SOILLESS ORGANIC AGRICULTURE
HYDROPONIC (TECHNOLOGIC) GREENHOUSE
Hydroponic is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions in water without using soil. It is a subset of hydroculture. Terrestrial plants may be grown in mineral nutrient solution or in an inert medium such as perlite, gravel, mineral wool, expanded clay and coconut shells with their roots.
Greenhouse is shortly described as “facilities where plant and flower cultivation can be done economically throughout the entire year without depending on climate”.
In addition to this, plastic mulches, surface covers, cushions, low and high tunnels that eliminate negative impacts of environmental conditions for growing plants are defined as “Plant Cultivation Under a Cover” together with greenhouses, they cannot be qualified as greenhouses.
Greenhouses are covered structures that can allow controlling all climate factors and they are a highly systematic technology of cultivation under a cover which is done in various forms using light transparent materials such as glass, plastic, etc. with the purpose of producing various culture plants and their seeds, seedling and saplings and protecting and exhibiting plants by means of keeping factors such as temperature, light, humidity and air under control when required without being completely or partially dependent on climate related environmental conditions.
Fresh vegetables, fruits and flowers cannot be grown on the field and garden in every season of the year, but it is necessary that those are eaten freshly in every season for human health.
The importance that the vegetables are fresh for human health is the vitamins, hormones, bases, minerals and biochemical agents in them.
Although preserving the vegetables and fruits by freezing offers a solution to consuming them off-season to some extent, vegetables which are frozen, preserved in cold storages, canned or dried lose many features compared to fresh ones.
In seasons when the environmental conditions are not favourable for growth and development of vegetables and flowers, cultivation of fresh vegetables and flowers can only be ensured by planning and establishing special facilities described as greenhouses in which suitable conditions are created for growth of these plants in the best way.
Benefits of greenhouse cultivation can be listed as follows:
- In addition to increasing the number of culture plants grown within the year by extending the growth period, the opportunities of benefitting from certain areas increases.
- It is possible to supply goods to the market continuously.
- In addition to getting high productivity from unit area, the quality of the product is increased as well.
- Labour use which is seen in agricultural organizations and which is seasonal can be evaluated as regular and continuous with greenhouse.
- It leads to emergence of new industrial branches for manufacturing various items required for building greenhouses.
