Lucknow’s Prakhar Agarwal was always passionate about growing his own vegetables. He wanted to grow veggies on his balcony but without opting for a tedious soil-based system.
This is when he came across the soilless aeroponic systems — a subset of the soilless hydroponic method — where the roots of the plants are suspended in the air and irrigated with a nutrient-dense mist.
In 2020, Prakhar along with his friend, Tanay Tiwari, developed an aeroponic tower with 32 modules to grow veggies in small spaces, suitable for small apartment balconies in large cities.
“Apartments, especially in cities like Bangalore and Delhi, do not have enough space for gardening. It allows you to keep very few plants,” he says.
“But with aeroponic towers, anyone can grow 30 times more produce at a 20 percent faster rate compared to a soil-based setup,” he adds.
Giving an example, he explains, “One can grow two cauliflowers in a four square feet area. But we can grow 64 cauliflowers in the same area using aeroponics.”
Prakhar informs that their aeroponic tower also automatically sprays water on plants using a motor and a water tank that can store 65 litres of water.
“With this, plants can survive for 20 to 30 days without any maintenance. And the power costs only Rs 35 to Rs 40 for a month,” he adds.
Priced at Rs 6,500, this aeroponic tower allows one to grow a variety of vegetables from green leafy spinach and lettuce to tomatoes, and even tubers like radish and potatoes.
Prakhar says, “With a rising population and decreasing farmland, aeroponics seems to be the future of farming. I wish for every city dweller to grow their own pesticide-free food with this system,” he adds.