“It’s been dubbed the gardening of the future, however, it seems the future is here, now that Vertical Roots has planted itself in the Midlands.
The farm, which primarily grows leafy greens, uses a method of growing called hydroponic gardening.
Simply put, it’s soil-less gardening. And as the name suggests, it means the roots are left out of the ground and instead fed nutrients and water directly with the help of technology.
The controlled method of gardening has several benefits, most notably, its efficiency.
By feeding the plant directly, it means Vertical Roots saves on resources that otherwise would be lost to runoff, weather changes or other environmental factors.
Andrew Hare, Vertical Roots’ general manager, explains that hydroponic gardening is actually 95% more efficient than traditional gardening.
“A head of lettuce for us might consume a couple gallons of water during its entire maturation cycle versus outdoors, that’s hundreds of gallons of water,” explains Hare. “It’s not because the plant is consuming more outdoors, it’s because of the evaporation and runoff in the soil, so when you have all that contained, you’re using five percent of what you typically have to use.”
View the whole story here: https://www.wistv.com/2021/04/15/south-carolina-hydroponic-container-farm-makes-large-impact-with-small-footprint/