...Deborah Jacobellis Ms. Chotiwat-Floyd English 1101 18 March 2014 Hydroponic Gardening Hydroponic gardening is a timeless entity that has been with us since man first started to plant crops. It is feasible that one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon was one of the earth first hydroponic gardens. The Hutchinson Pocket Dictionary of Difficult Words defines hydroponics, “hydroponics n. cultivation of plants without soil, by supporting them in chemical solution containing all ingredients necessary for growth” (425). In other words, hydroponics is the process of growing plants in sand, gravel, vermiculite, perlite, or liquid with added nutrients to water. A concept of growing plants without playing in the soil scares some people. The thought that a setup this simple may be answer to the world’s food shortages, is astonishing. Teaching Hydroponics in our schools and encouraging it in our community is good for everyone. Murali Mugundhan is a huge endorser of Hydroponics because he sees first-hand how it is changing his world. Mugundhan states that “improper agricultural practice which altered the soil pH, synthetic fertilizers, pesticides which drastically reduced the soil flora and fertility which made a quench for the new alternative technique for obtaining the food and medicinal plants of better quality, yield and for growing fresh produce in non-arable areas of the world”(286). I agree with Mugundha, the current agriculture system in the United...
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...SUSTAINABLE GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN Dr. Simon Croom An overview of the supply chain process and sustainable practices of a local producer and marketer of gourmet vegetables Final Project – Group No.5 Bogotá D.C., 13 de julio de 2014 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 2. THE BEGINNING 3.1. Products 3.2. Market 3.3. Supply Chain 3. AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS 4.4. Covered crops 4.5. Open field 4.6. Hydroponics 4. CREATING VALUE THROUGH A SUSTAINABLE SUPPLY CHAIN 5.7. Innovation 5.8. Social 5.9. Environmental 5. WATER USE OPTIMIZATION AND INNOVATION IN DEFRESCURA 5.1. DEFRESCURA and hydroponic systems 5.2. DEFRESCURA water foot print CONCLUSION REFERENCES DEFRESCURA: An overview of the supply chain process and sustainable practices of a local producer and marketer of gourmet vegetables 1. INTRODUCTION “Colombian consumers have become much more aware of the benefits of healthy eating habits. However, the extent to which they can act on that growing awareness is based, in large part, on income levels. Healthy options are simply more expensive than many less healthy options. In fact, demand for organic food is low among consumers in all income segments and it is not common to see organic products or healthy options on the shelves of most supermarkets and grocery stores. On the other hand, there has been increased demand among Colombian consumers for so called ethical...
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...high-rises are the last places we would expect to find the seeds of a green revolution. Vertical farms are promising a new, environmentally friendly way to feed the rapidly increasing populations of cities worldwide. Green Spirit Farms (GFS) of New Buffalo, Michigan is the world’s largest vertical farm is ready to open up shop in Scranton. It is a single storey covering 3.25 hectares, but with racks stacked six high it will house 17 million plants. And it is just one of a growing number. A vertical farm enables to grow food year round in high rise urban buildings, reducing the need for the carbon emitting transport of fruit and vegetables. Vertical farming will reduce water consumption; plants in vertical farming can be fed by soil-free hydroponic systems and lit by LEDs that mimic sunlight. We can control supply of nutrients like light and water by using control software. By using this software a farmer can monitor the whole apparatus from a smart phone. This will increase the number of crops per year. United Nations predicts that 86% of developed world’s people will live in urban areas by 2050. vertical farming can make food supplies more secure because it can continue producing even during extreme weather conditions. And they don’t need...
