AGRO SOLUTIONS

Please, I need you to enlighten me on backyard farming Backyard farming has always been in my mind for long but having enough land for it is a problem. Someone in Lagos State suggests a system of soilless farming, which I intend to give a trial. Can you please educate me more on this type […]

Please, I need you to enlighten me on backyard farming

Backyard farming has always been in my mind for long but having enough land for it is a problem. Someone in Lagos State suggests a system of soilless farming, which I intend to give a trial. Can you please educate me more on this type of farming?

Muslimat Abdullahi, Kaduna, Kaduna State

 

When most people think of gardening, soil comes to mind. But plants don’t actually require it to survive. They mostly need the nutrients and minerals in the soil. Plants can grow in water, gravel, perlite, rice hulls, pine bark, cedar shavings, and other mediums, or even suspended in air. This process of growing plants is known as soilless farming.

Soilless farming is a special method of growing plants without the use of soil; in which the nutrients required for growth are supplied through other means like nutrient rich water.

The plant gets everything it needs, in all the right proportions, at just the right time and utilizing it most efficiently.

It is slowly gaining grounds among young persons in the agricultural sector to meet the rapid demand for food in Nigeria.

In soilless farming, often refered to as hydroponics, the plant grows on a neutral, solid and inert substrate. It may include materials like clay balls, sand or rockwool. In soilless farming, a nutrient-enriched aqueous solution provides the plants with water, oxygen and minerals they need to grow.

What the farmers need include containers filled with water or other non-soil materials such as gravel, sand, vermiculite, crushed rock, Styrofoam, cinders, expanded shale or haydite.

Soilless system has an advantage in that the system generates a higher yield compared with traditional agriculture because it confine the roots in smaller spaces, which means the number of plants per square meter is higher.

Also, soilless farming requires less water than the soil cultivation. Apart from preserving the water, this system of farming will be useful in areas with limited access to water.

Most importantly, soilless system is good in urban areas which often have their arable lands polluted. Area where the lands are no longer fertile can also take advantage of this type of farming system.

Is soilless farming more expensive than soil-based farming?

Setting up a soilless farm is more expensive than the soil-based farm and that is one of the main considerations farmers must bear in mind while setting up a hydroponic system.

You will need pumps, tanks and controls for the system, which can easily cost several thousands of naira for every square foot of growing space.

Is hydroponics or soil better?

Soil farming is often considered “better” because it uses less water. You can grow more in less space because hydroponic systems are stacked vertically. Typically, plants grow faster in hydroponics than soil farming because you can control the nutrients you give the plants.

Abdullahi Amadu, an agriculturist with special interest in plant production, is based in Mokwa, Niger State