Friday, March 19, 2010
Hydroponics :O

self-taken pictures when we went to a hydroponic farm.










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What is hydroponics?

Hydroponics come from 2 Greek Words. "Hydro" and "Ponos"

Hydro - Water
Ponos - Labour

Hydro + Ponos = Hydroponics :D (TADAAA~!)

Google definition:
A technique of growing plants (without soil) in water containing dissolved nutrients

Pros & Cons of hydroponics:

pros-
1. suitable soil is not needed
2. no need for crop rotation
3. growing process can be controlled (constant results/quality)
4. water can be reused (save water)
5. heavy work (eg tilting soil) is reduced
6. pest & disease problems are better controlled without the usage of herbicides or pesticides
7. pollution of soil with unused nutrient is greatly reduced
8. significant reduction in space requirements
9. growing time is often lessened

cons-
1. capital is high
2. annual costs of replacing substrate
3. pests & diseases spread quickly
4. daily attention is required
5. specially formulated nutrient is needed
6. Beneficial microbial soil life is usually absent


Comparing our ways to theirs
In comparison to the methods used in other countries, hydroponics is more easily accesible to a small country like Singapore. This is due to the restrain land that we have. Hydroponics requires only a small amount of land, as compared to other forms of farming. Hydroponics not only allow one to grow plants in a more efficient and productive manner with less labour and time required. It also further reduces the dependency on other countries for food.

By: Christle (04)and Wen Feng (17)