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...Aquaponics—Integration of Hydroponics with Aquaculture A Publication of ATTRA—National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service • 1-800-346-9140 • www.attra.ncat.org By Steve Diver NCAT Agriculture Specialist Published 2006 Updated by Lee Rinehart, NCAT Agriculture Specialist © 2010 NCAT Aquaponics is a bio-integrated system that links recirculating aquaculture with hydroponic vegetable, flower, and/or herb production. Recent advances by researchers and growers alike have turned aquaponics into a working model of sustainable food production. This publication provides an introduction to aquaponics with brief profiles of working units around the country. An extensive list of resources points the reader to print and Web-based educational materials for further technical assistance. Introduction Contents Introduction ..................... 1 Aquaponics: Key Elements and Considerations ............... 2 Aquaponic Systems ...... 3 Organic Aquaculture .................. 11 Evaluating an Aquaponic Enterprise ........................ 12 References ...................... 13 Resources ....................... 13 Appendix I: Bibliography on Aquaponics ............. 20 Appendix II: Dissertations ................. 25 A quaponics, also known as the integration of hydroponics with aquaculture, is gaining increased attention as a bio-integrated food production system. Aquaponics serves as a model of sustainable food production by fol low ing certain principles: • The waste products...
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...utilized by plants that are grown through hydroponic system. In return, the plants help to purify the water of the waste products, making it conducive for the farmed animals. This technology-based farming heavily relies on the concept of symbiosis, with each member of the Aquaponics system benefiting another member of the same system in one way or the other. For instance, the farmed fish metabolize ingested nutrients and release waste product. Accumulation of such waste materials in the water would render it unsuitable for habitation and would thus result in the death of the aquatic organisms. The introduction of the plant component in the system exploits the nutrients in these wastes for plant metabolism. Consequently, the plant is able to obtain vital nutrients to facilitate its survival. On the other hand, the utilization of the wastes as sources of nutrients for the plants detoxifies the water hence ensuring survival of the fish and other aquatic organisms. The symbiotic process is thus circular and continuous. Parts of the Aquaponic System The aquaponic system can be utilized for subsistence or commercial production of fish and plants. In all cases, however, the system must have specific components and designs. Generally, the system can be classified into two sections; the aquaculture section and the hydroponic section. The former part is vital in raring fish and aquatic animals (Backyard Aquaponics, 2012). On the other hand, the hydroponic component is vital in plant production...
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...International Management (Fall Semester) Individual Case Write Up 1: Amazon Goes Global 1. Why did Amazon choose the United Kingdom as its first entry location? Why not other countries such as Canada and Austrlia? With the emergence of a global marketplace, Amazon has since ridden on the waves of the opportunities that comes with globalisation. After more than a decade of expansion, Amazon’s international operations accounted for about 43 per cent of its revenue, bringing in $26.28 billion in 2012. This shows the significance of targeting the international markets. However, entry into foreign market does not come without risks and costs that resulted from barriers created by distance. The CAGE Framework of distance by Ghemawat explained distance as 4 main attributes – Cultural, Administrative, Geographic, Economic.1 To address these risks and costs, it is crucial to first assess the extent and type of differences between the USA market and the United Kingdom market. Amazon’s entry into United Kingdom (UK) can be attributed to minimal distance and various similarities, which allowed Amazon to significantly reduce risks and costs. Primarily, the UK market has a lot of similarities to the US market in terms of cultural, administrative and economic distance. UK has the second most number of native English speakers (60 million), after US (231 million), and is also the place where English was first spoken. Since books were the primary products sold by Amazon, the similarity...
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...are developing with hydroponics, first you should comprehend what hydroponics is. Hydroponics is basic. Hydroponics is developing with water rather than soil. Normally a client includes gathered supplements into the water, reenacting the composts found in soil. With hydroponics you have a great deal more control over your develop then you do with soil, on the grounds that essentially including the perfect measure of supplements in the water ensures that you will have the appropriate measure of sustenance for your plants. In soil it can be a great deal more hard to analyze when you are short mineral follow components, since you truly don't realize what was lost in the first place. However when utilizing hydroponics supplements are pre-blended with precisely the perfect...
