Aeroponics: Small Space, Big Yields

Are you looking for big crop yields from small or limited space? Aeroponics is one answer.

Aeroponics, in a nutshell is...

Is a method of urban farming in which plants or crops are grown in an air or mist environment without using soil or another traditional medium.

This differs from hydroponics, which uses a liquid nutrient solution as a growing medium and essential minerals to sustain plant growth; as well as aquaponics which uses water and fish waste,

Aeroponics is conducted without a growing medium. Instead, the roots of plants are suspended or hung in a dark chamber and periodically sprayed with nutrient-rich solution.

In aeroponics, no growing medium is used. Instead, the roots of plants are suspended or hung in a dark chamber and periodically sprayed with nutrient-rich solution.

Read more at Gardening Know How: Growing With Aeroponics: What Is Aeroponics https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/special/containers/growing-with-aeroponics-what-is-aeroponics.htm

What are the Advantages?

Increased Air Exposure: Air cultures optimize access to air for successful plant growth. Air cultures optimize access to air for successful plant growth. Minimal contact between a plant and support structure allows for 100% of the plant to be entirely in air.
Disease free cultivation: Aeroponics can limit disease transmission since plant-to-plant contact is reduced and each spray pulse can be sterile. In the case of soil, aggregate, or other media, disease can spread throughout the growth media, infecting many plants.
Water and nutrient amomization: Aeroponic equipment involves the use of sprayers, misters, foggers, or other devices to create a fine mist of solution to deliver nutrients to plant roots.
Nutrient uptake: The discrete nature of interval and duration aeroponics allows the measurement of nutrient uptake over time under varying conditions.

Are There any disadvantages?

Dependence on the system – A typical aeroponics system is made up of high pressure pumps, sprinklers and timers. If any of these break down, your plants can be damaged or killed easily.
Technical knowledge required – You need a certain level of competency in running an aeroponic system. Knowledge of nutrients amounts required by your plant is essential.
Regular cleaning of the root chamber – The root chamber must not be contaminated, or else diseases may strike the roots. So you need to disinfect the root chamber every so often.
High cost – Most aeroponic systems are not exactly cheap. Aeroponic systems may cost many hundreds of dollars each.

Types of aeroponic systems

There are 3 main types of systems.

High Pressure units: where the mist is generated by high-pressure pump(s), are typically used in the cultivation of high value crops and plant specimens that can offset the high setup costs associated with this method.
Low Pressure units: the plant roots are suspended above a reservoir of nutrient solution or inside a channel connected to a reservoir. A low-pressure pump delivers nutrient solution via jets or by ultrasonic transducers, which then drips or drains back into the reservoir.
Commercial systems: comprised high-pressure device hardware and biological systems.comprise high-pressure device hardware and biological systems.

In short, aeroponics could be a revolution in small and large scale urban farming. In fact it is showing so much potential that even NASA is experimenting with it for space flights.