1 00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:04,240 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:14,000 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly 3 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:18,079 Speaker 1: Frye and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. I bought myself a 4 00:00:18,079 --> 00:00:21,360 Speaker 1: big old hydroponic garden system for Christmas, and I'm so 5 00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:25,079 Speaker 1: excited about it. I'm obsessed with it. I can't even 6 00:00:25,120 --> 00:00:27,680 Speaker 1: describe all of the levels of obsessed I am with it. 7 00:00:27,920 --> 00:00:30,080 Speaker 1: And we could talk about my various adventures in gardening 8 00:00:30,080 --> 00:00:35,600 Speaker 1: on Friday, but I am obsessed with this, which, of course, 9 00:00:35,680 --> 00:00:38,720 Speaker 1: anytime I become obsessed with something, I want to watch 10 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:41,239 Speaker 1: them allion videos and look at a bunch of articles. 11 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:44,000 Speaker 1: And it got me thinking about, like, how did we 12 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:46,280 Speaker 1: get to a point where a company will be like, oh, yes, 13 00:00:46,320 --> 00:00:47,920 Speaker 1: we'll sell you a thing you don't really have to 14 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:50,080 Speaker 1: do much, but suddenly you'll have lettuce in your house 15 00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:55,040 Speaker 1: that has grown right there. And that got me down 16 00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:59,400 Speaker 1: the rabbit hole of hydroponic's history, and also, frankly, the 17 00:00:59,440 --> 00:01:02,760 Speaker 1: garden is one of the things that is keeping me 18 00:01:02,800 --> 00:01:08,840 Speaker 1: from losing my mind in our complicated days. Yeah yeah, 19 00:01:08,959 --> 00:01:12,800 Speaker 1: so perhaps for other people that are having stressy times 20 00:01:12,800 --> 00:01:17,280 Speaker 1: in complicated days, thinking about plants growing and how sort 21 00:01:17,319 --> 00:01:22,600 Speaker 1: of mentally and emotionally nourishing that can be will help 22 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:24,400 Speaker 1: you as well as me. So we're going to talk 23 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:33,200 Speaker 1: about the history of hydroponics today. Using water rather than 24 00:01:33,360 --> 00:01:36,919 Speaker 1: soil to grow plants is not in the least bit new. 25 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:41,760 Speaker 1: Although the earliest uses of this technique are not well documented, 26 00:01:42,959 --> 00:01:46,520 Speaker 1: some examples, like the hanging Gardens of Babylon, have to 27 00:01:46,560 --> 00:01:51,640 Speaker 1: be discussed as possible examples. We don't even know for 28 00:01:51,720 --> 00:01:54,840 Speaker 1: sure if the gardens, which are considered one of the 29 00:01:54,960 --> 00:01:59,680 Speaker 1: seven Wonders of the Ancient World, were real. Accounts written 30 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:03,040 Speaker 1: about them were pinned centuries after they were said to 31 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:07,840 Speaker 1: have existed, and there is no conclusive archaeological evidence to 32 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:12,880 Speaker 1: point to if they did exist, their likely location was 33 00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:16,079 Speaker 1: right in the middle of modern day Iraq, and very 34 00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:21,600 Speaker 1: possibly not Babylon but Nineveh. If the gardens did exist, 35 00:02:21,800 --> 00:02:25,480 Speaker 1: it's possible that their terraces full of greenery would have 36 00:02:25,639 --> 00:02:29,280 Speaker 1: been supported by an irrigation system with water brought in, 37 00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:33,160 Speaker 1: likely from the Euphrates River. All of this very cool, 38 00:02:33,639 --> 00:02:36,680 Speaker 1: but still this garden and the technique dated to the 39 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:42,639 Speaker 1: sixth century BCE are all theoretical. Additionally, while some historians 40 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:46,760 Speaker 1: interpret the existing writing about the hanging gardens of Babylon 41 00:02:46,919 --> 00:02:50,600 Speaker 1: as indicating a hydroponic system of some sort. Others think 42 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:55,280 Speaker 1: that the terraces described involve some sort of soil or 43 00:02:55,480 --> 00:02:58,480 Speaker 1: sand substrate as a medium that the plants are growing in, 44 00:02:59,080 --> 00:03:03,600 Speaker 1: with the irrigation being used to water that substrate. Basically, 45 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:09,440 Speaker 1: there's not agreements on this potential example, not at all. 46 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:15,240 Speaker 1: Another instance of an ancient plant cultivation that isn't hydroponic 47 00:03:15,320 --> 00:03:18,640 Speaker 1: but does represent an important step in the idea of 48 00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:23,520 Speaker 1: growing plants in a controlled environment is the story of cucumbers. 49 00:03:23,919 --> 00:03:26,160 Speaker 1: Maybe we'll get to that in a moment. Grown year 50 00:03:26,280 --> 00:03:30,040 Speaker 1: round for the Roman emperor Tiberius, this is a practice 51 00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:33,480 Speaker 1: which was recorded by Plying the Elder in seventy seven BCE. 52 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:37,440 Speaker 1: He wrote, quote, Cucumus was a delicacy for which the 53 00:03:37,480 --> 00:03:41,640 Speaker 1: Emperor Tiberius had a remarkable partiality. In fact, there was 54 00:03:41,760 --> 00:03:44,240 Speaker 1: never a day on which he was not supplied with it, 55 00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:48,080 Speaker 1: as his kitchen gardeners had cacumus beds mounted on wheels, 56 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:50,400 Speaker 1: which they moved out into the sun, and then on 57 00:03:50,520 --> 00:03:54,120 Speaker 1: wintry days withdrew under the cover of frames glazed with 58 00:03:54,200 --> 00:03:59,160 Speaker 1: transparent stone. So while he is describing plants grown in 59 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:02,560 Speaker 1: soil also being raised on a wheeled apparatus which can 60 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:05,200 Speaker 1: be moved indoors or out, and which has a cover. 61 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:10,520 Speaker 1: So this is clearly an early greenhouse. And incidentally, while 62 00:04:10,520 --> 00:04:15,120 Speaker 1: Pliny's reference to caucumus is often interpreted as cucumber, a 63 00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:17,719 Speaker 1: paper published in the Annals of Botany in two thousand 64 00:04:17,760 --> 00:04:20,760 Speaker 1: and seven and written by Jules Janek, Harry S. Paris, 65 00:04:20,800 --> 00:04:24,440 Speaker 1: and David C. Parrish notes that quote the cacumus of 66 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:28,880 Speaker 1: Columella and Pliny was not cucumber as commonly translated, but 67 00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:34,320 Speaker 1: cacumus mellow subspecies Mello flexuosis group that's snake melon or 68 00:04:34,400 --> 00:04:39,880 Speaker 1: vegetable melon. The next historical precursor to modern hydroponics is 69 00:04:39,920 --> 00:04:45,240 Speaker 1: the eleventh century Chinapus of the Aztec culture. This is 70 00:04:45,279 --> 00:04:48,159 Speaker 1: a case where the nutrients that fed the plants were 71 00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:51,839 Speaker 1: part of the naturally existing ecosystem, but there was a 72 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:56,760 Speaker 1: lot of human effort in establishing the gardens known as Chinampas. 