the.com/hydroponics
Growing plants in water with an attitude, because dirt was never the point.
means A method of growing plants in nutrient-rich water instead of soil, often with the roots suspended or supported by an inert medium.
from Built from Greek hydro- 'water' and ponos 'labor' or 'toil' — so literally 'water-work.' The term was coined in the 1930s by a scientist researching soil-less cultivation, who needed a word for what plants were now doing: laboring in water rather than earth. The underlying technique is much older — hanging gardens and floating Aztec chinampas hinted at soil-free growing centuries before the Greek-rooted name arrived to make it official.
- root function
- roots anchor plants, soil just rides along
- nutrient delivery
- nutrients dissolved straight into water, no middleman
- speed gain
- plants grow up to 50% faster
- space station use
- NASA grows lettuce this way in orbit