Look at these lettuces, growing in a green house without the benefit of a soil. A hydroponics plant growth system basically consists of a circular nutrient supply module, a circular plant prop module, a pump positioned in the supply module to circulate liquid nutrient upwardly into the prop module, and a distributor unit to convey the liquid nutrient from the pump to the prop module and contact it with plant roots.
Next year being a Shmita year, in which we’re not allowed to harvest and sell anything that grows from the soil, I’m naturally drawn to articles and videos on the field of Hydroponics.
Researchers discovered in the 18th century that plants absorb essential mineral nutrients as inorganic ions in water. The soil acts as a mineral nutrient reservoir for plants, but the soil itself is not essential to plant growth.
When the mineral nutrients in the soil dissolve in water, plant roots are able to absorb them. When the required mineral nutrients are introduced into a plant’s water supply artificially, soil is no longer required for the plant to thrive. Almost any plant will grow with hydroponics.
And, like I said – Shmita-proof.