Agriculture & Food · Recorded milestone
Hydroponics
Recorded year1929
William Gericke grows full-size crops in nutrient solution without soil, the basis of greenhouse, vertical and space farming.
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Led to
- BIOS-3 closed habitatRecorded · 1972enables
- Self-sufficient homesRecorded · 1990enables
- LED vertical farmingRecorded · 2015enables
- Space-grown lettuceRecorded · 2015enables
- Desert farmingRecorded · 2016enables
- Bioregenerative life supportForecast · ~2040enables
- Large farms off EarthForecast · ~2078enables
Sources & evidence
Dataset updated 2026-10-18. This individual record has not been separately re-reviewed.