If you’ve been around the agriculture or ag-tech spaces recently, you’ve likely heard the buzz surrounding hydroponic farming and vertical greenhouses. But why are these growing methods such talking points? What are the benefits and advantages of hydroponics? And what does that word mean, anyway? 

Read below to learn how this fascinating technology is helping solve some tricky agricultural problems.

What Is Hydroponic Farming? 

Hydroponic farming is a way of growing plants that substitutes water for soil. Instead of planting crops in the ground or even in raised beds filled with soil, hydroponic produce is grown with roots dangling in water. Growers then add nutrients to the water to feed the plants and ensure they have everything they need to thrive. 

For more information, check out What is Hydroponics? 

What is Vertical Farming?

The other term we use regularly is vertical farming or vertical greenhouses. While many hydroponic farms are grown in vertical greenhouses, the two terms are not interchangeable. 

Vertical farming describes any system in which plants are stacked on top of each other. This can include trays of soil stacked on shelving units and lit by grow lights. It can also include hydroponic tower systems grown in a greenhouse to harness the sun’s rays as much as possible. And, of course, it can include anything in between. 

For more details, read Vertical Farming: Everything You Need to Know. 

What are the Benefits of Hydroponics? 

Now that you understand the terms, you may wonder why the growing method is getting so much buzz. What are the pros of hydroponics, and why is this growing method so intriguing? 

Many hydroponics benefits make this an attractive farming method for the modern world. Such systems benefit the planet, offer ways to feed the growing population, and offer food supply protections against climate change. We’ll describe ten of the most prominent benefits of hydroponics below. 

1. Needs No Soil 

The first and most clear benefit of hydroponics is that this growing method needs no soil. Why does this matter? Land degradation is a serious problem facing agriculture and the world today. As soil degrades, it becomes more and more difficult to farm in it. 

Land degradation happens through both physical and chemical methods. Physical degradation relates to natural erosion and physical disturbance, as farming equipment may cause. Chemical degradation happens due to pollution and other types of contamination. Both kinds of degradation result in soil with fewer nutrients and less suited to growing healthy crops. 

Hydroponic crops don’t contribute to soil degradation, so they can help slow land degradation. These crops aren’t affected by the results of this crisis either since they don’t rely on healthy topsoil for their nutrients.

2. Conserves Water 

Water conservation is a primary concern in today’s world. It may seem counterintuitive to replace soil with water in a hydroponic system. In reality, such a system uses far less water than traditional, soil-based growing methods because the water used can be recycled repeatedly. 

Outdoor farms lose a lot of water to evaporation and runoff. Pesticides and chemical fertilizers may also contaminate their water. A hydroponic greenhouse equipped to remove humidity from the air wastes very little water because the system recycles it. Such an approach doesn’t need dangerous chemicals to protect the plants from pests. Proper filtration and treatment allow the water to remain clean. 

3. Facilitates a Micro-Climate 

Technology in a hydroponic greenhouse allows growers to create the perfect conditions for each crop. Appropriate climate control in an enclosed system allows growers to program ideal micro-climates around each type of crop they grow. 

One part of a hydroponic greenhouse may keep spinach at a chilly 55⁰ F. Another area may house romaine lettuce closer to 70⁰ F. When growers control micro-climates around each crop, they can produce more varieties in a single system.

4. Predictability and Seasonality 

Most crops only grow in certain climates and during specific seasons. When people want summer crops in the dead of winter, grocers import them from other parts of the world. This contributes to the greenhouse gas crisis in transit. 

Another issue revolves around predictability. So many factors contribute to crop yield. An early frost, drought, flood, or storm can destroy an entire field of crops and there is often nothing the farmer can do to stop it. 

Indoor hydroponic farms allow growers to harvest predictable yields year-round. These crops grow all year long, regardless of weather or climate. And since they’re protected from problems that can cause crop failure, the yields are far more predictable.

5. Crops Grow Faster 

One promising development in hydroponic technology is the ability to harvest crops faster than in other methods. When each plant has optimal growing conditions, crops can grow faster and larger. 

Many hydroponic growers report that their crops grow in half the time (or even less) of soil-grown versions of the same crops. This speed is most prominent in green leafy vegetables, but there are gains for nearly every variety of hydroponic plant.

6. Maximizes Space 

If you’re planning to go into soil-based farming on a large scale, you’re going to need a lot of space to do it. Most traditional farms are in rural areas because the cost of land in densely populated areas is too high to make the effort profitable. Again, this leads to the need to move crops across the country from where they are grown to where they will be consumed. 

