Hydoponics is a method of “indoor farming”, where no soil is used to grow plants. Last week, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) voted in favour of hydroponics retaining its certified organic status.
Protesters against the organic label certification of hydroponics argued that soil was the foundation of organic farming and maintaining soil health.
Hydroponics – a closer look
Plants are often grown in what effectively appear as shelves in a large warehouse. Instead of soil, plants are grown using a mineral nutrient solution and misting methods.
LED lights are attached over each shelf and nutrients can be fed to the plant from below.
The method is growing in popularity – in the US in particular. At the end of October, AeroFarms received a $40 million investment from IKEA and chef David Chang. The company has a base in Newark and supply businesses in New York city. It grows crops such as kale, watercress and herbs.
AeroFarms is one of the biggest players in indoor farming and the method used in the AeroFarms’ system is aeroponics, as opposed to hydroponics. Aeroponics is used to mist the plants roots with water, nutrients and oxygen.
AeroFarms claim to use 95% less water than field farming and 40% less water than hydroponics.
Image source: AeroFarms
The companies involved claim that they can produce more yield/ft² than land-based farms. They can also grow crops in a rapid fashion and have more throughput.
Hydrophonics is also becoming popular in households, with people setting up hydroponic towers in their dining rooms.
Microsoft has embraced the hydroponics revolution. The company has hydroponic towers growing lettuce in one of it’s premises in Redmond, Washington – as can be seen below. It also has an urban farm for micro-greens, behind it’s organic salad bar.
Image Source: Microsoft
Aquaponics is a similar method, which involves mixing hydroponics and aquaculture, i.e. fish and other aquatic organisms can be produced.
Not a new concept
Many say that organic status should be based on inputs – not whether the crop is grown in soil or not.
Karen Archipley, of Archi’s Acreage – a hydroponic company – told the The New Food Economy that the idea of hydrponics is not new. She used the floating Aztec gardens and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon as ancient examples similar to today’s hydroponic farms.
Organic farmers in the US have always focused on soil health. However, when it came to a vote, it was reported that the USDA stated soil health as being too complicated an issue for organic certification.
The organic farming sector is worth approximately $50 billion in the US. The purists of that sector are now threatening to leave, as they argue that soil should be at the core of the organic sector. The ‘original’ organic farmers stated that they don’t know what organic is anymore.