When most mass see “ no - soil horticulture , ” they immediately think of aquiculture . Yet that is only one of several ways that gardens can be grown without the use of soil . No - soil horticulture ( or stain - less gardening ) is used throughout the world to farm many things . From the American infinite program at NASA , to the cellar tomato aficionado , soil - less horticulture has become highly democratic worldwide .
Many gardeners have found that not only does it reserve year - round growing in most situation , but it also allows the grower everlasting controller over nearly every aspect of the development process . Scientists utilize it to try plant tune , amateur use it to produce good , healthier , more productive plant life , and commercial-grade gardener use it to originate tastier , more coherent crops .
Hydroponics
The most well - known of the no - stain gardening techniques , hydroponics is the growing of plants in water supply , bypassing ground altogether . For most unskilled gardeners , this is one of the easier ways to grow , as it need only restrained amounts of equipment and a slight knowledge to do well .
The process is relatively uncomplicated : the plants are freeze in a medium ( cadaver tablets , cocoa palm fibers , or any of a issue of medium used to support the industrial plant by its stem ) and flow or stationary weewee is kept underneath . The pee is dose with nutrients and luminousness is supplied by sunshine or artificial means .
Bioponics
This is not necessarily a spring up system aside from other dirt - less method , but is instead an elongation for them . Fathered by Dr. Luther W. Thomas in the 1980s , bioponics became a scientific style to analyze the nutritionary needs of plants and supply that nutrition in a more biologically combat-ready way . It is used in most character of no - ground gardening include hydroponics , aquaponics , and others .
Dr. Thomas ’ research and biography piece of work has prompt thousand of others to formulate nutritive mixes for specific grow need around the world . His own pattern are still produced in a family - owned commercial enterprise anticipate Cornucopia . Thomas go in 2002 .
Aquaponics
Another well - known stain - less gardening technique , aquaponics is exchangeable to hydroponics in that it concentre on the manner of speaking of water and nutrients . The master divergence is that in hydroponics , water and food are only used to further works ontogenesis . In aquaponics , the focus is on create a shut - loop system , with the water itself also providing for forms of biography outside of the plant crops being grow .
Most aquaponics systems admit Pisces and other aquatic animal , which provide nutrients and another productive food generator for the garden . NASA has peculiarly focused on aquaponics as a potential static , tenacious - term food pick for interplanetary travel and colonization .
Aeroponics
Another no grease horticulture method is aeroponics . A version of aquacultural gardening , but aeroponics focus on the oxygen delivered to the root organization . alternatively of being grown in a water medium , a mist delivers the nutrients and water to the root system base on a timekeeper .
Primarily the growing medium is atomic number 8 , allowing straightaway growth of plant with oxygenated ancestor systems . A welfare of aeroponic gardening , beyond quick growth , is water conservation .
There are many aeroponic growing system with the mere being an AeroGarden for home gardeners . These are small countertop growers for indoors , even a kitchen counter . Larger aeroponic system can grow many types of vegetables .
CC flickr photo by Kanu Hawaii
Check out the video recording below to see no soil garden in activity :
Vermiponics
A terminal figure coined by Dr. Brett Roe , vermiponics is the compounding of vermiculture ( the husbandry of dirt ball for composting and garden use ) and gardening techniques to create a nearly shut - closed circuit system for the growing of edibles .
The system works by using insect to quickly compost constituent wastefulness ( board scraps , inedibles , remnant ) and turning the lead tiptop - compost into a fluid nutrient for employment in hydroponics or aquaponics systems . Aquaponics is choose , as excess worms can be fed to the fish as another food source .
While still very new , the turning point paper produced in Australia by Roe and others has begin a new trend of discussion in soil - less gardening option .
CC flickr photo by Kanu Hawaii
Want to learn more about no soil gardening?
chink out these helpful websites : Simple Home Hydroponics [ PDF]from Northern Territory of AustraliaAquaponicsfrom NASARooftop Gardens and Vermiponics [ PDF]from Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation in Australia
CC flickr pic by J Wynia
Related
