Not a gardener... would small air pruning sack/pods work as well as hydroponics in a setup similar to those counter top Aerogarden things?
My kids picked out one those counter-top aerogarden hydroponic things to give to me for my birthday. I finally got around to planting seeds in it and I find it neat. One task I just never would have thought of is that I have to prune the roots, in addition to top growth, to prevent the roots from interfering with the pump. I'm a tinkerer and engineer and I immediately started wondering if it would be feasible to make a diy version that utilized small air pruning sacks with some sort of media in them, watered via something like little drip emitters, instead of how these hydroponic systems utilize those sponges soaking in water/nutrients. I just don't know enough about gardening to know whether it is biologically feasible. It would seem to me that air pruning bags would eliminate the need for pruning roots. Can anyone comment on the feasibility? Is there enough nutrient/biological support for things like herbs, so that they could grow in small air pruning sacks or is that the key to why all these devices use hydroponics?