NL
The days of “planting lettuce” in the cold winter soil are largely behind us. With our roots in horticulture, we at Agrozone know this all too well. Knee pads, waders, a watering can, a potato peeler—and off we go. These days, lettuce is grown “in water.” But how does that work?
Today, lettuce is grown in water (rather than in soil) primarily using two methods:
Of course, all of these crops are grown in modern greenhouses or even indoors. This is known as Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) and refers to the practice of growing crops in a closed, indoor environment under controlled conditions—such as greenhouses or vertical farms—where temperature, humidity, light, and other factors can be precisely controlled. CEA offers numerous benefits and solutions for both society and the environment, making it a smart approach to sustainable greenhouse horticulture.
The water quality in these systems is, of course, under significant strain. To keep the quality under control, filtration—possibly followed by activated carbon filtration—was typically considered. However, reality proves challenging. In general, this setup shows that after a few seasons, bacteria—and especially fungi—increase significantly, thereby creating an ever-growing problem for cultivation. Other disinfection techniques, such as UV and UF, do not perform well, particularly due to limited “transmission” and dissolved components in the water.
The solution for treating this type of water is increasingly found in the use of ozone. Ozone gas is metered and regulated by the Agrozone “Aquazone” machine. The use of ozone achieves the following:
Watch an episode of Klokhuis about growing lettuce in water here.
The days of “planting lettuce” in the cold winter soil are largely behind us. With our roots in horticulture, we at Agrozone know this all too well. Knee pads, waders, a watering can, a potato peeler—and off we go. These days, lettuce is grown “in water.” But how does that work?
Today, lettuce is grown in water (rather than in soil) primarily using two methods:
Of course, all of these crops are grown in modern greenhouses or even indoors. This is known as Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) and refers to the practice of growing crops in a closed, indoor environment under controlled conditions—such as greenhouses or vertical farms—where temperature, humidity, light, and other factors can be precisely controlled. CEA offers numerous benefits and solutions for both society and the environment, making it a smart approach to sustainable greenhouse horticulture.
The water quality in these systems is, of course, under significant strain. To keep the quality under control, filtration—possibly followed by activated carbon filtration—was typically considered. However, reality proves challenging. In general, this setup shows that after a few seasons, bacteria—and especially fungi—increase significantly, thereby creating an ever-growing problem for cultivation. Other disinfection techniques, such as UV and UF, do not perform well, particularly due to limited “transmission” and dissolved components in the water.
The solution for treating this type of water is increasingly found in the use of ozone. Ozone gas is metered and regulated by the Agrozone “Aquazone” machine. The use of ozone achieves the following:
Watch an episode of Klokhuis about growing lettuce in water here.
What to do before 2023 & 2027?
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