The hydroponic cultivation of plants is not a result of our technological progress. The first plants date back far before the birth of Christ in our cultural history. The famous Babylonian hanging gardens, more than 2500 years old, probably already used hydroponic principles. The region along the Euphrates has always been dry and infertile. It is assumed that the fruits of the gardens were nourished by a trickle system fed by the river.

The Aztecs about 1000 years ago also used hydroponics to grow their food. They probably also invented the floating rafts with soil, which allowed plants to reach the water directly under the thin layer of soil.

A particularly big advantage of growing hydroponics is the short growing cycle. Most plants develop about 20 percent faster. The reason is that the plants have direct access to nutrients.

Similarly, harvests are often 20 to 25 percent richer. Although research is still being done on why this is so, part of the explanation seems to be obvious: that plants that take up nutrients in liquid form can use them better.

This means that many more plants can be grown in the same space (vertical hydroponics is deliberately excluded here). The distance between the plants can be much smaller - as far as the space for root growth is concerned. Apart from all the other advantages (no ploughing, fertiliser application, pesticides, etc.), the technique is quite demanding.

And the drugs ?
What does all this have to do with drugs?

The market for hydroponics only began its development strongly for the individual grower when the basic techniques, principles and especially the nutrient solutions became available at retail. This is especially thanks to the drug (an)growers. Of course, the media also had its first reports on hydroponics in areas such as Spain, which were already struggling with declining water tables at the time.

Around 2010, the technique of farming without soil spread among hemp farmers - the illegal ones, that is, not the ones in Switzerland with certified ineffectiveness. The pioneers were growers - as they sometimes call themselves. Grower is English and simply means grower, producer or cultivator. With simple plants and little work, they had great success. Soon after, the first instructions for building plants were found on the internet.

The technical and financial effort is considerable when you think of a few kilos of home-grown tomatoes, peppers or mint that can be bought on the market for a fraction of the cost of such a plant. It was different in the drug trade, where the profit margin was clearly beyond the break-even point.

Today, the limit of profitability of such facilities is around 400 to 500 m² - which depends on many factors. Not for drugs - for fruit and vegetables. This is not least due to the increased interest of consumers in ecological cultivation, resource conservation and also short distances.