What Is Hydroponics?
Thanks to agricultural advances in technology, hydroponic systems like those at The Green Room are the modern day preferred method of plant and crop growing. To put it simply, hydroponics is the art of growing plants without soil. The process is focused on water, oxygen, and vital nutrients.
Setting up your own hydroponic system with equipment from The Green Room is simple. Check out our guide online for details and step by step instructions.
How Traditional Farming Impacts the Environment
Traditional soil-based methods of farming can be detrimental to the environment in various regards.
- Extreme water consumption: Soil-based growing results in an extreme amount of water consumption, most of which goes to waste. Soil quickly absorbs water before it even reaches many roots, leading to more and more water being used to keep each crop well hydrated. Plus, the amount of land covered by crops means a large amount of area needs to be covered with each and every watering. With hydroponics, every drop of water is cycled and reused.
- Water pollution: Herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers contaminate nearby ecosystems and can even poison wildlife. In turn, those eating plants or animals from the area are also consuming trace amounts of pesticides. Hydroponics typically keep plants protected from potential pest invasions and weeds. This prevents runoff during rain and keeps surrounding ecosystems free of unnecessary and often harsh chemicals.
- Deforestation & land usage: Earth has a limited amount of farmable soil available. The same plant being grown via hydroponics only requires about 20% of the land that would be used being grown via traditional soil methods. With more land available, wildlife will have more space to thrive without the effects of deforestation.
Hydroponics Environmental Impact
Growing plants and cannabis via a hydroponics system is better for the environment than traditional methods of growing such as outdoor gardens and soil-based farming. To avoid the detriments listed above, enjoy the environmental benefits of hydroponics.
Benefits of Hydroponics
The benefits of hydroponics are immense.
- Reduced water usage: Whereas some hydroponics systems do not recycle water, you can count on all hydroponic systems from The Green Room to reduce water usage by recycling it. The only water waste is through natural evaporation in this method, which is extremely small. Soil-based methods create a huge overconsumption of water, and reducing this consumption is important. Growing via hydroponics is an easy way to reduce this overconsumption.
- Reduced land consumption: Deforestation has increased in order to create more space for crops. This is due to the increasing human population and our need to feed more and more people increasingly. Since there is such a limited amount of farmable land, we’ve had to turn to forests. This means that wildlife have been displaced and will continue to struggle to keep their populations up. According to the Pachamama Alliance, this is also bad for humans in many ways. Deforestation leads to “climate change, desertification, soil erosion, fewer crops, flooding, and increased greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere.
- Herbicide- and pesticide-free farming: Because hydroponics are typically indoors, plants are safe from potential pest invasions. This keeps the environment free of the runoff that comes with herbicide and pesticide use.
- Reduced fossil fuel emissions: The ease of hydroponics allows farms to be constructed in more diverse places, allowing fresh produce to grow year-round in all types of climates, from the tundra to the tropics. This means your crops can be grown potentially closer to distribution areas, cutting back on transportation and therefore the harmful emissions that come with it.
- Reduced ground erosion: Indoor and greenhouse farming eliminates the chance of ground/soil erosion that standard farming contributes to. Constant tilling and planting results in unusable soil. Since usable farming soil is already limited, hydroponics eliminates the necessity for more land.
- No toxic runoff: Since water is recycled continuously, there’s no chance of runoff into nearby ecosystems. Also, there are no herbicides or pesticides present in the water used for a hydroponic system.
Get Growing with The Green Room
The Green Room utilizes an engineered approach to hydroponics. You’ll be able to increase yield while cutting back on both production time and environmental waste. Get 50% faster growth for hydroponics compared to dirt so you can grow the plant in less time and reduce waste of water and land with the closed loop water system that produces virtually zero waste.
Commercial & Residential Hydroponic Systems
Commercial Hydroponics
If you’re prepared to start growing in large quantities, a commercial hydroponics system might be best. Large farms, greenhouses, and cannabis growers producing large yields would most benefit from one of our commercial hydroponic systems. The Green Room offers patented, high-end commercial hydroponic systems that are fully customizable to meet each client’s needs.
Residential Hydroponics
Those growing personal amounts of cannabis, greens, and other food crops could benefit from a residential hydroponic system from The Green Room. Systems start at $1,600 and are completely customizable to your requirements.
Produce More & Reduce Waste with Hydroponics
You can reduce your carbon footprint and help protect the environment with a few simple changes. Not only will you be reducing waste, but you’ll also be able to produce more than ever before. To learn more about the environmental benefits of hydroponics, get in touch with The Green Room. Find out how you can get a free trial lease of our systems.