Hydroponic plastic fantastic

Hydroponic plastic fantastic

Those of you familiar with previous posts will know that I’ve been critical of the acolytes of hydroponics for claiming it’s so eco-friendly but ignoring the these questions: what about the LED lights and minerals/metals in solution or powder form with are processed and mined as opposed to more naturally present in soils and compost? This is therefore an attempt to keep hydroponics as basic and as ‘green’ as possible. We'll use only some old bottles, maybe some organic liquid fertiliser and some water…

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Hydroponically speaking

Hydroponically speaking

So I’ve written intermittently about hydroponics, and I have raised a few questions about the main claim from acolytes – that it saves water and need for soil and is thereby more eco-friendly – by asking about heating/cooling costs and the carbon footprint of LED lights, along with using synthesised minerals and vitamins, not organic matter as fertiliser. But this post will assume no lights, and maybe a small hydroponic kit...

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Elemental disorder

Elemental disorder

In this, the first of four posts, I will look at the traditional Chinese five-element theory. So, why four posts for five elements? One of the elements is wood (木), which I take as a proxy for the green things we’re looking to grow using the other elements. 

Those elements are: water (水), fire (火), earth (土), and metal(金). 

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