Frederick Gericke is credited with making the earliest modern reference to hydroponics in 1929. Gericke was a plant nutritionist at the University of California, Berkeley. Though people doubted Gericke’s idea that plants could be grown in a solution of nutrients and water he proved them wrong by growing 25-foot high tomato vines using the hydroponic method.

Gericke wrote the Complete Guide to Soilless Growing.

Works Cited:

History of Hydroponics: When Was It Invented? (2019, October 3). Epicgardening. Retrieved April 28, 2020, from https://www.epicgardening.com/history-of-hydroponics/

Hydroponics. (2020, April 25). In Wikipedia. Retrieved April 28, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroponics

William Frederick Gericke. (n.d.) SmithsonianInstitutionArchieves. Retrieved April 28, 2020, from https://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_arc_383353