20 Benefits of Hydroponic Farming
It’s a wonder how we’re able to grow food using just water.
As you probably figured out, we’re talking about hydroponics. Hydroponic farming is a method of growing plants in nutrient-rich water without using soil.
Hydroponic farming has many benefits over traditional agriculture. And while these systems aren’t meant to completely replace traditional methods, they offer several advantages over conventional soil-growing, including less water, land, labour, and chemical usage.
Continue reading to understand the top 20 benefits of hydroponic farming:
1.Saves water…A lot of water!
Hydroponic growing uses up to 90% less water than conventional agriculture. Plus, water is routinely recycled in the Growcer farm.
Gitmaxmak’ay Nisga’a Society grows fresh produce in their parking lot with a hydroponic modular farm.
2.Space efficient
Hydroponic farming saves limited arable land by growing 4x the number of plants that can be grown in the same space as conventional farming. Conventional farming only has one layer of planting on the ground and requires large acreages for bigger yields. With hydroponics, plants can be grown closer together and even more plants can be grown with a vertical system that stacks plants on top of each other.
3.You can grow year-round
In many climates, growing year-round isn’t possible because vegetables can’t survive in extreme outdoor conditions. For example, in Ottawa, Canada, your frost-free growing season is 152 days. For the other 213 days, temperatures can dip as low as -30’C making it hard to grow vegetables. Hydroponic farming unlocks growing year-round because plants are grown indoors in a controlled environment impervious to the weather outside.
4.Less labour intensive than conventional farming!
No digging, weeding, spreading fertilizer, tiling, etc.
Hydroponic farming in a modular farm unlocks year-round growing because plants are grown in a controlled environment impervious to the weather outside.
5.Cleaner than farming outdoors!
You NEVER get dirt on your hands because there is none.
6.No soil required!
Good soil is everything. Everything you don’t need to worry about because with hydroponics, plants are grown in an inert medium and are fed with a nutrient solution. The nutrient solution is water tailored to the crop with the perfect pH level (acidity/alkalinity) and nutrient concentrations needed for the type of crop to thrive.
7.Up to 2x faster plant growth!
Perfect conditions, faster growth. Because plants are given the exact concentration of nutrients they need, a well-balanced growing environment, and oxygen delivered to their root zone, plants grow up to 2x faster than in soil environments (on average, 30 to 50% faster).
Lush lettuce heads in a Growcer modular farm.
8.More crop cycles = more food!
Hydroponic crops outperform traditional soil grown crops because of their ability to grow faster and with less disease pressure.
With hydroponics, crops can grow faster and repeatedly indoors. You’re able to plan your seeding, transplanting and harvesting to ensure no downtime or unused growing space. You don’t have to worry about a “window of good weather” because you’re growing indoors in a controlled environment. When one growing rack finishes, another one opens so you can harvest week over week all year long!
9.Higher yields!
Hydroponic crops outperform traditional soil grown crops because of their ability to grow faster and with less disease pressure. Faster growth also means more crop cycles per year. If you can grow four harvests in the same time it takes you to grow two harvests, you’ve just doubled your yield there alone.
10.Zero synthetic pest control products!
A controlled growing environment eliminates the need for synthetic pest control products that can be dangerous to ourselves and the environment. Instead, more natural, less harmful pest control products and preventative measures can be implemented.
11.No agriculture runoff
The water in the hydroponic system recirculates to feed and water the plants. When this water is finally flushed out of the system and discarded, it can be done in a controlled manner. The used water can then have a second life fertilizing outdoor gardens, natural vegetation, or be added into compost.
12.Less disease and pest pressure
By eliminating soil, there’s far less breeding vectors for pests and diseases to fester. In an indoor controlled environment, a high degree of sanitation can be maintained and you know any equipment that will come in contact with your plants was thoroughly cleaned and sterilized.
Hydroponic crops outperform traditional soil grown crops because of their ability to grow faster and with less disease pressure.
13.No weeds!
Growing indoors means no unexpected visitors from weed seeds blowing into your garden. The only weed you might find in a hydroponic system is algae, which competes with your plants for the nutrients and light they need to thrive. Thankfully, algae is easy to simply wipe away.
14.More nutritious product
With the increased ability to control the growing environment, food produced hydroponically has been proven to contain higher levels of nutrition than soil-based counterparts. Hydroponic crops are provided with everything they need to thrive in a tailored nutrient solution, so plants aren’t limited to what is found naturally in soil. Nutrient solutions can also be changed throughout the growing cycle to push the plants to produce higher levels of nutrients.
For example, this is commonly done in hydroponic tomato production, where fertilizer concentrations are increased at night to cause osmotic (salt) stress in the plants. The stress causes tomatoes to produce higher levels of lycopene. Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant linked to lowering the risk of certain cancers and improving your skin’s sun protection.
15.A more marketable, valuable product
Saving water, soil, and time while producing a more nutritious product grown using zero synthetic pest control products commands a higher price than the same crop grown using traditional means.
16.Hyper-local produce
Food grown a short distance from where it’s sold benefits the environment and consumer. The hyper-local produce remains fresher longer, requires less transportation, and is traceable back to the source.
It might be hard to see but the paper reads that this produce (Verdures Dorey brand) only travelled 35km to reach the store shelves!
At New Horizon Co-op, produce harvested that day is added to the produce aisle because their modular farm sits right outside in the parking lot!
17.Responsive to demand
With modular farms, it’s easy to scale up production and meet your market demand.
18.Less food waste
Customers of Growcer-grown produce always say they’re amazed at how long their greens stay fresh in the fridge.
Because time between harvest and consumption is reduced, you lose less produce to spoilage from long transportation times. Also, because it’s easy to tailor your production plans, you can grow based on demand and limit overproduction therefore reducing food waste.
19.Cleaner produce
Hydroponic produce is grown in a highly controlled environment so it doesn’t require as much washing to remove the dirt, dust, and other contaminants found on traditional soil grown crops.
20.Stays fresher longer!
Hydroponic produce will outlast other produce in your fridge with its longer shelf life. Plus, hydroponic produce can be harvested with its roots attached so it’s “still alive” when it reaches you.
In conclusion, hydroponic farming is not new, but the technology's efficacy has increased dramatically, allowing you to grow vegetables more effectively.
Despite widespread misconceptions about its viability as an efficient growing method, it is already being incorporated into existing food services and applications, and slowing becoming the future of agriculture according to some.
If you’re interested in learning more, check out the ultimate guide to hydroponic farming to better understand what hydroponics is, benefits, common misconceptions, and how to assess its role in the future of food production.