The lousy economy over the past few years boasts a silver lining in the temperate Floridian climate where I live. Some folks who lost their jobs have started small farms or expanded existing ones, many of them growing local, organic produce.
While this is a fantastic turn of events, unfortunately, some of these farms have chosen to grow organic hydroponics instead of soil based produce.
Why do I use the word “unfortunately” and “organic” in the same sentence, you may ask?
The reason is because organic hydroponic produce produces big, watery fruit that is very low in mineral content. In a nutshell, organic hydroponics is not nutrient dense food and is basically a waste of money!
The essential problem with hydroponic farming arises through its use of a mineral based solution to grow and nourish the plants instead of soil. Some hydroponic operations even rely on artificial lighting. Proponents of organic hydroponics claim that their produce is just as good as organic produce grown in soil. Such claims are extremely short sighted. To actually assume that an artificial growing environment could ever come close to the perfection of nature is just plain silly!
No mineral solution can ever take the place of black, worm filled, organic soil that is carefully tended and worked by the farmer season after season.
Organic Hydroponics Test Poor Nutritionally
The proof that organic hydroponic produce is relatively nutritionless can be easily and quickly measured with an instrument called a refractometer. Nutritional measurement is performed by squeezing a couple of drops of liquid from the produce to be tested onto the prism of the refractometer and reading the results. The juice should be from the part of the plant that you would actually eat, not the stem or the roots, for example.
The refractometer (click here for a picture of one) measures the amount of carbohydrate and dissolved minerals in the juice. Sweeter, riper produce will therefore test higher brix than unripe produce. Calcium is one of the minerals that increases substantially in high brix produce. The minerals in high brix produce are readily and easily assimilated when eaten because they are in naturally chelated form. This means they are attached to amino acids and are biologically active unlike the same minerals found in a rock, for example.
High Brix Produce Tastes Better
Animals instinctively prefer high brix plants. Cows given a choice of hay will choose the one with higher brix. Cows which graze on high brix grass will produce more nutrient dense milk, butter, and cream too!
Given a choice, humans will choose high brix produce as well because the taste is so much better! Taste will always tell you if the produce is high brix or not. Ever had tomato sauce made from 15 brix tomatoes? It is an experience you will never forget! Organic hydroponic tomatoes generally test at a measly 2 or 3.
Pathetic indeed for the organic price premium you pay per pound!
High Brix Produce Lasts a Long Time Without Rotting
High brix produce is resistant to insects, disease and rot. Have you ever noticed how that box of organic hydroponic strawberries from the store looked so beautiful on the shelf but a mere 2 days later, the berries have developed large spots of rot that have to be cut away?
Produce that rots quickly is indicative of low nutrition, poor quality fruit – organic or not!
What to Choose? (Hint: NOT Organic Hydroponics)
Even local produce grown in soil using conventional means will generally beat out organic hydroponics when measured for mineral content. This is why I tell folks to seek out local produce at farmer’s markets that is grown in dirt, not hydroponically. Buying at farmers’ markets is a great way to seek out quality produce as you can ask the farmer directly how the produce was grown.
Ultimately, the highest brix produce I’ve ever come across is from people’s personal gardens. Working the soil on a small, personal patch of ground yourself is an activity that consistently produces spectacular results. My Mother-in-Law in Australia has a small garden that has the thickest layer of worm filled, black dirt I’ve ever seen. She has been working this soil with compost and other natural fertilizers for over 10 years. There is no doubt that the produce she grows in this dirt is more nutritious and higher brix than any organic produce to be found at the store!