73 00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:01,240 Speaker 1: Lake Socimiuco, which is south of Mexico City, was and 74 00:05:01,560 --> 00:05:05,120 Speaker 1: still is the site of a unique and extensive garden 75 00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:10,040 Speaker 1: system that's based on human made islands. These islands are 76 00:05:10,080 --> 00:05:13,840 Speaker 1: made using mud, dirt, and grasses and other plant material 77 00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:16,560 Speaker 1: and then they are staked into the bed of the lake. 78 00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:20,240 Speaker 1: These islands could be as large as ten by two 79 00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:23,640 Speaker 1: hundred meters or thirty five by six hundred and fifty feet, 80 00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:29,320 Speaker 1: and then into those floating islands go seeds. The water 81 00:05:29,440 --> 00:05:32,400 Speaker 1: and the nutrients of the lake, including fish waste and 82 00:05:32,480 --> 00:05:37,000 Speaker 1: decomposing plants, offer a rich mix of nutrients distributed by 83 00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:43,000 Speaker 1: the water's natural movement. Yeah, there is also a significant 84 00:05:43,040 --> 00:05:46,560 Speaker 1: amount of argument about these and whether or not you 85 00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:49,599 Speaker 1: can really call them islands because some are connected to 86 00:05:49,720 --> 00:05:53,440 Speaker 1: the land, et cetera. But they're still a pretty cool 87 00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:57,920 Speaker 1: effort in hydroponic gardening. In sixteen twenty seven, Sir Francis 88 00:05:57,920 --> 00:06:01,719 Speaker 1: Bacon's book entitled Silver Silvera was published. This was a 89 00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:05,679 Speaker 1: posthumous publication these Bacon had died in sixteen twenty six, 90 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:08,839 Speaker 1: but it is often called the first book of water 91 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:12,640 Speaker 1: culture because it features the passage quote the water also 92 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:15,400 Speaker 1: doth send forth plants that have no roots fixed in 93 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:18,760 Speaker 1: the bottom. But they are less perfect plants, being almost 94 00:06:18,760 --> 00:06:22,400 Speaker 1: but leaves, and those small ones such as that we 95 00:06:22,480 --> 00:06:24,880 Speaker 1: call duckweed, which hath a leaf no bigger than a 96 00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:28,360 Speaker 1: time leaf, but of a fresher green, and puteth forth 97 00:06:28,520 --> 00:06:31,760 Speaker 1: a little string into the water far from the bottom. 98 00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:34,359 Speaker 1: As for the water lily, it hath a root in 99 00:06:34,440 --> 00:06:36,640 Speaker 1: the ground, and so have a number of other herbs 100 00:06:36,680 --> 00:06:40,760 Speaker 1: that grow in ponds. So he recognized that some plants 101 00:06:40,760 --> 00:06:43,640 Speaker 1: seem to not need soil and could actually float on 102 00:06:43,680 --> 00:06:46,880 Speaker 1: top of water. But this is an interesting read if 103 00:06:46,920 --> 00:06:48,920 Speaker 1: you ever go digging through it. Because he also thought 104 00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:52,080 Speaker 1: that plants would change species if you neglected them, so 105 00:06:52,760 --> 00:06:55,080 Speaker 1: he had some things a little bit confused about the 106 00:06:55,160 --> 00:07:00,440 Speaker 1: natural world. Flemish chemist Jean Baptiste van Helmont wanted to 107 00:07:00,520 --> 00:07:04,760 Speaker 1: understand how plants gained mass, and he started an experiment 108 00:07:04,800 --> 00:07:08,560 Speaker 1: in sixteen forty eight to figure it out. The experiment 109 00:07:08,600 --> 00:07:12,280 Speaker 1: began with a five pound willow tree, two hundred pounds 110 00:07:12,280 --> 00:07:17,400 Speaker 1: of dirt, and five years of time. Ben Helmont only 111 00:07:17,440 --> 00:07:21,160 Speaker 1: watered the tree in those five years with rain water 112 00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:24,240 Speaker 1: and distilled water, and at the end of the experiment 113 00:07:24,320 --> 00:07:26,720 Speaker 1: he weighed the tree, which had grown to a whopping 114 00:07:26,800 --> 00:07:30,760 Speaker 1: one hundred and sixty nine pounds. But when he weighed 115 00:07:30,800 --> 00:07:34,640 Speaker 1: the dirt, he realized it had barely lost any mass. 116 00:07:34,800 --> 00:07:38,760 Speaker 1: So his natural conclusion was that water was what gave 117 00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:44,239 Speaker 1: plants mass. In sixteen ninety nine, physician and naturalist John 118 00:07:44,240 --> 00:07:47,920 Speaker 1: Woodward used water from natural bodies of water, rivers, and 119 00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:52,400 Speaker 1: springs to grow a variety of plants, including spearmint and potatoes, 120 00:07:52,440 --> 00:07:57,040 Speaker 1: among others. His experiments with soil as plant growth identified 121 00:07:57,040 --> 00:07:59,400 Speaker 1: the need for not just water for the plants to 122 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:04,040 Speaker 1: grow before specific nutrients. He came to this conclusion after 123 00:08:04,120 --> 00:08:07,679 Speaker 1: he had grown the same types of plants side by side, 124 00:08:07,760 --> 00:08:12,239 Speaker 1: essentially replicating their environments, but giving one set distilled water 125 00:08:12,440 --> 00:08:15,640 Speaker 1: and one set what he called non pure water, that 126 00:08:15,760 --> 00:08:18,840 Speaker 1: was the water from the natural sources with no distillation 127 00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:21,520 Speaker 1: or treatment. And this is really the beginning of the 128 00:08:21,560 --> 00:08:24,920 Speaker 1: idea of testing water and soil and figuring out what 129 00:08:25,080 --> 00:08:30,400 Speaker 1: was lacking for successful plant cultivation. Two German botanists working 130 00:08:30,440 --> 00:08:34,080 Speaker 1: in the mid nineteenth century conducted experiments that led to 131 00:08:34,120 --> 00:08:38,000 Speaker 1: the idea of preparing mixtures of nutrients to be dissolved 132 00:08:38,040 --> 00:08:42,560 Speaker 1: in water and added to the soil to optimize growth success. 133 00:08:43,360 --> 00:08:47,320 Speaker 1: They essentially pioneered the idea of plant food in eighteen 134 00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:50,920 Speaker 1: fifty nine. They also really established the idea that if 135 00:08:50,960 --> 00:08:54,360 Speaker 1: you want to study plants, keeping them in water culture 136 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:57,200 Speaker 1: instead of soil is the way to go because that 137 00:08:57,320 --> 00:09:01,560 Speaker 1: offered easier observation of the roots and greater control of 138 00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:06,000 Speaker 1: the nutrients the plant receives. I also, in preparing this outline, 139 00:09:06,080 --> 00:09:08,959 Speaker 1: left their names out for Tracy, but it's Julius von 140 00:09:09,080 --> 00:09:12,000 Speaker 1: Sachs and Vilhelm Knopp, So those are the people that 141 00:09:12,040 --> 00:09:15,240 Speaker 1: were doing that work. Coming up, we're going to jump 142 00:09:15,240 --> 00:09:17,559 Speaker 1: forward in time a little bit to the nineteen thirties 143 00:09:17,880 --> 00:09:20,160 Speaker 1: and the man who is often called the father of 144 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:23,360 Speaker 1: modern hydroponics. But first we're going to pause and have 145 00:09:23,440 --> 00:09:35,920 Speaker 1: a little sponsor break. On March first, nineteen thirty seven, 146 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:40,120 Speaker 1: Time magazine ran an article that opened with the following quote. 147 00:09:40,360 --> 00:09:43,400 Speaker 1: Last week, a new science was given a new name, 148 00:09:44,120 --> 00:09:48,640 Speaker 1: hydroponics by its foremost US practitioner, doctor William Frederick Gerrick 149 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:52,880 Speaker 1: of the University of California. Set Out in rows at 150 00:09:52,920 --> 00:09:56,280 Speaker 1: the university's plant experiment station in Berkeley are a number 151 00:09:56,360 --> 00:10:00,920 Speaker 1: of shallow tanks made of wood, concrete metal. From some 152 00:10:01,040 --> 00:10:04,400 Speaker 1: of these tanks grow thick, towering clumps of tomato plants 153 00:10:04,480 --> 00:10:08,040 Speaker 1: bearing rich red clusters of fruits. From other tanks, and 154 00:10:08,080 --> 00:10:13,000 Speaker 1: in an equal state of vigor grow potatoes, tobacco, Gladioli, pogonias. 