Aeroponics is the process of growing
plants in an
air or
mist environment without the use of
soil or an
aggregate medium (known as
geoponics). The word "aeroponic" is derived from the
Greek meanings of
aero- (air) and
ponos (labour). Aeroponic culture differs from both conventional
hydroponics,
aquaponics, and
in-vitro (
plant tissue culture) growing. Unlike hydroponics, which uses a liquid nutrient solution as a growing medium and essential minerals to sustain plant growth; or aquaponics which uses water and fish waste, aeroponics is conducted without a growing medium. Because water is used in aeroponics to transmit nutrients, it is sometimes considered a type of hydroponics.