Hydroponics

Hydroponic technology is a crucial element in enabling long distance travel and high-population worlds. The process involves growing plants without using soil, instead using a nutrient dense mixture diluted in water.
The implementation of hydroponic processes allow for condensed, vertical, and off-planet farming that can be sustained without all the downsides of normal farming.

Invention

A century after the end of the The Advent War, famines and droughts began to take their hold on both Jhoutai and Eden. The reliance on soil and the amount of disasters both natural and synthetic forced the governments of the planets to find alternative solutions.
Money was invested into created massive hydroponic facilities in major population centers, and farmers were subsidized to work instead in these facilities rather than working the land. This freed up land for a growing population, and broke reliance on the natural climate and soil.

Main Applications

Vertical Farms

 The first usage of Hydroponics was in the creation of vertical farming. This buildings can be built as tall as skyscrapers and can be responsible for the well-being of entire cities. They can also be used in settlements, to break soil reliance on what might be a dangerous planet.

Off-Planet Sustenance

  With the easy recycling of water, hydroponics can be used to sustain or compliment the fare of people who live in Waystations or travel in large Wayships. The greenery can also provide a portion of the air recycling required on ships.

Navigate

Were it not for advancements in Hydroponics, I'm pretty sure that the Hubworlds would have been snuffed out. No soil can bear the weight of so many trillions of people.

Usage

The usages of Hydroponic farms is universal. All Banners rely on hydroponics for a majority of their food.

Dangers

Disease

While diseases are easier to treat in Hydroponic care than in traditional care, the amount of plants close together can cause quick breakouts of disease if not tracked carefully.

Overgrowth

With Genetic Modification being normalized, plants that are grown in the perfect hydroponic conditions can grow very quickly. If not planned for, plants can choke out hydroponic infrastructure.

Dedicated Plants

Thanks to the rise of Orga Tech, there are many plants that can not survive outside of hydroponic conditions. These plants are so complicated that any soil would not give them all they need to survive.
The upside to these plants is that when in hydroponic conditions, these plants can go from seed to edible within a week.