Bioponics
Bioponics was created according to the basic principle of organic and sustainable agriculture. Instead of chemical fertilizers, it uses organic fertilizers and microorganisms (EMS – Effective Microorganisms).
According to William Texier who, inn 2004, created and adapted the concept of bioponic cultivation, one of the greatest advantages is that it creates very little “plant mass” compared with the harvest. For instance, 1 kg of tomatoes grown in a bioponic system produces a much smaller volume of leaves and branches than 1 kg of tomatoes grown in a classic hydroponic system. This decreases the consumption of nutrients and increases the space available to plants themselves.
A Questão Orgânica
There are several points of view on this subject. One of them is that agencies that certify organic products do not recognize hydroponic/bioponic and aquaponics cultivation as organic, as these types of crops do not use soil, which is the main criteria to obtain a certification.
One factor to consider is that all plants are organic and all use the same essential elements (from here we can exclude genetically modified species, as their metabolisms have been tinkered with by man).
A plant cannot absorb organic material, but absorbs inorganic minerals, that is, the vegetable kingdom feeds directly from the mineral kingdom. Therefore, there is no conflict between organic and hydroponic cultivation. The big difference is that, in the first, the soil is “fed” with dead plants and animal matter and not the plant directly. The soil acts as a fertilizer factory processing organic substances through their bacteria, and such substances turn into inorganic substances, chemical elements that feed plants.
There is no soil in hydroponics, and plants are fed using the same minerals produced by the soil. A plant does not know if it is being fed by man or nature; it only knows, for sure, whether it is being well fed or not.
Some common materials used to generate Fertilizers/Compounds
| Material | N | P | K | Notes |
| Blood (dry or flour) | 12-15 | 1.2 | 1 | Soluble |
| Bone meal | 2-4 | 15 | 25 | Calcium, micronutrients |
| Bone meal (steamed) | 2-3 | 18-25 | .2% | Carbon, micronutrients |
| Canola Bran | 0 | 1.2 | 1.3 | Iron, micronutrients |
| Cotton seed bran | 7 | 2 | 2 | Acid |
| Chicken Manure (dry) | 3-4 | 2-4 | 1.2 | Soluble, micronutrients |
| Compost | 1-2 | 1 | 1 | Micronutrients |
| Cow Manure | .6-2 | .3 | .5-1 | Excess salts, possible source of salmonellascoliforms, e-coli, etc |
| Coffee Beans | 2 | .3 | .7 | Acid |
| Feathers (dry or flour) | 12-15 | 0 | 0 | Some micronutrients |
| Fish Flour | 8 | 7 | 2 | Soluble |
| Goat Manure | .5 | .4 | .4 | Micronutrients, possible source of salmonellascoliforms, e-coli, etc |
| Granite Dust | 0 | 0 | 4-5 | Some micronutrients |
| Glauconite | - | 1 | 5-7 | Iron |
| Guano (Bats) | 2-5 | 8-10 | 1-2 | Soluble, micronutrients |
| Guano (Sea birds) | 10-15 | 5 | 2 | Soluble, micronutrients |
| Hull/Horn flour | 6-15 | 2 | 0 | Micronutrients |
| Paper ashes | 0 | .1 | 2-3 | pH Básico |
| Soft phosphate | 0 | 18-24 | 0 | Calcium, micronutrients |
| Algae (Liquid) | .5 | .5 | .3 | Soluble, micronutrients |
| Algae (flour) | 1 | 1 | 1 | Soluble, micronutrients |
| Sheep Manure | .8 | .4 | .5 | Micronutrients, possible source of salmonellas, coliforms, e-coli, etc, |
| Pig Manure | .6 | .4 | .5 | Micronutrients, possible source of salmonellas, coliforms, e-coli, etc, |
| Wood Ashes (hard) | 0 |
1.5 |
7-10 | Soluble |
|
Wood Ashes (soft)
|
0 | .8 | 5 | Soluble |
| Earthworms | 3.5 | 1 | 1 | Micronutrients |