get more nourishment from the soil or from the water? He finds out the answer to his question by conducting a small experiment, he adds small amounts of soil into the water and seeing how that affected the spearmint, which was the plant he was testing it on. As a result, he found out that it was the soil that gave the plant its nourishment, not the water. His experiments led on to many more, and eventually, after a while, scientists were able to understand that it was the nutrients inside the soil that made it its nourishment. These findings allowed for the advancement of hydroponic.
Two German scientists, Wilhelm Knop and Julius von Sachs, created their own experiments which focused on growing plants without soil; these experiments lasted from 1859-1865. They developed systems that ended up growing plants in nutrient rich solutions. The writings these men documented on their experiments set the standards for any hydroponic laboratory procedures for the years that were too come.
On The Healthy Home Economist, a website where you can share helpful thoughts or ideas about different topics, Sarah gave her opinion on hydroponic produce. She believes that eating hydroponic produce is not the way to go, because of the little to no mineral content it has. So basically, hydroponics is not nutrient dense and is a total waste of money. A refractometer is a tool that allows you to measure how nutritious something is. This is done by squeezing a few drops of liquid, from the plant you want to test, into the refractometer. It’s as simple as that. Hydroponic produce contain very low brix levels, which is the amount of carbohydrates something has. Plant with higher brix levels taste better and are more resistant to disease, insects, and rot.
On the other hand, some people believe that hydroponics is in a state of uncertainty, which means they aren’t entirely sure about it. An example could be the author of The World’s Healthiest Food, George Mateljan. Many people don’t believe that hydroponics can be classified as organic, because of the absence of precious fertilizer used in soil and also how there are only some people who use hydroponics that actually grow them organically. For these reasons, people don’t think hydroponic produce can be thought of as organic. The author does encourage you to buy and eat hydroponically grown food, if it comes from a farmer you trust that still certifies organic products, and if they have knowledge about hydroponics.
Hydroponics, just like everything else, has advantages and disadvantages. It helps make the food we eat, air we breathe, water we drink, and soil we use; much cleaner, it is also environmentally friendly. With hydroponics, you won’t need to use harmful pesticides; you can also grow plant anytime of the year (as long as the conditions are right). Growing crops with hydroponics take up less space, requires less work, and are easy to harvest. Some of the disadvantages to using hydroponics are that plants will need to be supervised to insure they are growing properly. You will need to know how to set up the equipment and might even need to manually water the plants (if the water ends up drying out). There is also the issue of money; most equipment needed is quite expensive.
Out of all of the possible hydroponic system choices, I chose only 6. These include the wick system, water culture, ebb and flow system (also known as the flood and drain system), drip system (which can be recovery or non-recovery), aeroponics, and the nft system which stands for nutrient film technique. The wick system is a passive system, which means it has no moving parts. Sadly, if you are trying to grow large plants with this system it is not going to function correctly, the reason being, it is not able to provide large amounts of water. The next type is the water culture, which is an active system, meaning it does have moving parts. It is the simplest of all active systems. A good plant that goes great with this system is lettuce, besides lettuce there aren’t that many other plants that will work with this system. Long-term plants aren’t the best choices for the water culture system. The ebb and flow system, also known as flood and drain system, can be partnered up with many different types of growing medium, such as gravel or grow rocks. This system is driven by electricity; so there is a chance for it to malfunction, which can be caused by a power outage. A way to get around this is by using growing mediums that store water effectively. This next system is the drip system; the cool thing about this system is there are two types, the recovery and non-recovery. This system is probably the most used hydroponic system in the world. The major differences are that a recovery system reuses runoff nutrients solution and a non-recovery system doesn’t. Non-recovery does have its advantages though; it requires less maintenance and can have its nutrients solution filled whenever it need, but it will need to have an accurate timer to make sure it keeps the runoff to a minimum. While in a recovery system there can be a big change in the pH level that will require checking, which basically end up being a big game of guess and check, nonetheless a recovery system is a much more efficient way to go. Aeroponics is a unique spray style system, the roots of the plant get sprayed with the nutrients solution; this allows for just the right amount of nutrients and oxygen for the plant, while still keeping the area circulated. Since, this system doesn't use any sort of medium to hold the plant, it is sometimes considered not entirely based off hydroponics. Last, but not least is the nft system, which stands for nutrient film technology. For this system, the plants roots are given a small river of nutrients solution at the bottom of the container. Luckily, an advantage of using this system is that the plant will never be at risk of drying out because the water will always be in a consistent flow.
As we learn more and more about the science of hydroponics, it will start to be used more and more because of the improvements of it. NASA, which stands for National Astronautical Space Administration set a goal, which is to fulfill the dream of space exploration and head to Mars. We all know that growing plants is the most efficient and effective way of obtaining food, if you are in an enclosed area. Plants are a good source of food for astronauts; they remove carbon dioxide from the oxygen inside the spaceship. NASA has started experimenting on hydroponics and how the effects of space will change how the growing method functions. They are planning on traveling to faraway places such as Mars or even further. It would be way too expensive to send new food to the astronauts each time they run out or get close to running out. NASA is also trying to fulfill the Vision of Space Exploration, which will be very lengthy, long missions. Scientists have started testing on how lighting, pressure, and gravity affect the growing of the plants. "We want to see how plants are affected if we reduce the pressure inside their environment, to make it more like that of the surface," Ray Wheeler, plant physiologist at Kennedy Space Center's Space Life Sciences Lab, explains. "Some benefits of lower pressure would be more leeway in structural material choices, better visibility because you wouldn't need as thick a cover, and fewer leaks."