logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2025
41m 14s

The Rise of Modern Hydroponics

iHeartPodcasts
About this episode

The practice of growing plants in water rather than soil isn't new, though early examples are difficult to substantiate. In the 1930s, hydroponic plant culture made headlines, but the field also had conflict among researchers.

Research:

  • Bacon, Francis. “Sylva sylvarum; or, A natural history, in ten centuries. Whereunto is newly added the History natural and experimental of life and death, or of the prolongation of life.” London. 1670. https://archive.org/details/sylvasylvarumorn00baco/page/116/mode/2up
  • Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Hanging Gardens of Babylon". Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 Jan. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/place/Hanging-Gardens-of-Babylon
  • Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "chinampa". Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 May. 2017, https://www.britannica.com/topic/chinampa
  • Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Julius von Sachs". Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Sep. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Julius-von-Sachs.
  • Ebel, Roland. "Chinampas: An Urban Farming Model of the Aztecs and a Potential Solution for Modern Megalopolis". HortTechnology hortte 30.1 (2020): 13-19. < https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTTECH04310-19
  • Gericke, W. F. “The Complete Guide To Soilless Gardening.” Prentice Hall. 1940. https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.271694/page/n1/mode/2up
  • Gericke, W. F. “The Meaning of Hydroponics.” Science101,142-143. 1945. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.101.2615.142
  • "General Mills' Big Gamble on Indoor Farming." Dun's Review. 1979. https://www.nal.usda.gov/sites/default/files/card-image/DunsReviewGeneralMillsImage.jpg
  • “Growing Crops Without Soil.” United States Department of Agriculture. Agricultural research service. June 1965. https://www.nal.usda.gov/sites/default/files/card-image/RaisingCropsWithoutSoil1965_0.jpg
  • Hall, Loura. “NASA Research Launches a New Generation of Indoor Farming.” NASA. Nov. 23, 2021. https://www.nasa.gov/technology/tech-transfer-spinoffs/nasa-research-launches-a-new-generation-of-indoor-farming/
  • Hoagland, D.R. and D.I. Arnon. “The Water-culture Method for Growing Plants Without Soil.” Berkeley. 1950. https://archive.org/details/watercultureme3450hoag/page/n5/mode/2up
  • “A Hydroponic Farm on Wake Island.” Science87,12-3. (1938). DOI:1126/science.87.2263.12.u
  • Janick, Jules et al. “The cucurbits of mediterranean antiquity: identification of taxa from ancient images and descriptions.” Annals of botany vol. 100,7 (2007): 1441-57. doi:10.1093/aob/mcm242
  • Silvio, Caputo. “History, Techniques and Technologies of Soil-Less Cultivation.” Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-99962-9_4
  • Singer, Jesse. “A Hydroponics Timeline. Garden Culture Magazine. Feb. 8, 2021. https://gardenculturemagazine.com/a-brief-overview-of-the-history-of-hydroponics/#:~:text=1627:%20Sylva%20Sylvarum,Chemist%20Jean%20Baptist%20van%20Helmont
  • Stanhill, G. "JOHN WOODWARD—A NEGLECTED 17TH CENTURY PIONEER OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY". Israel Journal of Plant Sciences 35.3-4 (1986): 225-231. https://doi.org/10.1080/0021213X.1986.10677056
  • Stuart, Neil W. “About Hydroponics.” Yearbook of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture. 1947. Accessed online: https://archive.org/details/yoa1947/page/289/mode/2up
  • Taylor, Judith. “National Nutrition Month: Hydroponics feed ailing WWII Army Air Forces personnel.” Air Force Medical Service. March 26, 2014. https://www.airforcemedicine.af.mil/News/Article/582803/national-nutrition-month-hydroponics-feed-ailing-wwii-army-air-forces-personnel/
  • “Plants Without Soil.” Brooklyn Eagle. Feb. 28, 1937.https://www.newspapers.com/image/52623587/?match=1&terms=hydroponics
  • “Hydroponics.” Courier-Journal. March 2, 1937. https://www.newspapers.com/image/107727971/?match=1&terms=hydroponics

