Hydroponic Materials
True or False: You have to buy an official brand hydroponic unit online to grow your own food.
False- you can make your own hydroponic garden from many materials at home!
What transports the materials from the roots to the leaves, fruit, flower, and seeds?
True or False: You can grow in a hydroponic system all year?
True! If your system is indoors, you can grow year-round!
True or False: A desert climate is not an adequate place for hydroponics farms.
False: The desert is a great place for hydroponics as there is no fertile soil in these climates and temperatures can be controlled.
True or False: Hydroponic farming can help decrease food insecurity.
True- This farming method has made food more accessible in larger urban areas, helping to eliminate food insecurity.
True or False: You can use soil in hydroponic systems?
False!
This part absorbs nutrients, water, and air to provide to the rest of the plant parts. It also acts as an anchor the plant to the ground. It keeps the plant steady and upright.
Roots!
What do the words "hydro" and "ponos" mean in Greek?
The word "hydro" comes from the Greek name meaning water and "ponos" means labor/work.
True or False: Hydroponic farms cannot be outdoors.
False! Outdoor hydroponic farms have the benefit of natural sunlight instead of grow lights.
This leafy green vegetable is commonly grown in hydroponic systems due to its short growth cycle.
Lettuce!
If I were to make a hydroponic garden at home what are three items/materials I could recycle and use?
Water bottle, milk jug, take out containers, mason jars, etc.
This part performs photosynthesis, the food factory of plants!
Leaves :)
True or False: Growing hydroponically can be traced to ancient civilizations all the way back to 600 BC
True- The earliest example of hydroponic systems can be traced back to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the seven wonders of the world.
Could you use a hydroponic system in space?
Yes! NASA commonly uses hydroponics in space to grow food as you don't need soil.
What are some disadvantages of hydroponics?
Can be expensive to set up, diseases can spread quickly indoors, roots can rot or leaves get moldy with too much water, uses energy to run, and pests can spread!
True or False: All hydroponic systems need additional nutrients added to the water.
True
Attracts insects for pollination and produces seeds for reproduction.
Flowers!
True or False: Growing hydroponically uses 90% less water than growing produce using traditional methods.
True! Traditional agriculture can have a large portions of water that are lost not absorbed in the soil or by plants and end up polluting our water sources.
This is a term for growing food in densely populated and city-areas.
Urban agriculture! Hydroponics are a great space-saving system of agriculture to use in urban areas!
One key benefit of hydroponics is the reduction of this common gardening issue caused by planting in soil.
What is soil-borne diseases?
What kind of test can you perform to see the acidity levels of the water in your hydroponic system?
PH test!
Fruit
This term describes the practice of growing plants indoors or in controlled environments using hydroponics.
Controlled Environment Agriculture.
What is the difference between aquaponics and aeroponics?
Aeroponics use mist to provide plants their water in mostly vertical systems.
Aquaponics is a version of hydroponics where fish are grown as part of the system to provide a natural source of fertilizer.
Organized as either "macro-" or "micro-" and are essential for good plant health.
Nutrients!