I.U.W.F. wishes to thank Diamond and General Hydroponics for contributing this article.
HYDROPONICS: A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
by Lawrence L. Brooke
As they gaze down upon the Earth, the Russian cosmonauts tend their little hydroponic garden. Spinning around the planet in their tiny habitat, the Mir Space Station, these are the first of our kind to live beyond planet Earth for extended period. By cultivating fresh food, our friends keep in touch with the reality that though we are intellectual and spiritual beings, we are also living, breathing mammals with biological needs that must be satisfied.
Below, the planet strains as the human population explodes; natural resources dwindle with gross overuse; forest go up in smoke; the atmosphere and waterways become murky and tainted with poisons; and famine strikes human and animal populations alike. Meanwhile, climates change and farmland erodes.
Back on the Planet...
Those of us with the ability, the will and the need, search for ways to sustain ourselves while we hope for an end to the destruction and decay. Basic needs must come first. Food production is essential, and with an increasing population and diminishing resources, new farming methods are a top priority.
Hydroponic farming is a tool of ever increasing importance. Hydroponic methods are used to overcome limitations to traditional agriculture - inadequate water, poor soils, short growing seasons, excessive heat or cold, or inadequate light. In space, a completely artificial environment must be created to enable cultivation. Increasingly on Earth, environments must be controlled or modified to achieve the same goal.
The Mother of Invention
Where water is scarce, hydroponic cultivation offers higher efficiency. In some areas it is the only method that can be applied to crop production. In the Middle East, for example, there are huge regions with abundant sun but very little fresh water. Water may be purified from the sea, but only at great cost. And the higher that cost, the more economical advanced, water saving hydroponic methods become, especially compared with the cost and inefficiency of bringing in food from afar. It is far better to develop technologies and methods that enable the populations of arid regions to feed themselves.
In the spring of 1992, a trade show in the Persian Gulf featured hydroponic systems from around the world. By the turn of the century this arid region could be well on its way to independence in the production of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Swords Into Plowshares
The development and dissemination of these technologies need not be divisive, but can serve to unite people of disparate cultures and ideologies in a common purpose.
In the summer of 1991, a delegation of hydroponic specialists from the Soviet Union (now Russia) visited the United States to learn more about new methods and techniques and to share what they had learned setting up and operating a 30-acre food production facility in Moscow. Five acres of the most advanced and forward thinking hydroponic farmers.
The Dutch have been among the finest horticulturists for many generations. They are famous worldwide for their flowers and vegetables. Today, the tiny country of Holland boasts more that 10,000 acres of hydroponic growing area. Dutch flowers, sweet peppers and cucumbers can be found in supermarkets through the world (even in California, the world's leading agricultural producer).
The Dutch climate is mild, although the winters are cool and light levels are low. Consequently, the Dutch have pioneered artificial lighting, state of the art greenhouses and hydroponic systems which they export worldwide.
The primary hydroponic method in Holland is rockwool culture using a non-recirculating nutrient solution. A consequence of this method is the build up of nutrient salts in the water supply, the result of large scale dumping of partially spent solution. The members of the European Economic Community have agreed that by the turn of the century all hydroponic facilities will use recirculating methods in which nutrients are reused. This is likely to cause a change from rockwool to water culture hydroponics, in which plant roots are immersed in an aerated solution with little or no supporting medium.
The first true water culture method, Nutrient Film Technique (NFT), was developed in England by Alan Cooper. The advantages of water culture include the absence of large quantities of growing media, since the plant roots form within an envelope. A constant, shallow flow of nutrients provides water and oxygen to the roots. By eliminating the growing media, pH and nutrient variations are reduced.
In Western Canada, hydroponic crop production has followed the Dutch model. Vegetables grown in British Columbia can be found in supermarkets throughout the Western United States. The climate along the western coastal regions of British Columbia is similar to that of Holland, so the same equipment and methods offer excellent results. Canada has the advantage of excellent quality water and a practically unlimited market to the south. It is ironic that Canadian "warm weather" crops such as tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and other produce can be found during the off season in California markets.