155 00:10:13,520 --> 00:10:16,000 Speaker 1: The roots of the plants are not in soil, but 156 00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:21,280 Speaker 1: in chemically treated water. William Frederick Gerrikey was born in 157 00:10:21,360 --> 00:10:25,440 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty two in Nebraska to a farming family. After 158 00:10:25,520 --> 00:10:28,840 Speaker 1: high school, he attended Ohio State University and then JOHNS 159 00:10:28,920 --> 00:10:32,680 Speaker 1: Hopkins to study botany. In the nineteen twenties, he was 160 00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:37,200 Speaker 1: working as a professor and researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, 161 00:10:37,880 --> 00:10:40,320 Speaker 1: and it was while working there that he began serious 162 00:10:40,360 --> 00:10:45,800 Speaker 1: research into raising plants without soil. Initially, Gerrikey called these 163 00:10:45,840 --> 00:10:49,000 Speaker 1: projects tank crops, and that use of the word crops 164 00:10:49,080 --> 00:10:52,480 Speaker 1: was very deliberate because he was working to replicate the 165 00:10:52,559 --> 00:10:56,280 Speaker 1: kind of yield that would normally come from traditionally planted 166 00:10:56,360 --> 00:11:00,800 Speaker 1: ground crops. He was actually hoping for more wanted better 167 00:11:00,920 --> 00:11:05,480 Speaker 1: yields from his hydroponics than ground crops could produce. So, 168 00:11:05,559 --> 00:11:09,760 Speaker 1: according to Gerrike's account, there were three scientific challenges that 169 00:11:09,880 --> 00:11:13,360 Speaker 1: needed to be solved to make growing plants in water 170 00:11:13,480 --> 00:11:19,559 Speaker 1: alone work. One, it had to be simple and economical. Two, 171 00:11:19,880 --> 00:11:23,160 Speaker 1: it had to move away from the preceding lab work, 172 00:11:23,200 --> 00:11:28,320 Speaker 1: which focused on studying mineral nutrients alone. For soilless crop 173 00:11:28,400 --> 00:11:31,800 Speaker 1: growth to work, it needed its own study focus, which 174 00:11:31,880 --> 00:11:36,559 Speaker 1: had to also include fluid dynamics. He noted that water 175 00:11:36,679 --> 00:11:41,440 Speaker 1: use in agriculture was physiologic only, but in soilless plant 176 00:11:41,480 --> 00:11:46,280 Speaker 1: development it was physiologic and dynamic, and its benefit to 177 00:11:46,320 --> 00:11:49,600 Speaker 1: the plant was also dependent on how the water moved 178 00:11:49,720 --> 00:11:54,040 Speaker 1: around the roots. And then three those water dynamics had 179 00:11:54,080 --> 00:11:57,440 Speaker 1: to be formulated, meaning there had to be rigorous examination 180 00:11:57,600 --> 00:12:02,400 Speaker 1: of the way a water only approach to cultivation impacts 181 00:12:02,440 --> 00:12:07,480 Speaker 1: the root systems and documentation of the different root development structures. 182 00:12:08,760 --> 00:12:12,000 Speaker 1: As he developed his system, Gherrik also sought to give 183 00:12:12,040 --> 00:12:15,800 Speaker 1: it a name, and initially he was calling it aquaculture, 184 00:12:16,240 --> 00:12:18,320 Speaker 1: but that was actually kind of a problem because that 185 00:12:18,400 --> 00:12:21,600 Speaker 1: word was already in use. It has long been used 186 00:12:21,600 --> 00:12:25,520 Speaker 1: to talk about growing aquatic plants and also even caring 187 00:12:25,520 --> 00:12:30,040 Speaker 1: for marine animals. But according to Gerrik, a colleague named 188 00:12:30,040 --> 00:12:34,240 Speaker 1: William Albert Setchel gave him a good idea. He suggested 189 00:12:34,360 --> 00:12:38,160 Speaker 1: creating a portmanteau from the Greek words for water that's 190 00:12:38,240 --> 00:12:43,000 Speaker 1: hydro and labor, which is ponos so hydroponos, which Gheriky 191 00:12:43,120 --> 00:12:47,840 Speaker 1: then refined to hydroponics. Gerrik would later write about the 192 00:12:47,920 --> 00:12:51,920 Speaker 1: delicate nature of using just the right word for this science, 193 00:12:52,040 --> 00:12:57,120 Speaker 1: noting quotes correct terminology is requisite to scientific progress. The 194 00:12:57,200 --> 00:13:01,000 Speaker 1: incorrect terms which were used in attempts to discribe soiless 195 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:04,560 Speaker 1: crop production before its scientific basis could be clarified, have 196 00:13:04,720 --> 00:13:10,320 Speaker 1: caused wide misconceptions of its principles and have markedly delayed 197 00:13:10,320 --> 00:13:15,400 Speaker 1: the establishment of this method to wide use. He continued 198 00:13:15,400 --> 00:13:18,520 Speaker 1: by mentioning other words that were used at various points 199 00:13:18,559 --> 00:13:22,760 Speaker 1: and explaining why they were causing problems. Quote terms such 200 00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:29,320 Speaker 1: as chemical farming, chemiculture, nutrient solution, culture, and kindred expressions 201 00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:32,640 Speaker 1: not only were inappropriate, but did great harm to this 202 00:13:32,760 --> 00:13:37,280 Speaker 1: development in its crucial formative period as they created a 203 00:13:37,480 --> 00:13:42,400 Speaker 1: wrong perspective concerning the scientific basis of soilless crop production. 204 00:13:43,480 --> 00:13:47,000 Speaker 1: These terms projected the function of the nutrients into the 205 00:13:47,040 --> 00:13:51,720 Speaker 1: foreground and thereby distorted their relative position of importance to 206 00:13:51,880 --> 00:13:56,280 Speaker 1: other essential factors. He also noted that any of the 207 00:13:56,400 --> 00:14:00,719 Speaker 1: terms that use the word agriculture, like soil less agriculture, 208 00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:07,000 Speaker 1: were inherently incorrect because agriculture infers land, which this science 209 00:14:07,160 --> 00:14:12,079 Speaker 1: is purposely excluding. The word comes from the Latin word 210 00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:16,280 Speaker 1: for agur, which means field and culture I meaning cultivation, 211 00:14:17,720 --> 00:14:21,240 Speaker 1: and Gereky was really successful in his efforts and he 212 00:14:21,400 --> 00:14:26,240 Speaker 1: shared his process with commercial growers in northern California. Soon 213 00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:29,480 Speaker 1: a lot of farms were using his water growing methods 214 00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:33,040 Speaker 1: and in turn, gerek was getting data from their crops. 215 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:36,600 Speaker 1: That time magazine write up reported that Gereke was so 216 00:14:36,880 --> 00:14:39,640 Speaker 1: loved by the growers who used his methods that he 217 00:14:39,760 --> 00:14:43,320 Speaker 1: routinely received five hundred pieces of fan mail a week. 218 00:14:44,160 --> 00:14:48,400 Speaker 1: During his research, Gerikey worked with Pan American Airlines to 219 00:14:48,560 --> 00:14:53,200 Speaker 1: establish water based crops at their refueling station at Wake Island. 220 00:14:53,880 --> 00:14:56,400 Speaker 1: Wake Island sits in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, 221 00:14:56,640 --> 00:14:59,680 Speaker 1: and in the early days of commercial aviation, when planes 222 00:14:59,720 --> 00:15:03,040 Speaker 1: had to midway through a flight across the ocean to refuel, 223 00:15:03,320 --> 00:15:06,800 Speaker 1: that was where PanAm stopped. It was also where they 224 00:15:06,840 --> 00:15:09,800 Speaker 1: would take on supplies for the next leg of the flight. 