Growth and Production Of Hydroponic Greenhouses
A hydroponic greenhouse is a specially designed enclosure for cultivating plants without using soil as the medium of growth. Hydroponic cultivation is instead performed by using water and nutrient-rich solutions for growing plants. Very often, essential nutrients required by a particular plant species are dissolved in water to make the growth medium for plants in a hydroponic greenhouse.
While in theory it is possible to grow a wide variety of useful plants (crops, vegetables, and fruits) in hydroponic greenhouses, more popular plants grown better in such systems include leafy green vegetables, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, raspberries, and strawberries.
Healthy Growth of Plants
Growing plants in a hydroponic greenhouse offers a number of advantages. Hydroponic systems do not use soil as the medium of growth and the plants grown hydroponically are mostly free from soil-borne diseases and pests. This certainly does not mean that they are entirely free from all plant diseases (water-borne diseases are always there). But on the whole, they have a better chance to grow healthier than soil-supported plants, provided that a healthy supply of nutrients is maintained.
Greater Room For Plants
Plants grown in a hydroponic greenhouse have smaller roots than those cultivated in soil. Thus hydroponic plants have a smaller volume than other plants and more individual plants can be grown in a comparatively smaller space when hydroponic greenhouses are used. Further, the absence of soil in a hydroponic system also saves a significant amount of space, allowing more abundant growths and larger harvests.
Efficient Medium Of Growth
It is a generalized misinterpretation of hydroponic systems that they run solely on water. While water does play a key role in the growth of many hydroponic plants, other growth media are also used. In some cases, water is not used altogether in a hydroponic greenhouse.
For example, tomatoes are sometimes grown in some hydroponic greenhouses in a substance known as ‘rock wool' (a kind of basaltic rock treated with heat). Specialized varieties of sand, clay, and gravel are also sometimes used as growth media for hydroponic plants.
Production
With all its advantages, the profit earned from hydroponic cultivation depends on intensive commitment to the system's efficiency in terms of time, care, and understanding. Due to a high demand for the hydroponic production system, hydroponic greenhouses need to be closely monitored for timely and quality production.
Marketing plans also play a key role in maximizing profits from hydroponic production of plants. Hydroponic production on small scales usually has a better chance of profitable sales via direct marketing (i.e. selling retail at small stores or even at wholesale outlets).