Although the needs and conditions differ substantially from other hydroponic growing areas, Australia is another rising star in the field. The majority of Australia's population lives along the temperate coast, but there is a great need for water-saving methods in the desert "outback." Where water is scarce and transportation of commercially grown produce impractical, hydroponic farming is a viable alternative.
Our friends down under are becoming leaders in the use and development of advanced agricultural technology. Today, Australian hydroponic farmers grow lettuce for export to Japan. The growing Pacific Rim countries promise and excellent export market for the future.
Israel is well known for innovations in drip irrigation and hydroponics. As leaders in desert agriculture, it is no surprise that the Israelis are on the cutting edge. The aero-hydroponic method, a hybrid of NFT and aeroponics, has been used there with great success.
Dr. Hillel Soffer, senior researcher with the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture, did the first work in quantifying the importance of dissolved oxygen to plants. Aero-hydroponics is the result of that work. This method is becoming the choice of researchers such as those at Argonne National Laboratory who have used the systems to develop wetland grasses for land reclamation. It is also used increasingly to propagate cuttings from hard-to-root plants.
A Common Link
Wherever there are people on the globe, there is an interest in and a need for hydroponic technology. In the 20 years I've worked in the field, I've interacted with people from throughout the world. I've helped set up a food production system for a mining company in Sierra Leone, West Africa; exported aero-hydroponic systems to South Africa; advised an oil exploration firm on systems suitable for the Sudan; worked with scientists from Egypt and Morocco; advised researchers in Brazil on propagation; and helped with a reforestation projected in Costa Rica.
Mexican growers have approached me for advice on improving production. The government of Chile sent researchers to learn about hydroponic production methods. I've met with scientist from Japan, China, India, Pakistan, Greece and various countries in the Middle East and Europe, as well as scientist and growers from across the United States.
Homeowners and hobbyists everywhere can improve their diets and quality of life with fresh homegrown produce. School children can watch the wonders of plant growth with hydroponics. Hydroponic systems can add beauty and clean the air in office. Researchers develop plant varieties, propagate endangered species, perform wastewater treatment experiments and develop food production systems for space exploration.
No technology is more essential to human health and survival that agricultural technology. Agriculture is the common link connecting the people of this tiny planed. And hydroponics is the state of the art in agricultural technology.
Even in areas such as sub-Saharan Africa where money is as scarce as water, simple hydroponic and other appropriate agricultural techniques could help turn famine into a fighting chance for millions. There is much more to hydroponic growing than giant food factories of farming the Moon or Mars. Unlike the Green Revolutionaries who promised better living through centralized production, monocropping and petrochemicals, small-scale hydroponics offers greater diversity by moving food production systems closer to consumers while it helps to preserve dwindling resources, especially land and water.
Of course, there are limits to what technology alone, even appropriate technologies, can do. In areas where people would rather eat the grain and live another day than plant it in the ground, technology is not the immediate answer. It is one thing to teach a man to fish, but if he is too weak from hunger to bait the hook, nothing is accomplished.
Still, the potential of these technologies is a reminder that there is room in the lifeboat Earth for all, if we have the courage, foresight and compassion to throw out the lifeline. There may still be time to head off this looming human and ecological disaster with a massive transfer of appropriate technologies to those in need. But we must act quickly before those who are still in the water conclude that they have nothing to loose by swamping the boat.
Spinning around the planet Earth, the cosmonauts tend their little garden. These are the first farmers to move beyond Mother Earth. Far below, the farmers of the Earth struggle to feed a growing human population. Everywhere below, hydroponic gardens satisfy the needs of individuals, families, communities and nations.
Lawrence L. Brooke is the owner and founder of General Hydroponics in Sebastopol, California.