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...Abstract Hydroponics is a method where the roots or the half of the shoot system of the plants are subjected to water which itself will become the growing medium of the mentioned plant. Moreover, this kind of technique is used mostly by soil less society wherein scarcity in soil has been a distress also to the results of modernization. In relation to that is Aeration, a process of applying Oxygen amounts in a Hydroponics system. The researchers plan to investigate the effect of Aeration to the growth of the subjected plants. The students are also aimed to promote the concept of Hydroponics with an alternative source of Oxygen. In the study, Plants such as Kinchay and Mung beans were planted in two containers A and B and tested for five days. An ordinary Air pump was used in Container A as a supply of Oxygen which will be induced to water. Records were tabulated and posted in different tables. Results include that Plant A and Mung bean C have more changes consisting of root elongation and branching activity. On the findings, Plant A has 0.6 mm primary root improvement compared to the 0.3 mm improvement of Plant B. Based on the observations, Plant C has more maturity than in Plant D. Such records show that the Oxygen induced water...
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...Hydroponic gardens grow hale and hearty crops with highest yields and vitamin content, thanks to their faultlessly balanced nutrient solutions and growing environments. Modern hydroponic methods make available food for millions of people all over the world, furnishing us with superior quality produce, even out of season. The National Horticulture Board and the National Horticulture mission by the Government of India provide substantial financial aid and subsidies on these type of projects. The Universities around the country are running various specialized training programs for farmers and young entrepreneurs and charge negligible...
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...Hydroponics are a type of farming system of growing plants with nutrient filled water without the need of soil (Sahin, 2014). The purpose of this is to improve agriculture without the control of economic stress along with saving natural resources. The system is environmentally-friendly because it does not require fertilizer, which is a huge contributor of potent chemicals in the atmosphere and geosphere, and it saves a significant amount of water by recycling it (Sahin, 2014). Because hydroponics has a variety of different systems, it can be built from a small to large scale but all serving the same purpose of using water and not soil. Either big or small, hydroponics are managed in a controlled environment therefore making it easy to manage and make changes according to the desired pH, moisture and temperature to sustain plant growth (Sahin, 2014). It also does not take up as much space as the traditional water-and-soil systems, making it an ideal method to grow plants in a smaller or limited space. Although it is an all water-based horticulture, water is used in a reduced amount and recycled around the system. That also has an indirect relation to different habitats interfering with plant growth and carbon emissions due to less food miles. Growing lettuce in a hydroponic system uses only 10% of the regular amount of water needed to grow lettuce in soil (Merrill, 2011). Hydroponics has a potential to save water but also to expand...
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...CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION A. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY The Philippines is one of the world’s “mega biodiversity” countries, rich in both fauna and flora, and even if we are rich in all of these, the sector of our agriculture is now facing many kinds of problems. With the big mass of population in our country which is about 101,664,929 as of Monday, February 15, 2016, based on the latest United Nations estimates, this only shows that more and more, our country’s employment and economy will be dependent in the sector of agriculture. We all currently rely on industrial agriculture to produce the majority of the food we eat; this type of agriculture is facing problems that may threaten its future. The use of inorganic fertilizers in industrial farming also causes soil pollution. These reasons spur the researchers to undertake this study. The researchers will investigate how commercial fertilizers affect in the growth of Pechay, and the acidity of the soil. Modern fertilizer consists of varying amounts of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). These three are believed to be essential for plants to grow, and are extracted from the soil with each harvest. This is why farmers spread fertilizer on their fields, to replace the nutrients lost. It’s certainly not the ideal and sustainable way to farm, but it’s thought to be the most efficient for large-scale farms. Strategies like crop rotation and allowing large fields to rest would cut too deep into profits that are based on quantity...
