Lemme tell you, if you were marooned on the space station for 6 months and begun craving a Denver omelet in Los Angeles, hydroponics would save the day.

But let's go back a bit. First, what is this Hydrowhatchamacallit? Eventhough we are used to seeing plants grown in soil, they don't actually need soil to grow. Hydroponics is a method of breeding plants which practices water and melted nutrients. Hydro entails water, ponos means labor. So, hydroponics naturally pertains to "working water". The benefits of hydroponics farming is as big as a whole grocery aisle.

First, the absorption of nutrients is hastened by growing in water. The growth speed on a hydroponics plant is 30-50 percent faster than in a soil plant grown under similar circumstances. This makes for greater harvests (more!) over less time and utilizing less space. The needed nutrients are pumped straight to the plant by the hydroponics systems. Thus not like in soil, roots do not spread as much as they do. Since the plants do not have to hunt in the soil for the nutrients it requires and this saved energy permits them to grow faster and yield more, scientists believe that the growth velocity of hydroponically grown plants is greater. Pretty awesome.

Martian omelet, anyone?

That's correct. For a dear number of years NASA has been developing ways for space station astronauts and eventually planetary colonizers to grow their own food. Because there is no low-cost or less difficult manner for them to bring 3 years of food provisions with them, it has become a must. In space, where longer term life will need to be supported as we go out further and further, Los Angeles hydroponics demonstrates to be the most efficient means to generate fresh foods. The weight of the cargoes that need to be taken with them outside Earth will be cut down significantly. It will be necessary for colonists to utilize more efficient agricultural techniques than those on Earth because space is at a premium in outer space colonies. Even though hydroponics doesn't require soil and takes up less space than normal means, plants grown hydroponically are often larger and healthier than plants grown conventionally. Also a cleaner method of cultivating plants than soil-based systems is hydroponics. Via a plant system, it was also thought that the filthy water produced by the astronauts could be cleaned by cycling.

Done the geeky stuff? What would they probably eat?

As long as they have the seeds and the space to do so, astronauts can literally grow anything their tummies want. Basil. Tomato. Spinach. Oranges. Bananas. Mushrooms. Anything. So what we will have are satisfied, healthy astronauts with many green, yellow and red goodies from Earth to keep their tummies smiling. Thank goodness for Los Angeles hydroponics.