225 00:15:10,800 --> 00:15:13,400 Speaker 1: But because of its position, it was impossible to have 226 00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:17,120 Speaker 1: a fresh produce supply sent to the island, and there 227 00:15:17,200 --> 00:15:20,840 Speaker 1: wasn't any soil on the tiny islands that could have 228 00:15:20,960 --> 00:15:24,960 Speaker 1: anything grown in it. But Gherrikey took a half acre 229 00:15:25,040 --> 00:15:30,000 Speaker 1: of land and set up a hydroponic farm at Wake Island. Yeah, 230 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:34,720 Speaker 1: Wake Island often gets referenced as like kind of the 231 00:15:35,080 --> 00:15:38,600 Speaker 1: big proof of concept effort that happened in all of this. 232 00:15:39,520 --> 00:15:42,880 Speaker 1: In nineteen forty five, William Gerrikey wrote an article titled 233 00:15:43,040 --> 00:15:46,640 Speaker 1: The Meaning of Hydroponics, which appeared in Science magazine, and 234 00:15:46,680 --> 00:15:50,560 Speaker 1: he described it in the opening this way. Soilist crop 235 00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:55,240 Speaker 1: production consists of growing crops in water containing chemicals, large 236 00:15:55,240 --> 00:15:58,960 Speaker 1: shallow basins for the water, and wood shaving sawdust, straw, 237 00:15:59,320 --> 00:16:02,320 Speaker 1: or other waste vegetable litter for seed beds which support 238 00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:06,720 Speaker 1: the plants in the water are essential equipment. Water causes 239 00:16:06,760 --> 00:16:09,280 Speaker 1: the architecture of the root plants to become different from 240 00:16:09,320 --> 00:16:13,200 Speaker 1: those growing in the soil. These differences in architecture are 241 00:16:13,240 --> 00:16:16,760 Speaker 1: reflected in the functions of the roots. For this reason, 242 00:16:16,920 --> 00:16:20,120 Speaker 1: some crops can be grown more economically without soil than 243 00:16:20,160 --> 00:16:24,440 Speaker 1: with soil, and by the same token, others cannot. He 244 00:16:24,520 --> 00:16:28,680 Speaker 1: goes on to explain that difference in root architecture, it's 245 00:16:28,800 --> 00:16:31,480 Speaker 1: for the sort of obvious reason that if something is 246 00:16:31,560 --> 00:16:35,600 Speaker 1: growing in water, it can't anchor anywhere the way that 247 00:16:35,600 --> 00:16:39,200 Speaker 1: it would in soil. Gharrike explains it really clearly, while 248 00:16:39,200 --> 00:16:42,560 Speaker 1: also basing it in science that people are familiar with. Quote. 249 00:16:42,880 --> 00:16:47,200 Speaker 1: This change is according to a fundamental biologic law. An 250 00:16:47,320 --> 00:16:50,920 Speaker 1: organ atrophies or changes in form and function in an 251 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:55,040 Speaker 1: environment in which some of its functions cannot operate. But 252 00:16:55,160 --> 00:16:59,280 Speaker 1: though Gerrikee completely changed the entire field and really developed 253 00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:02,520 Speaker 1: a lot of the printcess that govern hydroponic gardening today, 254 00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:07,159 Speaker 1: there are some questions about his relationship with Berkeley and 255 00:17:07,200 --> 00:17:11,399 Speaker 1: the other scientists there. Even though he was employed at 256 00:17:11,400 --> 00:17:14,479 Speaker 1: the university and some of these experiments were happening at 257 00:17:14,480 --> 00:17:17,600 Speaker 1: the lab there, he claimed that all of his work 258 00:17:17,600 --> 00:17:21,400 Speaker 1: in hydroponics had been done on his own time, and 259 00:17:21,600 --> 00:17:24,600 Speaker 1: he refused to share any of his information or data 260 00:17:24,680 --> 00:17:28,960 Speaker 1: with the school or his colleagues there. Gerike left Berkeley 261 00:17:29,040 --> 00:17:32,680 Speaker 1: before he published his book, Complete Guide to Soilist Gardening. 262 00:17:33,680 --> 00:17:36,240 Speaker 1: It was not as though UC Berkeley had not been 263 00:17:36,280 --> 00:17:40,439 Speaker 1: interested in hydroponics. There seems to be disagreement about the 264 00:17:40,480 --> 00:17:43,440 Speaker 1: work Gerikey was doing and whether it was supposed to 265 00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:48,400 Speaker 1: be for the school or for his own benefit. Either way, 266 00:17:48,480 --> 00:17:52,800 Speaker 1: once he left Berkeley, the school assigned two other researchers 267 00:17:52,840 --> 00:17:56,480 Speaker 1: to keep working on hydroponics and develop the work further. 268 00:17:57,440 --> 00:18:01,400 Speaker 1: Those scientists Dennis Hogland and Dan kil Arnan published their 269 00:18:01,400 --> 00:18:05,600 Speaker 1: own book on hydroponics in nineteen thirty eight, water culture 270 00:18:05,720 --> 00:18:10,679 Speaker 1: method of growing plants without soil. It's possible to glean 271 00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:14,919 Speaker 1: a little information about Gerrike's relationship with Berkeley by reading 272 00:18:14,920 --> 00:18:18,120 Speaker 1: the preface to his book. This does, to be clear, 273 00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:21,600 Speaker 1: involves some speculation rather than clear evidence, because no one 274 00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:25,720 Speaker 1: is outright saying what their problems were. But there are 275 00:18:25,840 --> 00:18:30,440 Speaker 1: some very specific things noted about how hydroponics research should 276 00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:35,000 Speaker 1: and shouldn't be developed. In Gerrike's opinion quote, hydroponics can 277 00:18:35,040 --> 00:18:38,480 Speaker 1: now be carried on without restriction by anyone who desires 278 00:18:38,520 --> 00:18:42,280 Speaker 1: to do so, but scientific research on the subject must 279 00:18:42,320 --> 00:18:46,720 Speaker 1: be safeguarded. The public must be protected from exploitation, and 280 00:18:46,920 --> 00:18:50,679 Speaker 1: business interests must assume the responsibility for the development of 281 00:18:50,720 --> 00:18:54,840 Speaker 1: the science. My own wishes are that research and educational 282 00:18:54,880 --> 00:18:58,760 Speaker 1: institutions shall profit from the growth of hydroponics. That I 283 00:18:59,040 --> 00:19:01,360 Speaker 1: shall be free to conduct research and teach the new 284 00:19:01,400 --> 00:19:06,040 Speaker 1: subject without being responsible for business development, except in an 285 00:19:06,080 --> 00:19:10,920 Speaker 1: advisory capacity where this is needed. Those private individuals who 286 00:19:10,960 --> 00:19:13,600 Speaker 1: gave of their private funds to test the validity of 287 00:19:13,640 --> 00:19:17,119 Speaker 1: new ideas, and who provided the laboratory of practice wherein 288 00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:21,240 Speaker 1: the dross of impracticability was removed from the hydroponic theory 289 00:19:21,640 --> 00:19:25,720 Speaker 1: have earned the utmost consideration. They deserve the right to 290 00:19:25,760 --> 00:19:29,680 Speaker 1: be consulted before any publication is made of results obtained 291 00:19:29,680 --> 00:19:33,679 Speaker 1: by their plans. So it kind of sounds like he 292 00:19:33,880 --> 00:19:38,200 Speaker 1: felt that the university was focusing on developing business ideas 293 00:19:38,240 --> 00:19:42,720 Speaker 1: for outside entities rather than trying to simply sustain their 294 00:19:42,760 --> 00:19:46,439 Speaker 1: own labs and research teams. And it sounds like he 295 00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:49,359 Speaker 1: wants to be left alone by the school administration and 296 00:19:49,440 --> 00:19:53,200 Speaker 1: not be bossed around in his lab. Gerrik also lists 297 00:19:53,200 --> 00:19:56,840 Speaker 1: the people and companies that contributed to his project, including 298 00:19:56,840 --> 00:20:01,080 Speaker 1: his own family members and Pan American Airways, and the 299 00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:04,960 Speaker 1: nurseries who donated plant stock. There's also the possibility that 300 00:20:05,040 --> 00:20:08,080 Speaker 1: he had set up partnerships with people and companies as 301 00:20:08,080 --> 00:20:10,879 Speaker 1: he was doing work that may not have been in 302 00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:13,880 Speaker 1: his purview to do as a member of the school's faculty. 303 00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:18,760 Speaker 1: In any case, the friction in play regarding his relationship 304 00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:22,240 Speaker 1: with the school and his role in the sciences development 305 00:20:22,359 --> 00:20:26,240 Speaker 1: seems to be referenced carefully in the pages of the preface. 