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...The Relationship of Carbonated Water, in a Hydroponic Solution, and the Growth and Productivity of a Bean Plant. Introduction: Photosynthesis is the process that plants use to convert light energy into chemical energy. The chemical energy is stored in glucose. The chemical reaction for photosynthesis is: 6CO2 + 6H2O (+ light energy) → C6H12O6 + 6O2. Glucose needs UV light, carbon dioxide, and water to form. The UV light from and water is absorbed into the plant by the leaves of the plant. In the mesophyll cells of the leaves, organelles called the chloroplasts contain chlorophyll that absorbs the energy from light (Campbell and Lawrence, 1999). Chlorophyll looks green because it absorbs red and blue light; it is the green light which is not absorbed that is reflected. The CO2 for photosynthesis comes from the atmosphere, and it is absorbed by the stomata of the plants (Campbell and Lawrence, 1999). Stomata are pores that open and contract to allow the CO2 to enter and O2 to exit (Campbell and Lawrence, 1999). While it is most common for CO2 to be absorbed by the leaf of the plants, there is evidence that suggests that CO2 can be absorbed by the roots of the plants (Makino and Tadahiko, 1999). Plants have an optimal range for the amount of CO2 they can absorb, and it increase the growth rate of the plant (Poorter, 1993). When a plant reaches its saturation point, consequently; the CO2 will have a negative effect on the plant and inhibit its growth (Poorter 1993). Growth...
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...If you're an indoor marijuana grower, hydroponics ballasts are essential to your cannabis grow room. In the past few years, the ballast industry has given us digital ballasts, dimmable ballasts, and other ballast features. Back in the day growers used to employ really large and heavy equipment like the loud magnetic ballasts. With the digital ballasts you now have the exceptional benefit of using a smaller, less noisy piece of technology that gives your marijuana plants better cooling conditions and at the same time it saves on your energy consumption. Now we're giving you a detailed list of the best hydroponics digital ballasts you can use in your marijuana grow room. Let’s start off with the Gravita Pro 1000. Gavita PRO 1000W Dimmable...
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...Analysis of Michael Pollan’s Essay “The Food Movement, Rising” Michael Pollan wrote an article entitled “The Food Movement, Rising”. This article talks about how food impacts many facets in the nation including politics, society and family. In this article he shares how food is not just about food and is a much larger issue than meets the eye. He talks about how the issues of food have impacted the country and therefore the world (Pollan). Then, he breaks the issues down on macro and micro levels, focusing on the impact of food on politics, society, and family. Finally, he points out the real cost of food, directly and indirectly. I agree with Michael Pollan about the ongoing issues with food and I am against industrial agriculture too. Americans have not had to think very hard about where their food comes from, or what it is doing to the planet, their bodies, and their society. (Pollan) Pollan points out the exact current problems about food. He believes that people should eat better food. However, Pollan neglects to mention that it was a problem hundred years ago, and it is still a problem today. He points out in his article that food in America has been invisible as an issue until the early 1970s, when food price inflation pushed the topic to be an important national agenda. He mentions that “before this food was never an issue to be discussed in America because it was available at cheap prices”. Also, Americans were completely ignorant of what was the bigger cost they...
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...fruits and vegetables, and recycles water. We feed our plants through a water-conserving hydroponic system. A number of plants sit in tubs filled with nutrient solutions that help the plants flourish. These plants are sprayed with aeroponic mist that acts like water for the plants; the cycle rotates every hour. By keeping our farming in a closed system, we don’t have to worry about natural disturbances, such as wind and the release of harmful materials into the ocean. In Monwa, we also raise mackerel, a nutritious fish. Mackerel contains essential oils, such as omega-3 and omega-6, which prevent colon cancers. CoQ10, Vitamins A, B6, B12, C, E, and K are found in mackerel. These vitamins prevent diseases such as cell damage and improve cellular health. We farm these fish in containers called fish farming pods. Fish farming pods are spheres that float from lines that separate out from our flower city. Fish farming pods create a better environment than regular ocean farming. Using nanotechnology, we are able to monitor the environment of the fish and stabilize it according to the lack or excess amount of a necessary nutrient. This process yields healthier fish that will never have any diseases or infections and would be harmless and nutritious for our citizens. All of our farming is interconnected in order to help our city operate smoothly. We use aquaponics, which is a combination of hydroponics and fish farming. Aquaponics allows the water of the fish, filled with nutrients, to be...
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