Are hydroponic plants healthier than ordinary vegetables? & bull; hello healthy

Recently, many methods of growing vegetables have emerged. One of them is the hydroponic planting method. Some people claim growing vegetables in the hydroponic way can increase their nutrition, so hydroponic plants are healthier than vegetables grown in the normal way. However, is it true that hydroponic vegetables are healthier?

What are hydroponic vegetables?

Hydroponic vegetables are vegetables that are grown with the help of fluids that contain minerals needed by vegetables to grow. Unlike other vegetables that require soil to grow, hydroponic plants only need mineral water to grow. The water used to grow these vegetables can also be recycled.

Apart from water and minerals, hydroponic plants also need lights, filtration systems for water and air, and climate control devices. All of these things are needed to support the growth of hydroponic plants. Usually, hydroponic vegetables are grown indoors and outdoors.

What are the advantages of hydroponic vegetables?

Because hydroponic plants are very guarded in how and where they are planted, and do not need soil, hydroponic vegetables do not need to use pesticides to protect them from insect pests. So, most hydroponic plant products are also organic.

In addition, other benefits of planting hydroponically are:

It only requires less water than the conventional method, so it costs less water as well
Nutrition, humidity (pH), and the environment in which it grows can be controlled
Vegetables grow faster because oxygen (from water) is more available in the root area
More crops
Can be planted anywhere, does not require a large area to plant it
Does not require cultivation or weeding
Crop rotation is also not required
Some plants, such as lettuce and strawberries, can be properly conditioned to better heights for planting, cultivation and harvesting.

What are the drawbacks of hydroponic vegetables?

Behind all of these advantages, of course hydroponic plants also have several disadvantages.

Although hydroponic plants have a smaller risk of being exposed to pests, it is possible that hydroponic plants can experience a few pest problems.
Some diseases, such as Fusarium and Verticillium, can spread rapidly through the system.
Skills and knowledge are needed to grow hydroponic plants properly. Hydroponic plants need temperature, humidity, and an amount of light that must be controlled at all times.
Requires high operational costs compared to conventional plants. Hydroponic plants require light control which requires a lot of energy and many other costs are used to control the growth of hydroponic plants.

Are hydroponic vegetables healthier?

It has yet to be proven that hydroponic vegetables are higher in nutrients than vegetables grown by other methods, although it is possible that small-scale studies have shown this. Such as research conducted by the Organic Center in 2008 which proved that the nutrients in organic plants exceed the nutrients in conventional plants. Likewise in research published in the journal Practical Hydroponics & Greenhouses in 2000 which showed that hydroponic plants were superior in terms of nutrition and taste compared to conventional plants, depending on the nutrients provided when planting hydroponic plants.

Most studies show that hydroponic vegetables have the same nutrients as vegetables grown by conventional methods. As long as hydroponic vegetables have adequate nutrients (especially minerals in water) for their growth, as well as getting enough light and air, hydroponic vegetables can grow well and have good nutrition.

However, there are studies showing that hydroponically grown vegetables can also have fewer nutrients than conventional vegetables, although this may be a small number of studies. For example, research in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry in 2003 showed that the carotenoid content in hydroponic vegetables is lower than conventional grown vegetables.

Keep in mind that nutrients and phytochemicals in hydroponically grown vegetables vary in content depending on various factors, such as plant variety, season, when the vegetables are harvested, and how they are handled and stored after harvest. Handling and storage of vegetables after harvest also affects their nutrition. Poor storage can decrease the nutrients contained in vegetables.