Looking at Soil and Hydroponic Methods: Through the Lens of History

Looking at Soil and Hydroponic Methods: Through the Lens of History

One of the biggest arguments put forward on various online grow forums is that soil based gardening is better because it is ‘ traditional’ – posters talk about how farmers have practiced soil based plant growing for “thousands of years” – what’s usually not mentioned is that although the earliest gardeners might not have experimented with water-based agriculture, hydroponics has also been around for a long time.

There is a big line to draw between our early ancestors, who had only the basic knowledge, skills and tools to drop a seed into a pile of dirt, and the more sophisticated growers of the many centuries preceding the industrial revolution.

Hydroponics History

The Hanging Gardens of ancient Babylon are just one example of types of evidence that suggest hydroponics being practiced in the earliest centuries of the A.D. era. Egyptian records also show some references to water-based cultivation of plants. But beyond the actual historical record, there is a great likelihood that many other kinds of gardeners experimented with hydroponics well before it was officially “documented’ in the last four centuries.

Many different types of theories can lead to the idea that relatively ancient societies would have been compelled to try hydroponic gardening. One is the link between the classic “four elements” (air, water, earth and fire) and the way that medicine and science worked for many centuries. Well before the adoption of more sophisticated scientific theories, an elemental view was common across many societies. It’s likely that some of the more advanced “healers” and thinkers of those times would have considered a hydroponics approach as a natural and powerful way to manipulate nature toward their own goals.

For information on how to create a more modern type of hydro project, ask your hydroponics retailer about the best new technologies for practicing a type of gardening that is actually pretty “traditional.”