Aeroponics is a unique form of agriculture which grows vegetables, flowers, or other plants in a soilless, medium less, environment. Nature perfected this a long time ago - in the tropics, you can find beautiful, large orchids growing across treetops, never touching the soil. In the desert, tucked among rocks or hanging onto cacti, you can find small, low moisture, xeric Tillandsia (air plants). In the wild, these plants get their water and nutrients through absorbing the moisture in the air. Aeroponics mimics this natural evolution by turning normal crops into air plants themselves.
Plants growing through aeroponics get all their needs met through nutrient-rich mist, directly applied to the naked roots. Pieces of foam or support collars are used around the bases or stems to keep the plants in place. A common design in aeroponics involves a suspended platform, where plants hang over a reservoir of nutrient rich water without touching the liquid. Pumps and sprinklers turn the contained water into nutritious vapor, applying the exact necessary moisture directly to each crop’s root zone. This eliminates water waste, and drastically cuts down on how much water a farmer is using. Plants who are getting water exactly where and when they need it (in their root zone), need much less water and much less growing space in order to grow efficiently. In places where water is scarce, aquaponics can make a massive difference, sometimes reducing water usage up to 95%.
Aeroponics is clean, efficient, and leads to rapid production. Crops are planted and harvested year-round without contamination from soil, pesticides, or residue. The clean and sterile growing area reduces the chance of plant disease or infection, which are much more common among soil and other growing media. Some crops are more suited to aeroponic cultivation, and like in the case of kale, can increase their yields up to 65% when compared to traditional soil culture. This is due to the high levels of nutrients and oxygen that the plants are exposed to in the aeroponic process. The more oxygen that a plant can absorb while it grows, the happier it will be. Naturally, roots that are in the open air have many more opportunities to absorb oxygen than those buried within soil or another medium.
Aeroponics is particularly popular in unique or small environments, like outer space for example. NASA has been conducting research into aeroponics for decades. The first plants to set root in outer space did so in 1960, on Sputnik 4 and Discovery 17. Wheat, pea, corn, and onions were all included in the orbital harvest. In the 80’s GTI released the first commercial aeroponics system, the Genesis, (yes, the Stark Trek II, Wrath of Khan: Genesis). This could be plugged into a socket and attached to a faucet, easily installed in homes at the time. In 1998, NASA funded a high performance aeroponics system for use both here on earth and in space. Those planning for future space travel are very aware of the role that aeroponics will take. Free-floating soil is not ideal in a spaceship.
Aeroponics has seen a huge shift in popularity and investment in recent years. A highly productive and minimally laborious style of growing is extremely attractive to many kinds of farmers. While between 1975 and 2010, only about 300 aeroponic patents were introduced, this number has exploded to over 1000 patents in only the past ten years. Some commercial studies have predicted annual growth of aeroponics to reach 20%, bringing the industry value to nearly 10 billion dollars by 2025.