306 00:20:26,960 --> 00:20:29,200 Speaker 1: And we'll come back to Berkeley's side of the story 307 00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:32,880 Speaker 1: in a moment. But then Gerrickee in this book makes 308 00:20:32,920 --> 00:20:35,639 Speaker 1: a clear statement in the introduction just a few pages 309 00:20:35,720 --> 00:20:39,280 Speaker 1: later that asserts that this work was his and his alone, 310 00:20:39,359 --> 00:20:41,520 Speaker 1: and that it was done despite a lot of people 311 00:20:41,560 --> 00:20:46,040 Speaker 1: telling him his ideas were foolish. Quote. Soilist crop production 312 00:20:46,160 --> 00:20:50,680 Speaker 1: has captured worldwide attention. Thousands of inquiries have been received 313 00:20:50,760 --> 00:20:55,080 Speaker 1: concerning it. My overflowing mailbox has not, however, been filled 314 00:20:55,240 --> 00:20:58,719 Speaker 1: entirely with letters lauding the discovery of the world's newest 315 00:20:58,720 --> 00:21:02,400 Speaker 1: crop production method. When I first announced that crops could 316 00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:05,960 Speaker 1: be grown commercially without soil, the idea was received with 317 00:21:06,040 --> 00:21:10,199 Speaker 1: skepticism by some and with outright derision by others. The 318 00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:12,879 Speaker 1: work was done largely on my own time and with 319 00:21:13,040 --> 00:21:19,280 Speaker 1: little aid from any scientific organization, notwithstanding requests. Therefore, not 320 00:21:19,520 --> 00:21:24,159 Speaker 1: until private businessmen offered their cooperation was hydroponics given a 321 00:21:24,200 --> 00:21:29,080 Speaker 1: fair trial. A lot of the writing Garrick he does 322 00:21:29,240 --> 00:21:32,120 Speaker 1: in the book about hydroponics can come off as sort 323 00:21:32,160 --> 00:21:37,080 Speaker 1: of conceited. He seems to dismiss historical hydroponic efforts as 324 00:21:37,080 --> 00:21:39,720 Speaker 1: he mentions how strange it is that no one ever 325 00:21:39,760 --> 00:21:43,359 Speaker 1: did it before. As the writing continues, it appears that 326 00:21:43,480 --> 00:21:46,320 Speaker 1: he means at scale as a means to crop production. 327 00:21:47,320 --> 00:21:49,840 Speaker 1: He notes that there have been some experiments with growing 328 00:21:49,880 --> 00:21:53,720 Speaker 1: plants in water, but that they were all shortsighted in 329 00:21:53,760 --> 00:21:56,720 Speaker 1: that the goal is to improve the soil culture of plants, 330 00:21:56,920 --> 00:22:01,320 Speaker 1: not to replicate crop production through a wat nutrient culture. 331 00:22:02,320 --> 00:22:05,920 Speaker 1: He notes, quote, scientists failed to realize the true value 332 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:10,199 Speaker 1: of a principle they themselves applied in laboratory experiments. The 333 00:22:10,240 --> 00:22:13,200 Speaker 1: development of water culture as a means of studying the 334 00:22:13,240 --> 00:22:17,080 Speaker 1: life processes of plants is covered briefly later in the chapter. 335 00:22:17,760 --> 00:22:20,320 Speaker 1: It is enough to point out that plants have grown 336 00:22:20,480 --> 00:22:25,080 Speaker 1: in nutrient solutions under experimental conditions for nearly a century. 337 00:22:25,880 --> 00:22:30,560 Speaker 1: Modern scientific agriculture has been greatly aided by information obtained 338 00:22:30,600 --> 00:22:33,639 Speaker 1: through these studies. By no means do I wish to 339 00:22:33,760 --> 00:22:38,000 Speaker 1: disparage their value. Gerrik also makes clear that it's actually 340 00:22:38,280 --> 00:22:40,639 Speaker 1: kind of hard to grow crops this way if you 341 00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:44,240 Speaker 1: don't know what you're doing. He mentions that you can't 342 00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:49,040 Speaker 1: rely exclusively on formulas of nutrient solutions, because there's just 343 00:22:49,160 --> 00:22:53,400 Speaker 1: far more to successfully growing plants. He notes, quote, Your 344 00:22:53,480 --> 00:22:57,359 Speaker 1: success or failure in hydroponics will depend more upon skill 345 00:22:57,520 --> 00:23:01,440 Speaker 1: in working out a proper technique, indescribable in textbook language. 346 00:23:01,640 --> 00:23:05,639 Speaker 1: That upon possession of a simple chemical formula, you must 347 00:23:05,640 --> 00:23:09,000 Speaker 1: combine to some extent the knowledge of the chemist, the botanist, 348 00:23:09,119 --> 00:23:12,399 Speaker 1: and the farmer, arming yourself with an understanding of the 349 00:23:12,440 --> 00:23:16,480 Speaker 1: fundamental requirements of plant life, and developing through your own 350 00:23:16,520 --> 00:23:20,359 Speaker 1: alertness and insight, a sure sense of the technique required. 351 00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:24,280 Speaker 1: He also praises the insight of farmers for being able 352 00:23:24,320 --> 00:23:28,200 Speaker 1: to manage all of the variables of light, heat, pest control, 353 00:23:28,320 --> 00:23:32,440 Speaker 1: planting seasons, et cetera. One of the other big topics 354 00:23:32,440 --> 00:23:36,840 Speaker 1: for Gerrikey in his book is conservation. He notes that quote, 355 00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:40,719 Speaker 1: hydroponics will help us to conserve our natural fertilizers and 356 00:23:40,760 --> 00:23:44,880 Speaker 1: to solve our future fuel problems. Of the fertilizers commonly 357 00:23:44,920 --> 00:23:49,000 Speaker 1: applied to the soil, only nitrogen can be recovered completely. 358 00:23:49,480 --> 00:23:53,919 Speaker 1: But in hydroponics the plant food need never be wasted, 359 00:23:54,640 --> 00:23:57,520 Speaker 1: the dry plants can be burned and the ashes used 360 00:23:57,520 --> 00:24:00,920 Speaker 1: for nutrient solution. In this way, the so called cycle 361 00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:04,560 Speaker 1: of conservation has been completed for the first time. But 362 00:24:04,720 --> 00:24:08,200 Speaker 1: he knows that for that to work, and for hydroponic 363 00:24:08,280 --> 00:24:12,320 Speaker 1: crop production to become standardized, that both farmers and the 364 00:24:12,359 --> 00:24:16,199 Speaker 1: public have to be educated about the processes to eliminate 365 00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:20,920 Speaker 1: misconceptions about it. So we mentioned that other publication of 366 00:24:20,960 --> 00:24:23,679 Speaker 1: a book by Hogland and arnun that grew out of 367 00:24:23,720 --> 00:24:28,200 Speaker 1: their work at Berkeley following Gerrike's exit, and the introduction 368 00:24:28,280 --> 00:24:30,840 Speaker 1: to that book is written by C. B. Hutchison, the 369 00:24:30,920 --> 00:24:33,560 Speaker 1: vice president of the university and the dean of the 370 00:24:33,600 --> 00:24:38,280 Speaker 1: College of Agriculture at Berkeley. His writing offers a different 371 00:24:38,320 --> 00:24:41,240 Speaker 1: take on the very public facing work of Gerrikee and 372 00:24:41,359 --> 00:24:44,679 Speaker 1: he kind of hints that he thought it caused problems 373 00:24:44,720 --> 00:24:48,200 Speaker 1: writing quote. In the nineteen thirties, this development was given 374 00:24:48,480 --> 00:24:54,199 Speaker 1: widespread publicity in newspapers, Sunday supplements, and popular journals. The 375 00:24:54,240 --> 00:24:57,520 Speaker 1: possibility of growing plants in a medium other than soil 376 00:24:57,680 --> 00:25:01,800 Speaker 1: intrigued many persons, and soon extravagant claims were being made 377 00:25:01,800 --> 00:25:05,000 Speaker 1: by many of the most ardent proponents of the commercial 378 00:25:05,119 --> 00:25:09,600 Speaker 1: use of the water culture method. Furthermore, amateur gardeners sought 379 00:25:09,640 --> 00:25:13,280 Speaker 1: to make this method a new hobby. Thousands of inquiries 380 00:25:13,320 --> 00:25:16,960 Speaker 1: came to the University of California for detailed information for 381 00:25:17,160 --> 00:25:20,960 Speaker 1: general application of the water culture method to commercial as 382 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:25,879 Speaker 1: well as amateur gardening. Given that gerrikee had also mentioned 383 00:25:25,920 --> 00:25:29,520 Speaker 1: issues with Charlatan's getting in on the popularity of hydroponics, 384 00:25:29,800 --> 00:25:33,800 Speaker 1: it's a little unclear if the extravagant claims that Hutchison 385 00:25:33,840 --> 00:25:38,120 Speaker 1: refers to were those that Gerrikey also denounced, or if 386 00:25:38,160 --> 00:25:42,119 Speaker 