Hydroponic Farming; The How and Why
Published: 09/09/24
Updated: 01/09/25
Literally translated from Greek, hydroponic means “water working,” derived from the words “hydro” (water) and “ponos” (labor). Hydroponic farming, as its name implies, is a type of agriculture that relies on water to grow produce, eliminating the need for soil. The water in a hydroponic farm is doing the “labor” of providing nutrients. As long as you have the necessary equipment, you can grow fresh food anywhere, including indoors
Veris Residential’s communities in Jersey City are home to three hydroponic farms, with a fourth “mini” farm located in our corporate office. The first farm was constructed at The BLVD Collection in May of 2022, with farms at Haus25 and Liberty Towers following soon after. Once these farms are established in our communities, we work with farmers at Green Food Solutions to provide residents with a weekly harvest of fresh, local, nutrient-rich produce while educating them about this innovative technology.
Hydroponics: Definition and History
In hydroponic farming, plants absorb all of the nourishment they would ordinarily glean from soil from a nutrient-rich, water-based solution. In other words, if we have the right mixture of ingredients within our water, ample light and enough power to run the farm, we could realistically grow many kinds of plants anywhere we wanted—from apartments to space stations!
Sounds revolutionary, right? But in actuality, Dr William F Gericke coined the term “hydroponics” in 1924, exactly a hundred years ago. In fact, waterless farming methods date back even earlier than that. Throughout the 19th century, scientists studied ‘nutriculture,’ the science of growing plants without soil in the lab. These researchers contributed greatly to Dr Gericke’s work, especially Julius von Sachs, who published a formula for a nutrient solution that could successfully grow plants without soil in 1860. (The solution contains nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, potassium, calcium and magnesium, if you were curious).
Believe it or not, the history actually goes back even further! There are ancient historical records of hydroponic farming methods being used by the dynastic Chinese, the Aztec empire, and even the ancient Greeks, Egyptians, and Bablyonians. The famous Hanging Gardens of Babylon are purported to be one of the earliest instances of hydroponic farming.
Today, two systems of hydroponic farming have proven most popular.
ACTIVE SYSTEM
An active hydroponics system relies on pumps to circulate nutrients between a reservoir and the roots of the growing plants. Any excess nutrients flow back into the reservoir with this system, ensuring there is no wastage. It may sound simple, but this system is usually more complex to construct and maintain than passive systems.
PASSIVE SYSTEM
Rather than relying on pumps, a passive system uses controlled natural factors such as gravity or capillary systems to allow nutrients to reach the roots of the plants, which are suspended in the solution. When using this system, the water must be changed frequently, and algae can form within the water thanks to the absence of pumps and motion. Nevertheless, since it does not require pumps, it is considered the easier of the two methods to work with.
The Benefits
We decided to implement hydroponics into Veris communities knowing that hydroponic farms grow three times faster and produce 30% more yield than traditional agricultural methods. They also use zero pesticides and zero herbicides by implementing organic, integrative pest management. While hydroponic farms cannot yet properly produce vines, tall plants and deep-rooted plants, they can yield a high quantity of other high-quality crops—crops that can be grown much closer to high-population areas than traditional farms.
Without soil, there is no risk of plants becoming infected by terrestrial diseases. The controlled environment can keep out other kinds of ailments, as well as pests, eliminating the need for pesticides. Furthermore, while traditional farming requires large amounts of water to replace what is lost in evaporation and any irrigation system failures, active system hydroponics recycles the same water solution through its pump system.
When it came to choosing whether or not to set up hydroponic farms within Veris communities, there were a few factors that truly sealed the deal. For one, since they have no soil involved and can be crafted on as small a scale as need be, they were relatively easy to install and to maintain within our communities. Additionally, we can grow crops year-round, giving our residents fresh produce regardless of the season. The first Veris Farm at The BLVD Collection yielded 718 pounds of produce and 3,131 bags for the community’s residents in 2022. In 2023, the farms across our communities yielded 704.05 pounds of produce and 4,704 bags, and so far in 2024, we’ve already distributed 733 pounds and 4,498 bags. That’s a lot of food!
Residents of Veris communities with hydroponic farms are welcome to harvest crops weekly with the help of Green Food Solution’s professional farmers. While hydroponic farms are just one of the many amenities we provide to our residents, they are one of our favorites. We’re excited to be able to provide produce that keeps residents at Veris communities healthy and thriving.
