Hydroponics is a type of horticulture and a subset of hydroculture which involves growing plants, usually crops or medicinal plants, without soil, by using water-based mineral nutrient solutions in an artificial environment. Terrestrial or aquatic plants may grow freely with their roots exposed to the nutritious liquid or the roots may be mechanically supported by an inert medium such as perlite, gravel, or other substrates.
A roof garden is a garden on the roof of a building. Besides the decorative benefit, roof plantings may provide food, temperature control, hydrological benefits, architectural enhancement, habitats or corridors for wildlife, recreational opportunities, and in large scale it may even have ecological benefits. The practice of cultivating food on the rooftop of buildings is sometimes referred to as rooftop farming. Rooftop farming is usually done using green roof, hydroponics, aeroponics or air-dynaponics systems or container gardens.
Aquaponics is a food production system that couples aquaculture with hydroponics whereby the nutrient-rich aquaculture water is fed to hydroponically grown plants.
Uran gardening is the practice of growing vegetables, fruit and plants in urban areas, such as schools, backyards or apartment balconies.
Vertical farming is the practice of growing crops in vertically stacked layers. It often incorporates controlled-environment agriculture, which aims to optimize plant growth, and soilless farming techniques such as hydroponics, aquaponics, and aeroponics. Some common choices of structures to house vertical farming systems include buildings, shipping containers, underground tunnels, and abandoned mine shafts.
Deep water culture (DWC) is a hydroponic method of plant production by means of suspending the plant roots in a solution of nutrient-rich, oxygenated water. Also known as deep flow technique (DFT), floating raft technology (FRT), or raceway, this method uses a rectangular tank less than one foot deep filled with a nutrient-rich solution with plants floating in Styrofoam boards on top. This method of floating the boards on the nutrient solution creates a near friction-less conveyor belt of floating rafts. DWC, along with nutrient film technique (NFT), and aggregate culture, is considered to be one of the most common hydroponic systems used today. Typically, DWC is used to grow short-term, non-fruiting crops such as leafy greens and herbs. DWC was invented accidentally in 1998 by a legacy cannabis grower who goes by the name of “Snype”. This occurred because “Snype” and his (unnamed) associate had to take a trip to Amsterdam and needed a way to feed their cannabis crop while they were away. They built nutrient and water reservoirs that would keep the plants thoroughly fed in their absence, and thusly the DWC system was born. They revised this system in 2010 to create RDWC. The large volume of water helps mitigate rapid changes in temperature, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and nutrient solution composition.
Controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) -- which includes indoor agriculture (IA) and vertical farming—is a technology-based approach toward food production. The aim of CEA is to provide protection from the outdoor elements and maintain optimal growing conditions throughout the development of the crop. Production takes place within an enclosed growing structure such as a greenhouse or plant factory.
The Science Barge is a floating urban farm and environmental education center that has been docked in Yonkers, New York, USA since late 2008. The Barge grows crops using a hydroponic greenhouse powered by solar panels, wind turbines, and biofuels. The crops in the greenhouse are irrigated by captured rainwater and desalinated river water. Food is grown without carbon emissions, no agricultural waste is discharged into the watershed and no pesticides are used. The Science Barge is also a public education tool and hosts school groups from Westchester, New York City and the greater New York area visiting during the week, and the general public on weekends. From 2006–2008, the Science Barge docked for periods of two months at each of six stops along the Manhattan waterfront with the goal of educating the public on urban sustainable agriculture.
Agriculture in the United Arab Emirates, including fishing, was a minor part of the UAE economy in the early 1990s, contributing less than 4 percent of GDP. Since the formation of the UAE, the availability of capital and the demand for fresh produce have encouraged agricultural development. The main farming areas are Digdaga in Ras al-Khaimah. Falaj al Mualla in Umm al Qawain, Wadi adh Dhayd in Sharjah, Al Awir in Dubai and the coastal area of Al Fujairah. Total cultivable land was around 70,000 hectares as of the early 1990s.
Building-integrated agriculture (BIA) is the practice of locating high-performance hydroponic greenhouse farming systems on and in mixed-use buildings to exploit synergies between the built environment and agriculture.
A Windowfarm is a hydroponic urban gardening system that was originally developed by Britta Riley using open-source designs. A Windowfarm is an indoor garden that allows for year-round growing in almost any window. It lets plants use natural light, the climate control of your living space, and organic “liquid soil.”
The Plants for Human Health Institute (PHHI) is a North Carolina State University based research and education organization located at the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis, North Carolina, United States. The PHHI researches food crops, like fruits and vegetables, and the potential health-promoting properties they may convey when consumed.
New York Sun Works, founded in 2004 by Ted Caplow, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that uses hydroponic farming technology to educate students and teachers about the science of sustainability. Their Hydroponic Classroom program was inspired by NY Sun Works' first project, the renowned Science Barge, a prototype sustainable urban farm and environmental education center previously docked on the Hudson River and now located in Yonkers under different ownership.
Lufa Farms is an urban agricultural company located in the Ville Saint-Laurent neighborhood of Montreal, Quebec. The company states its mission is to grow food where people live and grow it more sustainably. The company, founded in 2009, has installed commercial greenhouses on the rooftops of several large industrial buildings in the greater Montreal area.
Theodore "Ted" Caplow is an American social entrepreneur, environmental engineer, and inventor. He is the founder of greenhouse science lab provider New York Sun Works and the co-founder of AgTech supply-chain disruptor BrightFarms. Caplow's pioneering work in urban agriculture and vertical farming began with the Science Barge in Yonkers, New York (NY). Caplow has also patented a Vertically Integrated Greenhouse. Caplow subsequently co-founded Caplow|Manzano in 2017 with Nathalie Manzano to pursue innovations in resilient housing design and sustainable building technology. As an academic, Caplow holds a Ph.D. in engineering from Columbia University and has published a series of peer-reviewed articles on water contaminant dynamics in the Hudson River Estuary, in addition to articles on Building-integrated agriculture.
BrightFarms is an American indoor farming company headquartered in Irvington, New York. It grows and supplies local, non-GMO, pesticide-free, and fresh salad greens to supermarkets. The produce is grown in computer-controlled hydroponic greenhouses.
Eden Green Technology is an agricultural technology company headquartered in the city of Cleburne, TX. The company develops and manufactures hydroponic vertical growing systems for commercial food crops and research and development greenhouses. In 2021, the company recently received a $12 million investment which will help open up a new facility.
Bowery Farming is a New York-based vertical farming and digital agriculture company with farms in New Jersey, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. It grows and delivers pesticide-free lettuce, leafy greens, and herbs. The largest vertical farming operation in the United States, it serves major retailers at over 850 locations throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, including Whole Foods and Walmart, and supports local, fresh produce supply for a number of food-delivery companies.
AppHarvest, Inc. is an American food production company developing and operating indoor farms in Appalachia. The company operates a 60-acre tomato farm in Morehead, Kentucky, with plans to operate an additional 3 farms across Kentucky.
Hydrofarm Inc. (HYFM) is an American company specializing in the distribution and manufacture of controlled environment agriculture equipment and supplies.
