There are many compelling reasons to grow your own food. Convenience, quality control, fun—the list goes on. So it’s really no surprise that more than 1 in every 3 (roughly 42 million) American households have taken to gardening.

But food gardening isn’t necessarily as simple as sticking a seed into the ground. There are important details to consider, including yield potential, sustainability, safety and more—particularly when deciding how to grow your own food.

Sticking a seed in the ground may not be your best option. But Tower Garden and the aeroponic technology it uses just might be. Here are 5 reasons why, backed by research.

If you\’re so inclined, here\’s a tweetable!

1. Tower Garden can increase yields by an average of 30%.

The University of Mississippi compared product yield of crops grown in aeroponic growing systems and in soil. Researchers found the yields of plants grown with aeroponic technology were more than 30% bigger on average. Here’s the breakdown by crop:

• Basil – 19% increase
• Chard – 8% increase
• Red kale – 65% increase
• Parsley – 21% increase
• Bell pepper – 53% increase
• Cherry tomatoes – 35% increase
• Cucumber – 7% increase
• Squash – 50% increase

On a side note, the study also measured total phenolics, flavonoids and antioxidants in the produce grown. It turns out aeroponic and soil methods yield produce with comparable nutritional value.

2. Plants grow up to 3x more quickly.

According to NASA, plants grow up to 3x faster in aeroponic growing systems compared to in soil. Plus, yields are more consistent, and, with grow lights, year-round growing is possible.

3. Tower Garden uses as much as 98% less water.

Traditional agriculture uses approximately 80% of our water. This is a serious problem, especially for western states, where water is already in short supply. The good news? NASA found that aeroponic technology uses up to 98% less water.

4. A vertical design requires 90% less space.

Another known issue with traditional growing methods is that of space. You need a lot of it. And we have less and less of it—in fact, we lose about 3,000 acres of farmland to development daily. But growing vertically requires only 10% of the space traditional farming uses.

5. Pollution and pests are less of a problem.

How much do you really know about your backyard’s history? City soil is often contaminated with heavy metals, asbestos, petrochemicals and other pollutants—a number of which you can’t test for (I don’t know about you, but I don’t really want that stuff seeping into food I ultimately eat). Luckily, Tower Garden is a soilless growing system. So there’s no cause for concern about contaminated dirt.

Worried about pesticides? Thanks to a close-loop system that recycles water and nutrients, Tower Garden plants experience less stress. So they’re healthy enough to naturally resist most pests. Weeds are not an issue, of course, since they need soil to grow.

Further reading (plus a fun infographic) on the benefits of aeroponics: 4 Ways Tower Garden Is an Eco-friendly Choice »

According to Tower Gardeners…

In addition to the research referenced above, Tower Garden conducted its own informal study on Facebook. Here’s a glimpse of what Tower Gardeners wrote about why they chose aeroponics over soil gardening: