Rav Ovadya Yosef
zt”l (Yechaveh Daas 6:12) writes that the proper
beracha to recite on hydroponically grown fruits and vegetables is
shehakol. He explains that since they do not receive any nourishment from the soil, they are comparable to mushrooms for which the
beracha is
shehakol. He compares the
halacha of a
beracha for hydroponics to the status of
shemita. Although it is forbidden to plant in soil in Israel during
shemita (even in a flowerpot), the Chazon Ish and others ruled that one may plant hydroponically, because planting in water is not the same as planting in soil. However, Rav Wosner
zt”l (Shevet HaLevi 1:205), Rav Sternbuch (Teshuvos V’Hanhgaos 2:149) and many others maintain that the
beracha for hydroponically grown vegetables is
ha’adama. They explain that Chazal established a uniform
beracha for the entire species regardless of how a particular vegetable is grown. For example, since tomatoes ordinarily grow in soil, people refer to tomatoes as a “
pri adama” (a fruit of the land), since that is how they typically grow. It is therefore appropriate to recite the
beracha of “
borei pri ha’adama", irrespective of whether a particular tomato was grown in the ground, in a flowerpot, or hydroponically. Rav Ovadya Yosef conceded that if one recited
borei pri ha’adama on hydroponically grown vegetables, the
beracha is valid
bidieved.
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