yes, i am obsessed with greenhouses. and completely fascinated by hydroponic gardening.
when i think about what i would like to be doing with my life 20, 30, 40 years from now, i'm pretty sure it has something to do with working in a hydroponic greenhouse.
the idea is simple- give plants a constant dose of exactly what they need to flourish.
the result- much greater yields, with an extremely high degree of efficiency (a hydroponic greenhouse uses as little as 1/20 the amount of water as a regular farm to produce the same amount of food)
in stores, i generally opt for foods i know to be hydroponically grown (e.g. peppers labelled 'hot house') there is no concern about contaminants in the soil, and many (most?) hydroponic farms do not use pesticides. regardless, it is difficult for hydroponic growers to achieve 'organic' certification, either because states require soil to qualify a farm as organic, or because of the difficulty inherent in reconciling the 'organic' nature of the growing media.
there is a ton of great information on the web and in print, as well as many commercially available systems.
i was prompted to write this post when i came across this comprehensive tutorial for making your own 11 plant garden (above). i'll look around some more and post some of the best links as i find them.
does any one know any universities with strong hydroponics programs?
