Are vegetables such as tomatoes, bitter melon and lettuce suitable for soilless cultivation?

Soilless cultivation is a growing method that has been promoted in recent years. It comes in many types and is used quite a lot in vegetable growing. One big difference from the previous soil-based growing methods is that the whole process uses no soil, but what is indispensable is the prepared nutrient solution, which is also a key factor for good crop growth. So, in our daily lives, which vegetables can be grown with soilless cultivation? Are tomatoes, bitter melon and lettuce all suitable?

1. What types of soilless cultivation are there?

There are many types of soilless cultivation: hydroponics, substrate culture, rockwool culture, mist culture and so on. What we see most often is hydroponic vegetables, which means placing the root system in a prepared nutrient solution. The whole process needs no soil and relies entirely on the nutrient solution to supply nutrients and water. In recent years hydroponic vegetables have also been strongly promoted. Compared with traditional soil cultivation they are healthier, the fertilizer use efficiency is high, and no toxins are produced.

With substrate culture, the root system is placed in an inorganic or organic substrate and the nutrient solution is slowly irrigated in.

Mist culture is also very simple: high pressure is mainly used to turn water into a mist that is sprayed directly onto the roots.

Rockwool culture has relatively higher requirements: rockwool suitable for transplanting plants must be prepared in advance before the subsequent care work can be carried out.

2. Which vegetables can be grown with soilless cultivation?

There are many vegetables suitable for soilless cultivation, and different types of soilless cultivation suit different vegetables. Tomatoes, bitter melon and lettuce are all suitable, only the type differs:

For example, substrate culture includes tomatoes, eggplant, green peppers, potatoes and so on;

Rockwool culture includes bitter melon, cucumber, sweet peppers, zucchini and so on;

Hydroponics includes lettuce, celery, water spinach, bok choy, Chinese chives and so on.

Why is soilless cultivation becoming more and more popular? Take hydroponic lettuce: compared with soil cultivation, hydroponics has fewer pests and diseases, so the varieties grown naturally have a good appearance and therefore higher commercial value. Another example is rockwool-grown cucumber, which has better quality and higher yield than soil-grown cucumber, and is also somewhat easier to manage during the growing process, with fewer pests and diseases and no need to spray much pesticide, so it can truly be called green, safe food.

3. Is the cost of growing vegetables with soilless cultivation high?

Many people think that soilless cultivation requires a high investment, but that is actually not the case. With advances in technology, soilless cultivation has instead become a growing method with a one-time investment and long-lasting benefits. The specific investment cost depends on the variety being grown, the type of soilless cultivation chosen, the cultivation area and the material of the greenhouse.

Looking at the type of soilless cultivation, the basic investment cost for hydroponics, substrate culture and rockwool culture is less than 10,000 per mu. The most expensive is the floating board capillary hydroponic method, with an investment of about 150,000 per mu.

Looking at the greenhouse material, a standard solar greenhouse costs about 50,000 yuan per mu, which is relatively expensive. The cheaper ones are bamboo greenhouses and steel-pipe greenhouses, with a price per mu fluctuating between 5,000 and 8,000.

Summary: compared with traditional cultivation methods, soilless cultivation does indeed have more advantages. Whether growers choose this method depends on their own needs, since the investment is relatively higher.