Plant Production in Closed Ecosystems

Growing greenhouse vegetables is one of the most exacting and intense forms of all agricultural enterprises. In combination with greenhouses, hydroponics is becoming increasingly popular, especially in the United States, western Europe, and Japan. It is high technology and capital intensive. It is highly productive, conservative of water and land and protective of the environment. For production of leafy vegetables and herbs, deep flow hydroponics is common. For growing row crops such as tomato, cucumber, and pepper, the two most popular artificial growing media are rockwool and perlite. Computers today operate hundreds of devices within a greenhouse by utilizing dozens of input parameters, to maintain the most desired growing environment. The technology of greenhouse food production is changing rapidly with systems today producing yields never before realized. The future for hydroponic/soilless cultured systems appears more positive today than any time over the last 50 years.