1: he's suggesting that Gerrike's claims that hydroponics could outpay soil 387 00:25:42,160 --> 00:25:46,199 Speaker 1: based crop production is the extravagant claim he's referring to. 388 00:25:48,320 --> 00:25:50,919 Speaker 1: Then Hutcheson goes on in a way that makes it 389 00:25:50,960 --> 00:25:55,000 Speaker 1: sound like detractors who may not have believed Gerrike's claim 390 00:25:55,040 --> 00:25:59,120 Speaker 1: were the real reason that the university assigned two other 391 00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:03,760 Speaker 1: scientists to the work. Quote. Because of doubts expressed concerning 392 00:26:03,800 --> 00:26:06,560 Speaker 1: many claims made for the use of the water culture 393 00:26:06,640 --> 00:26:09,639 Speaker 1: method as a means of crop production, it became evident 394 00:26:09,880 --> 00:26:13,560 Speaker 1: that an independent appraisal of this method of growing crops 395 00:26:13,680 --> 00:26:19,280 Speaker 1: was highly desirable. I therefore requested Professors D. R. Hogland 396 00:26:19,320 --> 00:26:23,359 Speaker 1: and d Arnin to conduct certain additional investigations and to 397 00:26:23,440 --> 00:26:26,560 Speaker 1: prepare a manuscript for a popular circular on the general 398 00:26:26,720 --> 00:26:31,479 Speaker 1: subject of growing plants in nutrient solutions. So this seems 399 00:26:31,520 --> 00:26:34,760 Speaker 1: to hint a friction between the school and Gerrikey was 400 00:26:34,800 --> 00:26:37,280 Speaker 1: not just over whether he had done the work as 401 00:26:37,320 --> 00:26:41,000 Speaker 1: a side project, but also involved the way he communicated 402 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:44,159 Speaker 1: with the press and the public about that work. The 403 00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:48,000 Speaker 1: Water Culture Method for Growing Plants without soil has become 404 00:26:48,040 --> 00:26:52,000 Speaker 1: a foundational book for the science of hydroponics, But even 405 00:26:52,040 --> 00:26:55,320 Speaker 1: that writing of Hogland and Arnon seems to dismiss as 406 00:26:55,359 --> 00:26:59,639 Speaker 1: outlandish the ideas that would eventually come to pass. Quote 407 00:26:59,720 --> 00:27:03,480 Speaker 1: why badly circulated rumors claims and predictions about the water 408 00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:07,000 Speaker 1: culture production of crops often had little more to commend 409 00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:12,480 Speaker 1: them than the author's unrestrained imagination. Grossly inaccurate in fact 410 00:27:12,560 --> 00:27:16,640 Speaker 1: and misleading in implication, most of these claims betrayed an 411 00:27:16,680 --> 00:27:22,000 Speaker 1: ignorance of even the elementary principles of plant physiology. For example, 412 00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:24,600 Speaker 1: there have been statements that in the future, most of 413 00:27:24,640 --> 00:27:27,200 Speaker 1: the food needed by the occupants of a great apartment 414 00:27:27,240 --> 00:27:30,040 Speaker 1: building may be grown on the roof, and that in 415 00:27:30,119 --> 00:27:34,440 Speaker 1: large cities, skyscraper farms may supply huge quantities of fresh 416 00:27:34,520 --> 00:27:39,360 Speaker 1: fruit and vegetables. One Sunday Supplement article contained an illustration 417 00:27:39,880 --> 00:27:43,119 Speaker 1: showing a housewife opening a small closet off the kitchen 418 00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:46,560 Speaker 1: and picking tomatoes from vines growing in water culture with 419 00:27:46,640 --> 00:27:50,080 Speaker 1: the aid of electric lights. There has even arisen a 420 00:27:50,160 --> 00:27:52,800 Speaker 1: rumor that the restaurants of a large chain in New 421 00:27:52,880 --> 00:27:56,840 Speaker 1: York are growing their vegetables in basements. Stories of this 422 00:27:57,040 --> 00:28:00,920 Speaker 1: kind have gained wide currency and have captured the imaginations 423 00:28:01,240 --> 00:28:05,639 Speaker 1: of many persons. This cracks me up so bad, so 424 00:28:07,359 --> 00:28:09,520 Speaker 1: it kind of makes you wonder did all of that 425 00:28:09,560 --> 00:28:12,760 Speaker 1: friction at Berkeley kind of stem from all of these 426 00:28:12,800 --> 00:28:16,560 Speaker 1: researchers simply not having the same vision of what hydroponics 427 00:28:16,560 --> 00:28:20,879 Speaker 1: could be or become. Because so many of those examples 428 00:28:20,920 --> 00:28:24,239 Speaker 1: that hog Linden are not held up as outlandish have 429 00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:28,119 Speaker 1: one hundred percent come to pass. Rooftop gardens, some of 430 00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:31,639 Speaker 1: which are fully hydroponic, have popped up in cities around 431 00:28:31,680 --> 00:28:35,159 Speaker 1: the world. There are so many hydroponic setups for the 432 00:28:35,200 --> 00:28:38,200 Speaker 1: home consumer that are designed to work in any room, 433 00:28:38,360 --> 00:28:42,479 Speaker 1: even closets, using only a small footprint and artificial lighting, 434 00:28:42,920 --> 00:28:46,480 Speaker 1: and a quick Internet search turns up plenty of restaurants 435 00:28:46,480 --> 00:28:50,600 Speaker 1: that are growing their own produce hydroponically. I laughed a 436 00:28:50,640 --> 00:28:52,959 Speaker 1: lot as I was reading through this outline earlier and 437 00:28:53,040 --> 00:28:59,880 Speaker 1: read that paragraph. They're like, this is ridiculous. We are 438 00:29:00,080 --> 00:29:03,480 Speaker 1: going to pause here to hear from the sponsors that 439 00:29:03,600 --> 00:29:05,720 Speaker 1: keep the show going. And when we come back, we 440 00:29:05,760 --> 00:29:18,160 Speaker 1: will talk about the role of hydroponics in World War Two. 441 00:29:18,800 --> 00:29:21,800 Speaker 1: Despite the bickering that seemed to be going on in 442 00:29:21,840 --> 00:29:26,160 Speaker 1: a subtle way in the books of Gerrikee and his colleagues, 443 00:29:26,720 --> 00:29:30,000 Speaker 1: it wasn't long before hydroponics presented a solution for the 444 00:29:30,160 --> 00:29:33,920 Speaker 1: US Army Air Force during World War II. Also, just 445 00:29:33,960 --> 00:29:36,000 Speaker 1: as a reminder, the Air Force did not become its 446 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:39,200 Speaker 1: own separate branch of the military until nineteen forty seven, 447 00:29:39,920 --> 00:29:42,600 Speaker 1: so some air bases that were in use in World 448 00:29:42,640 --> 00:29:45,360 Speaker 1: War Two were just too remote or isolated to have 449 00:29:45,440 --> 00:29:50,080 Speaker 1: access to fresh produce. The nutritional content of rations was 450 00:29:50,120 --> 00:29:52,640 Speaker 1: pretty good in terms of balance, but it wasn't a 451 00:29:52,680 --> 00:29:57,640 Speaker 1: substitute for fresh food. Additionally, the rations became really monotonous 452 00:29:57,640 --> 00:30:00,560 Speaker 1: and they weren't always super happetizing, so in a lot 453 00:30:00,560 --> 00:30:04,160 Speaker 1: of instances, soldiers skipped meals just because they didn't want 454 00:30:04,200 --> 00:30:07,560 Speaker 1: to eat it anymore. Navy ships had the benefit of 455 00:30:07,640 --> 00:30:10,880 Speaker 1: refrigeration units on board to carry produce, but that was 456 00:30:10,960 --> 00:30:14,880 Speaker 1: not always the case at bases. According to the Air 457 00:30:14,920 --> 00:30:19,240 Speaker 1: Force Medical Service, flight surgeons started to be concerned about 458 00:30:19,320 --> 00:30:25,600 Speaker 1: nutritional deficiencies among the men. Conditions like depression, night blindness, 459 00:30:25,800 --> 00:30:30,080 Speaker 1: digestive problems, fatigue, and other issues that could compromise performance 460 00:30:30,120 --> 00:30:34,000 Speaker 1: were all traced back to diet. In an air Surgeon's 461 00:30:34,040 --> 00:30:37,440 Speaker 1: bulletin from nineteen forty five, it was reported that quote 462 00:30:37,480 --> 00:30:40,880 Speaker 1: medical officers in New Guinea as early as nineteen forty 463 00:30:40,920 --> 00:30:45,160 Speaker 1: two recognized the signs of dietary deficiency and military personnel 464 00:30:45,320 --> 00:30:50,000 Speaker 1: under their supervision. Reports from other areas in which fresh 465 00:30:50,040 --> 00:30:55,000 Speaker 1: foods were unobtainable indicated clinical evidence of vitamin deficiency in 466 00:30:55,080 --> 00:31:00,160 Speaker 1: local diets, with