What Is the Origin of Hydroponics?
Hydroponics is a technique for growing plants without soil. Although its origins are ancient, advances in the 19th century laid the groundwork for modern developments. Does this Spark an idea?
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Egyptian Hydroponics
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Hieroglyphic records suggest that the Egyptians grew plants in water around 1460 B.C.
Babylonian Hydroponics
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The hanging gardens of Babylon (circa 600 B.C.) are thought to have employed sand culture, a simple form of hydroponics.
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Aztec Floating Gardens
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In the1500s Spanish observers reported that the Aztecs started seedlings in floating beds that could be moved around on fresh water lagoons.
Chinese Hydroponics
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After returning from China in the late 1200s, Marco Polo reported seeing plants growing in floating beds.
Eurpopean Advancements
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From 1600 to 1800, Francis Bacon, Jan van Helmont, Robert Boyle, John Woodward, Nicolas de Saussure and Jean Boussingault each made scientific contributions that would eventually lead to hydroponics.
Scientific Water Culture of Plants
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Early in the 1860s two German researchers, Julius von Sachs and J. A. L. W. Knop, succeeded in growing plants completely in an aqueous nutrient solution, calling their method "nutriculture."
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Comments
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The Aztec's 'floating gardens' is not an example of hyroponics. The appearance was that the land was floating on the lake but in reality, the Aztec people were building up shallow parts of the lake with soil and growing the plants in the built up 'island'. It is a common mistake because of the name it was given. It is known as the Chinampa System.
