Hydroponics could save the world.  Here at YB, we passionately believe this.  That doesn’t mean that we don’t enjoy a little bit of soil farming, however.  The past few weeks have been spent mainly outside, building raised beds for corn, designing sprinkler systems, and watching our strawberry plants begin to stretch their vines and flower.  This blog post focuses specifically on the positive aspects of soil growing and of hydroponic growing.  While we find hydroponics to be our favorite and most sustainable form of farming, it is not a foil to soil farming but rather they work alongside one another to give all of our products the chance to grow and flourish where they do the best.

Hydroponics

Hydroponics, at their core, belong to the farming subculture of hydroculture which is a movement whereas food and other plants are grown without the use of soil.  Hydroponics (a word in Latin that translates to “water working”) use water in place of soil.  Our water is equipped with all of the mineral-based nutrients that a head of lettuce, a tomato plant, or any of our many herbs could need to grow into the most flavorful and flourishing plant that they can be.  Our hydroponic seeds are non-GMO, they recycle water rather than absorbing it and asking for more, and they can be harvested with their roots still in-tact (giving them a longer and greener shelf life).
In fact, hydroponic produce has been proven to use up to TEN TIMES LESS WATER than field-grown produce!
They grow 50 times faster than soil-grown plants!  That means that we can grow more of our hydroponic produce YEAR ROUND than we can in one soil-growing season.  Our hydroponics yield 50% more product using half the space. In a world where space can sometimes be very small and demand can be high, hydroponics absolutely rule.
In short: WE LOVE OUR HYDROPONIC SYSTEMS!

Soil Growing

There is also something to be said about getting your hands dirty, digging up the earth once the earth has warmed and begun to prepare itself for a fruitful few months of flowering fruit trees, corn sprouts, and berry bushes.  Whether we like it or not, soil farming is the very foundation of agriculture.  For as long as humankind has farmed, soil has been there for us, ready to be tilled and sowed.  It is rooted (pun intended) in tradition.
Agrarian society is the reason that we as a western society exist at all, if one looks at the history of farming.  The ability to manipulate soil in order to farm allowed for a greater yield of food, for mankind to grow, for commerce surrounding food production to form.

All forms of modern farming allow us to maintain a connection with our food and where it comes from.  There is nothing more satisfying than placing a seed in soil or a hydroponic pod and watching it become the main ingredient in your favorite recipe.

As of June 15th, you will be able to order your produce online and pick it up at the Sussex County Farmer Market at the Sussex County Fairgrounds.  For more information, like us on facebook and we’ll keep you updated! *** edited 10/17/19. This is no longer available. Please come to the farm directly or call to request certain items to be picked up at the farm***