Hydroponics is a technology for growing terrestrial plants with their roots in nutrient solutions, i.e.,
water with dissolved fertilizers, rather than soil. Although interest in hydroponics first began in the
early 1900s, it was not widely adopted until fairly recently.1
Hydroponic production is not mentioned in the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) of 1990. When
the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) first sought to define the term organic, they did not
consider the concept of growing organic crops without soil.