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Up next
Yesterday
Peter Stumpp, Werewolf of Bedburg
Peter Stubbe or Peter Stumpp, also known as the Werewolf of Bedburg, was part of a case in Germany where the concepts of witchcraft and lycanthropy were interconnected. Research: Baillie, Nathan. “Monstrous Lessons: Peter Stumpp, the Werewolf of Bedburg.” University of Saskatchew ... Show More
40m 49s
Oct 6
Loudun Possessions
In 17th century France a group of nuns described some unsettling visitations at their convent, which developed into a story of possession, political intrigue, and a moment in time that was rife with social tensions. Research: The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Wars of Reli ... Show More
35m 6s
Oct 4
SYMHC Classics: Bell Witch
This 2016 episode covers a haunting story from the early 1800s. Many narratives have blossomed from the Bell Witch story, but when you really try to look at the facts, they're few and far between.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
29m 42s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2025
227. The Man Who Lived A Thousand Lives: Taming Nature (Ep 1)
Gustav Hermann Krumbiegel's visionary work transformed the landscapes of India. From humble beginnings in Germany to an apprenticeship at Kew Gardens, Krumbiegel’s journey led him to Baroda, where he became the trusted landscape architect of the Maharaja. Designing the iconic Bri ... Show More
36m 30s
Jul 2019
Rachel B. Herrmann, "No Useless Mouth: Waging War and Fighting Hunger in the American Revolution" (Cornell UP, 2019)
When the British explored the Atlantic coast of America in the 1580s, their relations with indigenous peoples were structured by food. The newcomers, unable to sustain themselves through agriculture, relied on the local Algonquian people for resources. This led to tension, and th ... Show More
43m 28s
Dec 2024
How the Supermarket Helped America Win the Cold War (Update)
Last week, we heard a former U.S. ambassador describe Russia’s escalating conflict with the U.S. Today, we revisit a 2019 episode about an overlooked front in the Cold War — a “farms race” that, decades later, still influences what Americans eat. SOURCES:Anne Effland, former Seni ... Show More
38m 53s
Jan 2025
223. Empire of Plants: From Kew Gardens to Botany Bay
Kew Gardens near London is one of the most famous botanical gardens in the world, welcoming countless visitors every year. But what many visitors may not know is that the history of Kew and that of the British Empire are intimately intertwined… At the height of the empire, Queen ... Show More
41m 7s
Aug 2024
Mesopotamia
In this episode of History 102, join WhatIfAltHists creator Rudyard Lynch and Erik Torenberg as they explore the intricate history of Mesopotamia. This episode dives into the origins, advancements, and eventual decline of one of the world's earliest civilizations, covering everyt ... Show More
1h 7m
Nov 2021
Demet Güzey, "Mustard: A Global History" (Reaktion Books, 2019)
Whether grainy or smooth, spicy or sweet, Dijon, American, or English, mustard accompanies our food and flavors our life around the globe. It has been a source of pleasure, health, and myth from ancient times to the present day, its tiny seed a symbol of faith and its pungent fla ... Show More
22m 50s
Sep 2024
The Age of Montu (First Intermediate Period Finale)
These violent delights have violent ends. Between 1992 BCE and 1941 BCE, King Montu-Hotep (“Montu is Content”) ruled the southern kingdom. And he led efforts to expand Theban power, and ultimately reunify the Two Lands… Logo image: Montu, in a chapel of Ramesses III at Karnak (Ka ... Show More
2h 11m
Dec 2023
Benjamin A. Wurgaft and Merry White, "Ways of Eating: Exploring Food Through History and Culture" (U California Press, 2023)
What we learn when an anthropologist and a historian talk about food.From the origins of agriculture to contemporary debates over culinary authenticity, Ways of Eating: Exploring Food Through History and Culture (U California Press, 2023) introduces readers to world food history ... Show More
1h 2m
May 2025
Comment la Révolution verte a-t-elle sauvé des milliards de vies ?
Norman Borlaug est sans doute l’un des héros les plus méconnus du XXe siècle. Cet agronome américain, né en 1914 dans l’Iowa, est considéré comme le père de la « Révolution verte », un mouvement qui a transformé l’agriculture mondiale et permis de lutter efficacement contre la fa ... Show More
2m 53s
Mar 2025
The invention of the shopping trolley and the Calais 'Jungle'
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.We find out how Sylvan Goldman’s invention of the shopping trolley in 1930s America turned him into a multi-millionaire.Our expert is Rachel Bowlby, Professor of Comparative Lite ... Show More
50m 55s