So, actively seek out high brix produce, not just organic and especially not organic hydroponics. Your taste buds and your wallet will thank you.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
Sources and More Information
Weston A. Price Foundation
4 Steps to Keep Monsanto OUT of Your Garden!
Heirloom vs Hybrid Produce
Hydroponic Invasion of USDA Organic
In aquaponics, the nutrients that the plants normally derive from the soil are simply dissolved into water or another liquid instead, and depending on the type of aquaponics system used, the plant’s roots are suspended in, flooded with or misted with the nutrient solution so that the plant can derive the elements it needs for growth. The same goes for taste. Hydroponics farming also uses up as little as 1/20 of the water conventional dirt farming uses, so it is also more eco-friendly. With hydroponics, 1 plant will have a larger yield per harvest, and they grow faster. With hydroponics, you can eliminate conventional farming issues such as pests in the dirt, poor soil drainage and salt build-up from fertilizing soil. It also allows gardeners to grow plants/fish in environments that wouldn’t otherwise support them, such as gardens with poor soil or even indoors. Gardeners can grow plants and fish out of season to enjoy year-round vegetables, fish, or flowers, too. The careful control of the environment that goes along with a aquaponics system can eliminate problems such as lighting and temperature issues as well.That’s why in Australia, hydroponics is commonplace. They made the good decision.
I will grow some greens hydroponically since they grows fast and give me a bit extra to eat. But in term of fruits like tomatoes I will never grow hydroponic again. There is zero comparison, hydroponic tomatoes to me are very watery, not very sweet and more acidic compared to soil grown.
Just researching hydroponic tomatoes as we have been buying them off season. Right now we use garden tomatoes but most of the year they aren’t available here. This winter we tried hydros and found them to be far tastier than any thing else we could get, close to fresh. BUT they were not organic. Perhaps that is the difference. For folks on a budget organic is not always a great option and as a (non veggie) farmer I have observed that organic is sometimes not what it claims to be. Organic is difficult and the prices attractive. Buy local from a farmer you trust. Enough said.
Did it ever dawn on any of you that perhaps you might not be getting properly grown? Or as in ALL produce, they could have had some form of issue in shipping or been sitting on the shelf a bit longer than normal?
So quick to shoot it down, yet with the ever growing population worldwide along side dwindling quality water supply hydroponics are the only answer to sustain life on the planet.
Sounds like the equally ridiculous argument that GMOs are going to feed a starving world.
You can’t argue with TASTE. Hydroponic produce tastes bland, rots quickly (indication of subpar nutritional quality) and is nothing like produce grown in soil. Consumers are wising up.
The very sound of organic soil gardening brings visions of bat guano, red wigglers and frothy ccompos tea to the minds of most veggie gardeners that understand all that constitutes fantastic growing soils.
However, myself being an all around gardener, I utilize both conventional Organic Soil Gardening and Non organic hydro styles as well. For this article to blast one style or another is a little ridiculous. Peronally I’ve found hydroponics can create outstanding products that look and taste fabulous. In addition to using less space, about the a1/3 less (if not more) of water and less maintenance/ physical labor!
I think the part that gets me most about this article is the blatant lie that claims hydroponicaly grown food has less nutrient values. This is simply not true and unfortunate that someone would post misinformation in this manner.
Long and short of it is grow your own food! It’ fun, relieves stress and makes for better meals. Find a grow system that works for your style. Eat healthy, be healthy and live longer! Soil, Hydro, Aquaponics, NFT, DWC, it really doesn’t matter. It’s all much better better than what you grocery stores are importing from the far stretches of the universe.
Happy Gardening!
Organic Heed 🙂
I’ve never tasted a hydroponically grown anything that tastes anywhere close to a quality product grown in soil. Hydroponics is killing the organic industry as it is turning people off with low quality, tasteless produce that costs a fortune.
People who embrace organic, labor intensive agriculture and badmouth other forms of agriculture are very biased.
They are either very stubborn people or they have a lot of stakes in traditional organic farming.
Hydroponic doesn’t even deserve to be called organic as it pretty much never is. The USDA organic program allows it but it was never recommended or supported by the original and REAL organic movement.
