Hydroponics

Hydroponics is the cultivation of plants without soil by delivering mineral nutrients in water to their roots, sometimes with an inert medium for support.

Deep water culture: A hydroponic method that suspends plant roots in an aerated nutrient solution. Roots remain immersed in nutrient solution, with air stones supplying oxygen.
Plant nutrition: The processes by which plants obtain and use mineral elements needed for growth and development. Hydroponics must supply the mineral elements that soil would otherwise make available.
Vertical farming: Crop production in vertically stacked layers, often inside controlled environments. Hydroponic systems commonly supply crops in stacked indoor farms.
Soil-based agriculture: Crop production in which plants grow in soil that supports roots and supplies water and nutrients. It relies on soil as the root environment rather than a prepared nutrient solution.
Water-use efficiency: The amount of useful output produced per unit of water consumed. Recirculating hydroponic systems can reduce water losses compared with open-field irrigation.
Nutrient film technique: A hydroponic system that runs a shallow, continuous stream of nutrient solution past plant roots. A thin moving film feeds roots while leaving much of them exposed to air.
Essential plant nutrients: The mineral elements plants require to complete their life cycles and sustain normal growth. Hydroponic recipes provide these elements in forms roots can absorb.
Controlled-environment agriculture: Crop production in structures where environmental conditions such as light, temperature, and humidity are regulated. Hydroponics is frequently paired with environmental control to manage crop growth.
Aquaponics: A food-production system that combines aquaculture with plant cultivation using shared water and nutrient cycles. Fish waste supplies nutrients, unlike hydroponics systems that typically use formulated solutions.
Recirculating aquaculture system: An aquaculture system that filters and reuses water rather than continuously replacing it. Its filtration principles overlap with nutrient-solution recirculation in hydroponic farms.

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