The National Restaurant Association will showcase its first-ever Hydroponic Garden at NRA Show 2013. Attendees will explore a fully functioning hydroponic garden that will grow local, all-natural, pesticide-free produce set-up right on the show floor. The NRA Show’s Hydroponic Garden uses a combination of artificial light and nutrient-enriched water to give plants everything they need to thrive. 

Hydroponics is a method of growing plants in a water and mineral nutrient solution without soil.

Compared to traditional soil gardening, hydroponics:

• Provides year-round cultivation
• Produces a higher yleld per square foot
• Requires no weed pulling
• Uses about two-thirds less water
• Eliminates pesticide damage
• Grows Swiss chard, sweet basil, purple basil, dill, cilantro, parsley, chives, bibb lettuce, gourmet lettuce mix, habanero peppers, thyme, edible flowers, oregano, red lettuce, green beans, pumpkin, squash, and more

This application allows restaurants to grow fresh food on-site with a tiny physical footprint and minimal resources. Most important, this locally sourced, sustainable innovation is not just attractive to guests, but financially savvy. And restaurateurs are increasingly having to field criticism/questions about sustainability – making local sourcing a hot trend right now.

In addition to the new Hydroponic Garden showfloor highlight, the NRA Show will again feature the Conserve Solutions Center – which features a concentration of sustainability-related products and services. 

And then there's the sustainability-focused education sessions. The foremost leaders on sustainability in the restaurant industry, such as experts from the Clinton Global Initiative, world-renowned chef Rick Bayless, media mogul Ted Turner, along with Ted's Montana Grill CEO George McKerrow and more will also be on hand to share their tips: how restaurants can influence sustainability in the entire supply chain, understand what sustainability practices resonate with customers, tips for recycling and composting and more. 

If you haven’t already registered for NRA Show 2013, register now and save 50 percent.