Water to Air.

 We started our journey by experimenting in the garden of my family home in the Tuscan countryside where I grew up. The primordial step was to install a small greenhouse with glass panels, in which we began to cultivate and test the first seedlings through hydroponic cultivation.

The principle of hydroponics is that the cultivation of the plant takes place out of soil, meaning in absence of soil. The seed is placed on an inert substrate inside a perforated basket that allows the roots to come out.

The baskets are then placed inside special containers, along with water and nutrients necessary for their growth. 

In our case, we created two circuits to connect the various containers. Each circuit had a pump capable of circulating water and providing nutrients to all plants.

Our goal, in addition to growing productive and healthy plants, is to ensure the taste and quality of the final fruits and for this reason it is important that the plant absorbs the right amounts of nutrients. 

After a few tests we realized that the constant water recirculation of the hydroponic process did not allow plants to absorb nutrients in equal parts and this generated a constant imbalance of the values of PH* and EC**.

We realized that it was necessary to change direction and move towards a more effective and advanced system, the aeroponic cultivation. In the aeroponic process there is no water recirculation as the nutrient solution is sprayed directly on the roots. We can then keep nutrient values stable within a main reservoir and are able to deliver the nutrients they need to the plants.

*PH: acidity indicator. It must be kept stable at a certain level if you want to ensure proper absorption by the plants of nutrients dissolved in the water.

**EC: electrical conductivity. It indicates the concentration of the dissolved nutrient solution in the water on which you rely to know when to add or decrease fertilizers.