Crop-growing without Soil

Abstract

ATTENTION has recently been given to production of green fodder for cattle and other farm stock without the intermediary of the soil. In Great Britain the method advocated is apparently of German origin, and it is claimed that the fodder is grown from seed in ten days. According to published accounts, a layer of seed (maize or other grain) . is spread on a perforated metal tray, and the tray U placed in a cabinet, constructed to hold a series of trays. The seed is damped daily by water, containing a small percentage of nutrient salts, from a tank placed on the top of the cabinet, and, when an adequate temperature is maintained, the seed germinates and in 10 days a growth of shoots some 12 inches high is obtained. This growth of shoots, with the mass of rootlets, is then given to the stock. Several trials have shown that this fodder is readily eaten by stock, but carefully controlled experiments are necessary to demonstrate the full nutritive value and the costs of production of this fodder. At the University of California experiments have been carried out by Prof. W. F. Gericke on the growing of vegetables and flowers in tanks of water to which the necessary chemical fertilizers have been added. The seeds are sown in a layer of sawdust or moss supported by wire netting above the water; the roots grow downwards and remarkably rapid growth and a high yield has been demonstrated. Although still in the experimental stage, this process has attracted the attention of commercial vegetable and flower growers in California.