How to succeed in hydroponics

One of my favorite stories I listened to during my childhood was "An Old Man and his Horse". It goes something like this... An old man was traveling to a nearby village along with his son riding on their horse that was well fed, well built, and strong enough to take challenges. Along their way they met a person who stopped them and scolded them for being so rude to the horse as he wondered how can horse tolerate both of their weight on her back? Amazed by his reaction dad decided to walk and he let his son sit on horse. They had travelled few yards before they met another person. He scolded his son for being so selfish for making his dad walk while he being young settled on the horse comfortably. Now, the father decided to ride and the son walked while another person commented on the Dad being selfish making his son walk! Finally, they discussed and decided that they both walk. Soon they met another guy who cannot help laughing at the sight of them both walking in spite of having such a strong horse at their disposal. I believe that this story is very relevant even today. We get to hear comments on all our actions, reactions, what not - even about the work that we do to make a living. When I got posted to United States for a long-term assignment, many of my friends asked me why did I decide to switch geography at my mid-life. While, the fact was that the opportunity didn’t knock earlier – but when it did, I seized it. Some of my folks declared that I will never come back to India etc. You see how creative can people get at weaving stories about others. And Gosh! When I returned to India after several years, these very folks were super-concerned about my being back in my home land! One of the top questions I often get asked by my students is: "Is hydroponics very expensive? Is it sustainable? My concern is because of my friends and people tell me failure is guaranteed if I get into this full-time.” As an answer to this question, I would say regardless of it being hydroponics or any activity that you undertake, if you dedicate your time and energy into in 100%, there is no telling how far it can take you. Hydroponics in not super expensive nor you can do that incurring zero expense. The pundits who are rolling out opinions either may not have followed the correct, scientific methods of hydroponics or they screwed themselves up listening to advocates of “easy path without effort”. Look folks, though we are living in a free world, there is no free lunch. Of course, you are free to pass opinions and/or comments anything under sun – that doesn’t cost a dime – reason why we are blessed with much more arm-chair pundits around than we can handle. When you decide to tread on a different path, expect unsolicited advises, suggestions and comments from all quarters. From my experience, I would strongly recommend that you keep the filter with you firm and steady. Always remember to keep the weeds away from heart and soul because if you switch plans heeding to useless advise of these “so-called pundits”, you miss the bus and reach nowhere. To talk about, hydroponics – it is no rocket science - but rather a fusion of art and science about capitalizing on the concepts of soil-less farming using our own backyard (or front yard for that matter). Being a responsible individual adopting a method of sustainable living, it gives you much more “happiness” which cannot be equated with the money you earn. However, as they say, money always follow passion and not vice versa. I am a person who left the comforts of a cozy 9-5 job in the “IT world” for the passion of doing something in the “real world”. And, yes! That makes a difference in the long run. At Belesiri, we are super-pumped about all that contributes to sustainable living. We educate people about hydroponics and encourage them to grow. We provide focused training on how to scale the business. If you have the passion for farming, get the right equipment, follow the scientifically tested farming methods, you are all set to go and win – have no question about it. Guruprasad Kurtkoti Chief Executive Farmer, Founder and Coach @ Belesiri https://Belesiri.in