<p>Hollandia uses its hydroponic system to grow lettuces and leafy greens in Carpinteria located in Santa Barbara County, CA. This production method <b>conserves large amounts of water versus growing in the field</b>.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">As the water scarcity in California continues, due in large part to a <b>severe and persistent state-wide drought</b>, water-conserving technologies like those used by Hollandia are increasingly important.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Using a <b>continuous-flow-hydroponic system</b> known as <b>nutrient film technique (NFT)</b>, a very shallow stream of water containing all the dissolved nutrients required for plant growth is recirculated past the bare roots of plants.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><img class="small-cropped-image" src="https://cdn.andnowuknow.com/legacySmallCroppedImages/hyrdroponic-growing-hollandia-produce.jpg" alt="Hollandia Uses Advanced Hydroponics To Conserve Water" /><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Hollandia's hydroponic growing techniques <b>recycle water while also limiting water loss due to evaporation</b>. Soil erosion is also not an issue in this system. All of this results in a tremendous reduction in overall water use compared with growing in the field.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Hollandia's hydroponics system <b>conserves 66-84% of the water that would be used if the lettuce were to be grown in the field</b>. This calculation depends on the region, soil structure, time of year and irrigation method used. In addition, hydroponic greenhouse production of lettuce generally produces roughly <b>3.5 times more lettuce per acre than conventional field growing</b> methods, thereby reducing the amount of arable land necessary for production.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">While there are energy costs associated with greenhouse production, Hollandia has taken significant steps to <b>optimize energy efficiencies</b> in its facilities. Overall energy consumption has been reduced through modernization: energy-saving thermal curtains, efficient heating systems, and maximizing the solar efficiencies of the greenhouses. Over the last 10 years, <b>energy consumption has been cut by 60%</b>.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Water conservation is important, not just because of the current drought situation, but because it is a key aspect of sustainable agriculture in general that is too often overlooked.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Hollandia's efforts show that the company is dedicated to using technology in order to conserve water while producing top-quality products.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://www.livegourmet.com/" target="_new" class="btn"> Hollandia Produce </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
