Real World Application
Hydroponics is not a new technology. In fact, some of the earliest known versions of hydroponics date back to ~1200 AD when the Aztecs built floating gardens made of soil and organic matter chapped Chinampas. Presently, hydroponic systems have evolved with technology; conserving water and providing more space efficient ways to grow food.
Vertical Towers allow for plants to be stacked up all the way to the roofs of empty warehouses or shipping containers, filling their space with thriving produce.
Dutch Bucket Systems can provide space for rooting vegetables to grow within a greenhouse in a water scarce environment utilizing intricate and precise nutrient delivery methods.
Water Management
Hydroponics excels at water management by using up to ten times less water than traditional farming methods, containing runoff in a closed, controlled system, and accelerating growth by providing water and nutrients directly onto the root systems of the plants.
Without soil, though, all the nutrients for the plants must be added from an outside source (i.e. the grower), which can be expensive and difficult to retrieve through long, industrial supply chains.
New ways of fertilization are being discovered, though, like aquaponics, which uses fish waste as nutrients to feed plants. This, along with compostable growing mediums are solutions to reduce the supply chain for hydroponic growing.
Urban Abilities
All hydroponic systems require a power source to run a motor to circulate the water, and some indoor systems need even more power to activate LED lights. Since most hydroponics systems require a power source, their productiveness lacks in rural farming areas compared to urban areas.
Within urban settings, hydroponics can be a valuable technology to provide structure and safeguards to local food chains. When supply chains break down, hydroponic gardens can be utilized to grow food within the city limits of large urban areas to provide fresh produce to many of the local residents. When harsh climate conditions negatively impact a growing season of an imported crop, an urban, indoor, hydroponic farm can provide the same quantity of fresh produce to its citizens without the impacts of harsh weather.