resultant fatigability and listlessness, and even or 467 00:31:00,280 --> 00:31:04,720 Speaker 1: acute symptoms in the personnel. The Aeromedical Laboratory at Wright 468 00:31:04,760 --> 00:31:08,600 Speaker 1: Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio offered up the idea of 469 00:31:08,720 --> 00:31:12,200 Speaker 1: hydroponic gardens as a way to get those crews fresh food, 470 00:31:12,720 --> 00:31:17,680 Speaker 1: and that idea was approved. Fourteen hydroponic facilities were planned 471 00:31:17,840 --> 00:31:20,960 Speaker 1: by the US Army Air Force, although they weren't all 472 00:31:21,000 --> 00:31:24,840 Speaker 1: completed before the war and the program ended, but in 473 00:31:24,880 --> 00:31:27,800 Speaker 1: the places that those facilities got up and running, they 474 00:31:27,840 --> 00:31:32,360 Speaker 1: were pretty prolific. One facility on Ascension Island, which sits 475 00:31:32,360 --> 00:31:35,840 Speaker 1: in the Atlantic between Africa and South America, needed to 476 00:31:35,880 --> 00:31:39,960 Speaker 1: distill fresh water from seawater for their setup. It also 477 00:31:40,040 --> 00:31:43,000 Speaker 1: required the hand pollination of crops because there were no 478 00:31:43,120 --> 00:31:46,440 Speaker 1: bees on the island. This was not the only facility 479 00:31:46,520 --> 00:31:49,040 Speaker 1: to deal with that particular challenge, and there were other 480 00:31:49,160 --> 00:31:52,600 Speaker 1: challenges that popped up depending on location. In a lot 481 00:31:52,600 --> 00:31:56,320 Speaker 1: of places they had to ship in bees. Some of 482 00:31:56,320 --> 00:31:59,760 Speaker 1: the facilities in the Pacific had to really aggressively combat 483 00:31:59,840 --> 00:32:05,240 Speaker 1: insect infestations. But this project ended up being really successful. 484 00:32:05,680 --> 00:32:10,200 Speaker 1: The Ascension Hydroponic Garden produced nearly five thousand pounds of 485 00:32:10,240 --> 00:32:14,600 Speaker 1: produce in a single month, which included lettuce, cucumbers, peppers, 486 00:32:14,640 --> 00:32:19,160 Speaker 1: and radishes, among other vegetables. Even after the war, some 487 00:32:19,200 --> 00:32:22,000 Speaker 1: of these facilities were kept running for a while until 488 00:32:22,000 --> 00:32:25,920 Speaker 1: the program was shut down permanently. But even after all 489 00:32:25,960 --> 00:32:29,400 Speaker 1: of that, there was still some nay saying about hydroponics. 490 00:32:29,880 --> 00:32:33,520 Speaker 1: In the nineteen forty seven Yearbook of Agriculture published by 491 00:32:33,560 --> 00:32:38,440 Speaker 1: the US Department of Agriculture, Neil W. Stewart, a physiologist 492 00:32:38,520 --> 00:32:42,520 Speaker 1: from the Bureau of Plant Industry, Soils and Agricultural Engineering 493 00:32:42,600 --> 00:32:46,040 Speaker 1: Rights quote, the idea of growing plants in water or 494 00:32:46,120 --> 00:32:51,280 Speaker 1: sand without soil has fired almost everyone's imagination at some 495 00:32:51,480 --> 00:32:56,120 Speaker 1: time or other. Whether it is called hydroponics, soilists culture, 496 00:32:56,320 --> 00:33:01,760 Speaker 1: water culture, neutraculture, or whatever. Many an American has dreamed 497 00:33:01,760 --> 00:33:04,920 Speaker 1: of using it to become rich or self sufficient when 498 00:33:04,920 --> 00:33:07,560 Speaker 1: he gets out of the army, or retires from the office, 499 00:33:07,800 --> 00:33:11,120 Speaker 1: or gets his little place in the country. But the 500 00:33:11,200 --> 00:33:14,520 Speaker 1: truth is that soil less culture, a practice of great 501 00:33:14,600 --> 00:33:18,640 Speaker 1: value to students of plant nutrition, has been over publicized 502 00:33:18,720 --> 00:33:23,840 Speaker 1: and overpopularized so that many persons have false impressions as 503 00:33:23,840 --> 00:33:27,960 Speaker 1: to its real possibilities and limitations. Stewart goes on to 504 00:33:28,040 --> 00:33:31,400 Speaker 1: explain that people just don't understand water culture and that 505 00:33:31,520 --> 00:33:34,560 Speaker 1: issues like aerration and physical support for the plants are 506 00:33:34,680 --> 00:33:39,200 Speaker 1: major drawbacks. So many of these write ups to me 507 00:33:39,400 --> 00:33:43,120 Speaker 1: sound so I don't know if I would call it 508 00:33:43,280 --> 00:33:46,920 Speaker 1: gatekeepy or conceded on the part of scientists who are 509 00:33:46,960 --> 00:33:49,920 Speaker 1: like the average person, just can't understand the idea that 510 00:33:49,960 --> 00:33:53,400 Speaker 1: you need to pump involved. It's like this, This isn't 511 00:33:53,520 --> 00:33:57,040 Speaker 1: rocket science, y'all. I don't have to do formulas. It's fine. 512 00:33:57,680 --> 00:34:01,480 Speaker 1: Stuart then explains the various techniques of hydroponic gardening and 513 00:34:01,560 --> 00:34:05,440 Speaker 1: crop production to remedy the various false impressions that people 514 00:34:05,480 --> 00:34:08,239 Speaker 1: may have and then he concludes with a prediction about 515 00:34:08,239 --> 00:34:11,680 Speaker 1: the future of the practice, which sounds pretty positive. Quote. 516 00:34:11,719 --> 00:34:15,560 Speaker 1: Some technical training and considerable experience are necessary for the 517 00:34:15,600 --> 00:34:20,360 Speaker 1: efficient management of soilist culture crop production. Its future development 518 00:34:20,440 --> 00:34:22,960 Speaker 1: in the United States will probably be confined to the 519 00:34:23,000 --> 00:34:28,000 Speaker 1: production of crops having a relatively high unit value ornamentals 520 00:34:28,120 --> 00:34:33,000 Speaker 1: out of seasoned vegetables or seed links for transplanting under 521 00:34:33,040 --> 00:34:37,080 Speaker 1: favorable conditions, yields may be expected to equal or surpass 522 00:34:37,160 --> 00:34:40,719 Speaker 1: similar yields in soil, but so far the differences have 523 00:34:40,840 --> 00:34:44,680 Speaker 1: not been outstanding. The method is also well adapted for 524 00:34:44,760 --> 00:34:49,640 Speaker 1: specialized studies in plant nutrition, phytopathology, and plant breeding, where 525 00:34:49,640 --> 00:34:54,880 Speaker 1: growth understandard conditions is desired. The indications are that soilist 526 00:34:54,920 --> 00:34:58,360 Speaker 1: culture techniques will be more widely employed in the future. 527 00:34:59,160 --> 00:35:02,080 Speaker 1: After World War II two, there were commercial growers who 528 00:35:02,120 --> 00:35:06,799 Speaker 1: became more interested in hydroponics. The floral industry saw a 529 00:35:06,920 --> 00:35:11,440 Speaker 1: number of nurseries adopted, and some large scale greenhouse operations 530 00:35:11,480 --> 00:35:15,600 Speaker 1: also emerged. Then, in the nineteen seventies, General Mills made 531 00:35:15,600 --> 00:35:17,520 Speaker 1: a lot of headlines when it announced that it was 532 00:35:17,560 --> 00:35:22,200 Speaker 1: going to launch what the press called a vegetable factory. Yeah, 533 00:35:22,239 --> 00:35:25,279 Speaker 1: they developed a whole system where they were producing vegetables 534 00:35:25,320 --> 00:35:30,239 Speaker 1: indoors and were marketing them in that way as an 535 00:35:30,280 --> 00:35:35,600 Speaker 1: effort to try to help boost one their production and 536 00:35:35,640 --> 00:35:41,200 Speaker 1: thus their profits, but also like to get people excited 537 00:35:41,200 --> 00:35:44,920 Speaker 1: about this idea of a way to grow fruits and vegetables. 