You mean the certified organic program that allows HUMAN waste to be processed & used as a fertilizer?? No thanks, I’ll grow my own however I want and feel much safer
wow!! I am shocked at the bias in this post. I must say I have been growing hydroponics in my New England basement for 4 years and no deer or gophers have ever eaten my crops, nor have I been bothered by the several tomato blights that have blown through. I use way less water too, which would be a plus in the drought stricken Western states now. But the one thing I want to mention is the TASTE!!! It blows people away. People tell me all the time that my salads are the most flavorful they have ever eaten. My rainbow chard is so strongly rainbow chard flavored that people didn’t even know it could taste that chard-y. My arugula tastes like arugula on steroids. People are always asking me to grow them something because the taste is so LOUD on their tastebuds. Even my strawberries. I have no idea what kind of hyrodponic produce this author has eaten, but clearly she hasn’t eaten mine, and on a cold day in January in NH when I can pick my own fresh grown tasty rainbow chard and kale, i say a big $$#$$#T you to whoever doesn’t get it. I’m sorry that you can’t come out of your comfort zones. Dirt just holds the plants up. they need water and nutrients. Dirt provides that. So does rock wool. Both hold water and deliver nutrients. Open your minds….
Hydroponic produce rots easily, is tasteless and frequently downright gross and lacks nutrition of the same produce grown in healthy soil. The folly of hydroponics is the reason store bought organic produce is such low quality compared with only a few years ago.
I think people would take your assertions more seriously if you were able to link to provide evidence to back up your claims
My claim? My tastebuds … they don’t lie. Organic hydroponics taste horrible and they rot quickly in the refigerator. I don’t need a scientific study to tell me they are nutritionless as these are the signs of low nutrition in produce!
I bought apples from costco, lasted two months in my fridge and never changed at all. The apple off my neighbors trees won’t make it two days before rotting. rotting is supposed to happen to food that is proper.
Apples aren’t hydroponic from what I have read.
What’s the pride in letting hormone-drug-up water to do all the work for you? Hydroponic gardening did’nt just take the soil away from gardening, it also took the soul away from gardening.
Yes, because HORMONES are used to grow vegetables. Oh wait, no they aren’t, hormones don’t affect plants.
“A hormone (from Greek ὁρμή, “impetus”) is any member of a class of signaling molecules produced by glands in multicellular organisms that are transported by the circulatory system to target distant organs to regulate physiology and behaviour.”
What brand of hydro mix do you use?
Hello, although your comment is partially true, it is not fully true. SOME fruits may have fewer nutrients. Most vegetables have the same, lettuces are just as good hydroponic as earth grown. You are misleading lots of people with this half truth article.
What about taste?
It’s ok going on about bx, the proof of the pudding is in the eating.I have never had a proper tomato from hydroponic growing.Mind you I am convinced all the toms in the super markes are all ponic.all produce should be labled as to its growing method, and veriety
Totally agree. Hydroponic produce is tasteless even if organic!
As a biochemist and food scientist, I would suggest that your readers be made aware of an unbiased, peer reviewed study that was performed in 2010 that compared hydroponic, organic (NOP) and conventional grown lettuces. The conclusions of this study may be surprising to some, but the participants of the study could not discern a difference in taste, odor, visual quality, and texture. Here is a reference to the article in Food and Nutrition Sciences (2011).
Food and Nutrition Sciences, 2011, 2, 124-127
doi:10.4236/fns.2011.22017 Published Online April 2011 (http://www.scirp.org/journal/fns)
I grow both organically and hydroponically and I can say from experience that properly tended organic vegetables and properly tended hydroponic vegetables are equal in taste and quality. Improperly cared for soil grown plants will be of lower nutritional value than a properly grown hydroponic plant. Massive hydroponic operations, along with massive organic farms, which tend to be profit driven and not quality driven, typically will look for cost saving measures that for the most part impact plant and fruit quality.
I think everyone should try a variety of hydroponically grown foodstuffs from a small local hydro farm, which understands the needs of the plants and the differences from conventional farming with locally grown organic foodstuffs and decide for themselves.
