Purdue EPICS - ASME
EPICS
HYDROPONICS
PROJECT
DESCRIPTION
Our team is developing an automated, low-cost, and high-yield hydroponic system to be implemented in community centers in Indiana through our partners at the Marion County Farm Bureau (MCFB). Our project aims to address and help address the issues of food-insecurity and food-deserts that exist in these communities by growing fresh produce that may not be available in those areas. The MCFB’s mission is to educate about and encourage urban farming methods and introduce agriculture to underserved communities. This project will be conducive to achieving the above objectives.
What is Hydroponics?
Hydroponics is the technique of growing plants using a water-based nutrient solution rather than soil, and can include an aggregate substrate, or growing media, such as vermiculite, coconut coir, or perlite. Hydroponic production systems are used by small farmers, hobbyists, and commercial enterprises.
According to USDA: "Growing plants in water culture or sand culture without soil are procedures that have been used by physiologists studying plant nutrition and by other plant scientists for more than a century." (Growing Crops Without Soil. Beltsville, MD: USDA, rev 1965.)