538 00:35:45,000 --> 00:35:49,280 Speaker 1: And then in nineteen eighty two, hydroponics got a huge 539 00:35:49,280 --> 00:35:52,839 Speaker 1: boost invisibility thanks to Epcot in Walt Disney World when 540 00:35:52,880 --> 00:35:55,600 Speaker 1: it opened the Gardens of Tomorrow exhibit at the Land 541 00:35:55,640 --> 00:36:02,160 Speaker 1: Pavilion and the Land Pavilion show cases still a variety 542 00:36:02,160 --> 00:36:05,320 Speaker 1: of hydroponic growing techniques, and guests can see a variety 543 00:36:05,320 --> 00:36:09,000 Speaker 1: of plants thriving in the indoor facility. You can either 544 00:36:09,040 --> 00:36:10,960 Speaker 1: take the boats that are the standard ride, or you 545 00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:14,520 Speaker 1: can do a behind the Seeds tour and walk through 546 00:36:14,520 --> 00:36:17,719 Speaker 1: and get all kinds of extra information. Highly recommend if 547 00:36:17,719 --> 00:36:20,759 Speaker 1: you're a plant person. The vegetables and fruits that are 548 00:36:20,800 --> 00:36:23,239 Speaker 1: grown there are actually the ones that are served to 549 00:36:23,280 --> 00:36:27,560 Speaker 1: guests at the various restaurants on property. Since then, the 550 00:36:27,600 --> 00:36:31,600 Speaker 1: science of hydroponics and the desire to embrace it have 551 00:36:31,880 --> 00:36:37,640 Speaker 1: grown in a world where there are increasingly dense populations 552 00:36:37,680 --> 00:36:40,400 Speaker 1: in places that don't offer a lot of available land 553 00:36:40,520 --> 00:36:45,600 Speaker 1: for growing food. Hydroponics and other soilists growing systems continue 554 00:36:45,640 --> 00:36:48,560 Speaker 1: to be developed and researched in the hopes that in 555 00:36:48,560 --> 00:36:51,640 Speaker 1: a world of shifting and shrinking resources, we can continue 556 00:36:51,719 --> 00:36:55,440 Speaker 1: to find ways to feed people. NASA has had research 557 00:36:55,560 --> 00:36:59,480 Speaker 1: projects and hydroponics for years, starting with the first vertical 558 00:36:59,520 --> 00:37:02,440 Speaker 1: farm in the United States, which was assembled inside a 559 00:37:02,480 --> 00:37:05,879 Speaker 1: decommissioned hyperbaric chamber that used to be used to test 560 00:37:05,920 --> 00:37:10,280 Speaker 1: the Mercury space capsule. NASA continues to be a significant 561 00:37:10,360 --> 00:37:12,840 Speaker 1: leader in the field, and a lot of commercial farms 562 00:37:12,840 --> 00:37:16,480 Speaker 1: today have benefited directly from innovations in the field that 563 00:37:16,520 --> 00:37:20,399 Speaker 1: were developed by NASA. And of course now you can 564 00:37:20,440 --> 00:37:23,080 Speaker 1: go out and buy your own hydroponic system from a 565 00:37:23,160 --> 00:37:27,440 Speaker 1: variety of options. The global hydroponic market is expected to 566 00:37:27,480 --> 00:37:32,480 Speaker 1: be worth sixteen billion dollars this year. That's the briefest 567 00:37:32,560 --> 00:37:36,400 Speaker 1: version of the history of hydroponics, which I'm obviously obsessed 568 00:37:36,440 --> 00:37:43,320 Speaker 1: with at this point in time. I have yet another 569 00:37:43,400 --> 00:37:46,279 Speaker 1: email about advent calendars. Look, I'm just focusing on things 570 00:37:46,280 --> 00:37:49,719 Speaker 1: that bring me joy. This one is from Rebecca, who 571 00:37:49,760 --> 00:37:53,520 Speaker 1: writes a message from the perpetually behind just finish the 572 00:37:53,560 --> 00:37:57,400 Speaker 1: December twenty twenty three episode on advent calendars, you mentioned 573 00:37:57,400 --> 00:38:00,120 Speaker 1: home made ones, so I thought I would share mine. 574 00:38:00,160 --> 00:38:02,840 Speaker 1: My mom made felt wall calendars from my brother and 575 00:38:02,920 --> 00:38:06,080 Speaker 1: sister while pregnant with my brother, who was due near Christmas. 576 00:38:06,239 --> 00:38:09,759 Speaker 1: My sister was four when I the surprise baby came 577 00:38:09,800 --> 00:38:12,360 Speaker 1: eighteen months later. She had her hands too full to 578 00:38:12,400 --> 00:38:14,640 Speaker 1: get back to making me one for a number of years, 579 00:38:14,680 --> 00:38:16,920 Speaker 1: so I actually helped her make mine when I was 580 00:38:16,960 --> 00:38:20,799 Speaker 1: about eleven. I love this. Rebecca goes on to say 581 00:38:20,840 --> 00:38:23,640 Speaker 1: we were never religious. My dad referred to himself as 582 00:38:23,640 --> 00:38:26,640 Speaker 1: a recovering Catholic, and my mom was raised Southern Baptist 583 00:38:26,880 --> 00:38:29,880 Speaker 1: but became an atheist. But she adored all of the 584 00:38:29,880 --> 00:38:34,120 Speaker 1: traditions and pageantry of Christmas celebrations. As far as I know, 585 00:38:34,239 --> 00:38:38,000 Speaker 1: Advent calendars were not a tradition in either family. I 586 00:38:38,040 --> 00:38:40,560 Speaker 1: suspect it is something that she saw in Woman's Day 587 00:38:41,120 --> 00:38:44,359 Speaker 1: or BHG or one of her craft magazines. She made 588 00:38:44,360 --> 00:38:48,040 Speaker 1: my siblings calendar circ in nineteen seventy two. It's a 589 00:38:48,080 --> 00:38:50,880 Speaker 1: basic Christmas countdown with a five y five grid, so 590 00:38:50,920 --> 00:38:54,279 Speaker 1: it includes one for Christmas Day. Each day. You would 591 00:38:54,320 --> 00:38:56,160 Speaker 1: move the piece from the grid up to the top. 592 00:38:56,360 --> 00:38:59,000 Speaker 1: Mine has a stocking. My brothers was a sleigh and 593 00:38:59,080 --> 00:39:02,440 Speaker 1: my sister's a tree. Traditionally, we would move the piece 594 00:39:02,520 --> 00:39:04,640 Speaker 1: right before beds, so it would be the last act 595 00:39:04,640 --> 00:39:07,200 Speaker 1: of Christmas Day to put up the last remaining piece. 596 00:39:08,080 --> 00:39:10,279 Speaker 1: All of ours had a scan of for Christmas Eve 597 00:39:10,320 --> 00:39:13,320 Speaker 1: and a Christmas tree for Christmas Day. The other pieces 598 00:39:13,440 --> 00:39:17,040 Speaker 1: varied and were personalized. My sister loved angels, so hers 599 00:39:17,080 --> 00:39:20,239 Speaker 1: included one. My brothers had a cake with candles for 600 00:39:20,280 --> 00:39:23,319 Speaker 1: his birthday. Mine has a cat because of my love 601 00:39:23,320 --> 00:39:26,400 Speaker 1: of them. Some of the pieces are the originals my 602 00:39:26,480 --> 00:39:29,640 Speaker 1: mom made almost forty years ago. Others are more recent 603 00:39:29,680 --> 00:39:33,239 Speaker 1: replacements I made my grown up. Embroidery skills were used 604 00:39:33,280 --> 00:39:36,480 Speaker 1: for the snowflake and doll's braided hair. I still put 605 00:39:36,520 --> 00:39:38,920 Speaker 1: it up every year. This year I even took it 606 00:39:38,960 --> 00:39:40,839 Speaker 1: with me and put it up in my hotel room 607 00:39:41,040 --> 00:39:43,479 Speaker 1: when I traveled for the holiday. I hope you enjoy 608 00:39:43,520 --> 00:39:46,080 Speaker 1: the pictures and maybe feel inspired to try making one 609 00:39:46,080 --> 00:39:49,040 Speaker 1: of your own. I've considered making a pocketed one with 610 00:39:49,080 --> 00:39:51,319 Speaker 1: a different design on each pocket that you could then 611 00:39:51,400 --> 00:39:54,480 Speaker 1: customize with your own treats like chocolates or teas or 612 00:39:54,560 --> 00:39:58,480 Speaker 1: mini liquors. FYI, while visiting my friend for Christmas, I 613 00:39:58,560 --> 00:40:01,680 Speaker 1: found out bun Mama has it's a jam Jelly Advent calendar. 614 00:40:02,160 --> 00:40:04,960 Speaker 1: Totally getting one next year. I have had that calendar. 615 00:40:05,000 --> 00:40:07,880 Speaker 1: It's good. This is the cutest thing in the world, 616 00:40:07,960 --> 00:40:10,440 Speaker 1: and I love it, and I love family traditions that 617 00:40:10,520 --> 00:40:13,200 Speaker 1: go on for so long. And seeing all of these 618 00:40:13,239 --> 00:40:17,200 Speaker 1: adorable little ornaments you add to your Advent calendar is precious. 619 00:40:17,239 --> 00:40:20,279 Speaker 1: I love it so much. And there's a little black 620 00:40:20,320 --> 00:40:23,520 Speaker 1: felt kittikat on this one that Rebecca sent pictures of that. 621 00:40:24,360 --> 00:40:26,480 Speaker 1: It's just a simple outline of a kiddie, but I 622 00:40:26,520 --> 00:40:30,000 Speaker 1: love it so much. It's precious. Thank you so much 623 00:40:30,040 --> 00:40:33,040 Speaker 1: for sharing this family tradition with us. It's very joyous 624 00:40:33,080 --> 00:40:35,320 Speaker 1: and brings me a lot of delight. If you would 625 00:40:35,360 --> 00:40:38,600 Speaker 1: like to share pictures of your Christmas decor, I don't 626 00:40:38,640 --> 00:40:40,399 Speaker 1: care what month it is, you can do that in July. 627 00:40:40,480 --> 00:40:43,719 Speaker 1: If you want Halloween year round, Christmas year round, I 628 00:40:43,719 --> 00:40:46,279 Speaker 1: don't mind any of it. You can do that at 629 00:40:46,320 --> 00:40:50,440 Speaker 1: History Podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. You can also subscribe 630 00:40:50,480 --> 00:40:53,080 Speaker 1: to the podcast on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you 631 00:40:53,120 --> 00:41:00,959 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows. Stuff you missed in History 632 00:41:00,960 --> 00:41:05,319 Speaker 1: class is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, 633 00:41:05,520 --> 00:41:09,080 Speaker 1: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 634 00:41:09,160 --> 00:41:12,160 Speaker 1: to your favorite shows.