Another area that could use some debate is the use of Brix or refraction as a measure of nutritional value. Sure sugars and minerals (as well as amino acids, lipids, colloids…ect ) will refract light However, sugars are quite large compared to mineral ions. Each sugar molecule consists of at least two dozen covalent bonds in a molecule composed of twenty to two dozen or more atoms. Thus, sugars tend to affect the index of refraction more than minerals. Alcohols refract light more than other molecules. So the Brix measurement has some problems when looking for total nutritional value.
I do think these types of discussions are important and applaud your efforts to encourage people to eat more vegetables and fruits, especially NON-GMO and pesticide free.
Not talking about conventional produce. We are interested in organic, in the dirt produce! I don’t buy hydroponic OR conventional produce because they both taste terrible!
I was about to go to sleep, when I made a quick search about nutrient levels on hydroponic produces. To my surprise, according to the Brix tests, hydroponics is the worst possible way to grow vegetables.
It rocked my world.
Then, I started to search what Brix is about, how it works, and specially how it measures nutrients. Another surprise appeared, it doesn’t.
It’s like the good old calories-in-calories-out diets. Is not that simple.
People, PLEASE do not listen to this crackpot! She has no idea what she is talking about. Read through the comments and you’ll see how painfully wrong she is.
you should do more research before you post stuff like this!
This is one of the article of hydroponic gardening that I’ve read:
“Modern plant researchers recognize nine basic elements needed for adequate plant growth and production: nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), sulfur (S), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), hydrogen (H), oxygen (O), and carbon (C). Seven additional trace elements, including iron (Fe), chlorine (Cl), manganese (Mn), boron (B), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), and molybdenum (Mo), promote healthy growth. Hydroponic growing solutions need to supply all of these nutrients for healthy and productive growth, regardless of the type of delivery system used”
Not a lot of people add all the necessary minerals to their plants and the result is what you have seen.
This also helped the poor people in Ecuador who couldnt afford Fruits and Vegetables:
In 2000, the government of Ecuador, aware that its poor population had limited protein intake and “almost no fruit or vegetables” in their daily diets, worked with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to provide a simplified hydroponic project to eight locations within the country. Its goal was to have the families be able to feed themselves and, if possible, provide the families with a small income. Using local recycled materials and rainwater, school children were recruited under the supervision of designated trained monitors. The positive impact on the communities showed a decline in diseases of the local children and an increase in the consumption of vitamins A, B2, C, D, and E, as well as iron, calcium, phosphorus, iodine, and manganese. These communities expressed an interest in expanding their production for resale.”
This actually shows that if you do it the right way, you will have all the necessary minerals and vitamins in the produce.
Lina, your post is an example, a very good one, which is totally out of context, of course very meager supply of nutritions which wasn’t barely there from the beginning is better than nothing, hence one would expect the outcome in rare cases such as Ecuador.
You also did count up 9 basic elements needed for for adequate plant growth and production, but the point is, why have there been such a DRAMATIC change in taste since only during the recent years?
I am living in Finland and we have one of the world most high-tech and safe farming know-how, yet something has changed dramatically.
We produce almost all of the tomatoes consumed here in Finland and I can tell the tomatoes have change a LOT for the worse during the recent years, not taste, no smell, very hard, collorless inside, extremely thick shell which is like plastic.
Not even top chefs would pick best of the best hydrophonics produces.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/03/dining/hydroponic-produce-gains-fans-and-flavor.html
Thank you thehealthyhomeeconomist, this post is very enligthening.
Did you really post an article from 2011?!? You’re talking about the fastest growing sector of agriculture and you posted an article that is just shy of four years old? Organic, hydroponic produce is here. It’s time everyone realizes it. Those of us smart enough to see it will have all the success we want. More importantly, the satisfaction of being able to help our country out in a tough time. The state of California provides a massive amount of food for this nation. They are in a drought that has been going on for almost a decade. Using water saving produce techniques such as hydroponics is not just a fad, it is absolutely needed. Do your research next time before you spread ignorance and prolong the detrimental past.
Well, clearly this is a debate of the future. If the quality of hydroponic plants depends on it being done right it is probably better to learn to grow at home as one cannot for certain trust a commercial operation.