tank farming
Noun: A method of cultivating plants without using soil, where the plants are grown with their roots suspended in or exposed to a water-based nutrient solution. This technique is also widely known as hydroponics.
The term "tank farming" is a somewhat dated synonym for hydroponics. It is used to describe the specific agricultural practice of growing plants in nutrient-enriched water, often in tanks or other contained systems. * Early experiments in tank farming demonstrated that plants could thrive without soil. * The commercial greenhouse utilizes tank farming to produce lettuce year-round.
The term is primarily historical or descriptive. In modern technical and commercial contexts, "hydroponics" is the far more common and preferred term. * The science of tank farming has evolved into sophisticated hydroponic and aeroponic systems.
- Hydroponics (n): The modern, standard term for the practice of growing plants in a nutrient solution without soil.
- Aquaponics (n): An integrated system that combines aquaculture (raising fish) with hydroponics, using fish waste to provide nutrients for the plants.
- Nutrient film technique (NFT) (n): A specific type of hydroponic system where a very shallow stream of water containing all dissolved nutrients is re-circulated past the bare roots of plants.
- Hydroponics
- Soilless cultivation
- Water culture
- Controlled-environment agriculture (CEA): A broader term for advanced farming techniques that optimize growing conditions, which often includes tank farming/hydroponics.
- Vertical farming: A method of growing crops in vertically stacked layers, which frequently employs hydroponic (tank farming) principles.
- a technique of growing plants (without soil) in water containing dissolved nutrients