The Greek terms hydro, meaning water and ponos for labor are the derivatives of the word Hydroponic, a technique of growing plants with the use of nutrient solutions without using soil as medium but the planting is done in water. Plants that grow in soil may be raised with their roots using the nutrient solution only or with the use of inactive medium like coconut husk, mineral wool, perlite or grave and other similar inert materials for planting.

In the 19th century, researchers have discovered that basic mineral nutrients in water are absorbed by the plant just like when the plant is in the soli the mineral nutrient must be first dissolve in water before the plant can absorbed them thru their roots from the soil. This process can be done by introducing the mineral nutrient directly to sthe water supply system to the plant without the soil and it proved that the plant will also grow therefore soil can be discarded and no longer needed for the plant to live. The researchers also found out that most if not all terrestrial plants would thrive with the use of Hydroponics which is now widely used as a standard approach in biological research and lectures in schools.

Historical records showed that the earliest publication about Hydroponics was that of Sir Francis Bacon whose book entitled Sylav Sylvarum came out in 1627 discussing how to grow plants without the use of soil but water and this technique of water culture became more popular after his death as being used in researches. This book was followed by the publication of the researches of John Woodward using spearmnint in 1699. Several worthy experiments conducted the following years of 1842 where a list consisting nine elements that were believed to be needed for plant growth came out of press as well as the discoveries of Julius von Sachs and Wilhelm Knop, both German botanist between the inclusive yeas of 1859-65. These related developments in the field of Hydroponics have contributed much to the development of the process of cultivating plants without the use of soil.

This popular technique of growing plants without soil but mineral nutrient solutions was then called solution culture and became a standard procedure in researches and method of teaching until today. This so called solution culture is presently classified as a king of Hydroponics where even inactive materials are not used.

Six decades later in 1929, a professor from the University of California in Berkeley, Professor William Frederick Gericke started his promotional activities of convincing the community to adopt solution culture in their agricultural production which he initially called aquaculture but later changed his term after finding out that there already exist that term and used in aquatic organisms. To promote further his idea of Hydroponics, Gericke ventured into growing his own tomatoes using the solution culture that resulted in the growth of his tomatoes that grown up to twenty five feet in height which he tended at his backyard without using soil but purely the mineral nutrient solutions he was promoting. With this accomplishment, he created a stir and started to get the community’s attention.

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