When you grow crops in an urban or suburban area you must maximize the available space to make the operation profitable. For urban growers, hydroponic vertical farming is an excellent choice. By stacking plants vertically, you can grow more at one time in the same amount of space. When you add in the faster growing time of hydroponic plants, this is an exceptional way to maximize the space you have. 

7. Produces Higher Yields

Global food shortages are common enough that we should prepare for them as a matter of routine. A hydroponic greenhouse allows growers to produce healthy food in less time and with far greater yields. 

Yes, hydroponic greenhouses grow crops faster and maximize the use of space. But they also rarely lose crops to problems like pests and contamination. All this leads to more crops to harvest, greater profits for growers, and the ability to feed people more predictably. 

8. Require Less Labor 

Soil-based farming is labor intensive and can be grueling. While many parts of this growing method can be mechanized, steps like harvesting delicate crops still need a human touch. 

While hydroponic greenhouses also use human labor, the compact nature of the facilities allows these tasks to be done more efficiently, meaning you can get more done with fewer people. Not only that, workers at these facilities are not subjected to dangerous chemical pesticides. Hydroponic careers take place in laboratory-like conditions that avoid the dangers of typical farm work and instead offer decent wages and benefits. 

9. Shortens the Supply Chain 

One of the greatest difficulties in our supply chain for fresh foods is the distance they must travel from the rural areas where they are harvested to the grocery store shelves where they are sold. If you’re a fan of your local farmer’s market, you probably understand how much better fresh fruits and vegetables taste. Hydroponic farming offers the opportunity to grow fresh foods within minutes or hours of the consumers who will eventually enjoy them.

Hydroponic farms allow grocers to stock fresher foods, often harvested within hours or days. They can also partner with hydroponic greenhouses to create white-label food options like bagged salads and fresh herbs. This shortened supply chain allows them to cut out middlemen and offer foods direct from the farm, straight to their customers.

10. Produces Higher Quality Food 

Many people believe that food grown in a hydroponic system will taste watered down and lack essential nutrients. While this may be true for some home-based hydroponic growing systems, commercial hydroponic farms typically offer higher-quality crops than their soil-based counterparts. 

Hydroponic crops enjoy carefully controlled environments and scientifically balanced nutrients in their water supply. They are not subjected to pollutants, pesticides, and other contaminants. Finally, they tend to be grown close to the areas where they will be consumed, so they are typically much fresher when they reach your table. All of this leads to crops that not only taste delicious but are at least as healthy as traditionally-grown crops of the same type.

Frequently Asked Questions: 

What are 3 benefits of growing crops hydroponically?

Hydroponic farms use less water than traditional soil-based growing. They don’t contribute to soil degradation, nor are they susceptible to its effects. And they offer higher yields in a smaller area, allowing growers to produce more fresh foods than traditional farming. 

What is the biggest advantage of hydroponics?

The biggest advantage of hydroponics may vary depending on who you ask. For us, hydroponic farming offers the ability to grow fresh, healthy food year-round in areas where such products are often hard to find. This means the ability to feed populations in the middle of the desert or the tundra, delicious fresh foods deep in the urban jungle, and fewer food shortages worldwide once the technology has been widely adopted. For more information, check out Hydroponics vs. Traditional Farming.

Do plants grow faster in hydroponics?

Yes. The ability to control the environment around each plant and provide optimal nutrients to the plant’s roots allows plants to grow up to twice as fast.

Does hydroponics use a lot of electricity?

This depends greatly on the setup. Some vertical greenhouses rely on grow lights for their light. Others use the sun’s rays coming through greenhouse windows and only supplement with grow lights as needed. To learn more about sustainable hydroponic growing, check out How Vertical Greenhouses Reduce Energy Costs.

What is the best plant to grow hydroponically?

There are many crops that work well in a hydroponic environment, but leafy greens such as lettuces tend to be the most commonly chosen by growers. Check out Which Are the Best Crops for Vertical Farming and Why? to learn more.

What is more efficient: hydroponic farming or organic farming?

Both hydroponic farming and organic farming can offer energy efficiency benefits over many older methods of soil-based farming. That said, a properly designed hydroponic greenhouse is far more efficient than most organic farms. 

How does hydroponics benefit the environment?

Hydroponic greenhouses use no soil or pesticides and less water than traditional farming methods.

How safe is hydroponic food?

Hydroponic food is not susceptible to the contamination that often causes food recalls in traditional soil-based farming. This makes hydroponic crops far safer. To learn more, check out our hydroponics food safety article.

Is hydroponics more nutritious than soil?

Hydroponic crops can indeed offer better nutritional profiles than soil-grown crops. To learn more, check out The Health & Nutrition of Hydroponic Foods.