Agriculture Sphere

How does hydroponic food growth work?

You may be thinking, "Wow, that hydroponic stuff is cool, but how does this all work?". It's really quite simple. Plants make their own food through a process known as photosynthesis. This process takes in carbon dioxide and produces oxygen. Both plants and animals require oxygen for a process known as cellular respiration. While it takes in oxygen, it produces carbon dioxide. So, when the plants produce food, they produce the oxygen we need, and when we use the oxygen, we produce the carbon dioxide they need.

Our waste is also useful to plants. Plants use nitrogen to make proteins, and when people eat plants, they can use the proteins that the plant produced. Nitrogen is very abundant in a compound called urea. Urea is the main component of urine, so human waste can be very useful in hydroponics. In addition to being able to use urine for nutrients, the plants naturally filter the water out of it, so that it is pure enough to use again. So, as long as the colony replants a plant for every one that it uses, a constant food supply can be kept up.