Every person living in a city wishes to have access to the freshest fruits or vegetables or greens for daily consumption. But that is not always the case. Farm produce available in the markets at most times, do not meet the quality standards, hygiene is compromised and so is nutrition. Especially around these times where the pandemic is raging, daily trips to the market sounds risky and any amount of sanitising measures seems inadequate, makes us a lot more critical about the food that we are consuming everyday. However, there is a way out of this. And the solution exists just on your terrace.
Yes!
Hydroponics is a perfect substitute for a home garden. And more. Hydroponics is a technique of growing plants without soil as media; with the help of a nutrient-rich water. It works by providing nutrients essential to the plant, directly to its roots, as a result improving shoot growth rapidly (since roots do not have to go searching for nutrients). It has become popular in greenhouses to produce vegetables on a large scale, due to its properties of less water usage, minimal space and labour requirement and providing greater yields. Though practised on a commercial scale, hydroponics can also be installed at your home too.
Hydroponics provides an easy maintenance, cost-effective method of cultivating veggies as per the need. It takes up only ten percent of water that the usual home garden does, and plants grow upto 50% faster in hydroponics, thus you could produce more for your home despite a small garden. The only maintenance would be replacing the nutrient solution once in a while and to monitor the pH levels of the solutions. There is a whole range of vegetables, fruits and greens that are particularly suited to grow in hydroponics. Crops such as peppers, tomatoes, turnips, strawberries, lettuce and even some flowers can be raised easily in such a setup.
Freshly plucked vegetables or greens are more nutritious and taste delicious compared to stored and terminated produce available in the markets.
Managing your new “farm” could be an activity that you look forward to after a stressful week; harvest your greens and veggies and eat a healthy salad while bingeing on your favourite show.
And admit it, hydroponics in your balcony would dramatically increase the aesthetic value of your home.
So, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and install a hydroponics system at your home, now!
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