Green Smoothies have renewed my interest in having a green thumb. I've grown my own vegetables in the past, but I stopped when I was constantly racing the clock to finish my graduate program. It's time to return to growing.
Last time, I grew hydroponic tomatoes outdoors. The system consisted of six large plants, each in their own growing medium, feed by a 30-gallon reservoir of nutrients. Best tomatoes ever.
I wanted to grow hydroponically because I wanted to control as many variables of my growing as possible (and partially because I'm just a little geeky like that). This system worked pretty well. Still, I fought flying and crawling bugs that also wanted to eat my plants. I really disliked that. Also, I've built a shed in my garden area, and there's now a growing family of rabbits that live under the shed. I'm sure my garden would be a feast for them.
So, this year I'm making two major changes. I'm going to grow lettuce, spinach and kale indoors hydroponically, and I'm going to invest in a plastic greenhouse for the outdoor season. You can get a 12' x 7' x 7' greenhouse on Amazon for just over $100.
Why hydroponics? I'm motivated by the knowledge that I'm eating pesticide-free food. I'm motivated by the internal reward of eating food I created, and I'm motivated by having a hobby that also provides tangible results that benefit my whole house.
Also, I can grow indoors cheaper than I can buy lettuce, kale and spinach, and that's what I will start after Halloween.
If you're interesting in growing your own indoors, check out this guy's blog.
http://frugalhydroponics.blogspot.com
hey whats up this is my first time even seeing this i always heard about it but never really looking it up. im trying to grow peppers and others. im having trouble sprouting the seed. building the system will not be a problem the seeds are my problem. i want my family to have freash fruit and veggeies. ~ thanks joe
ReplyDeleteWhy is hydroponics the new way to grow plants? Hydroponic Grow Room Equipment is used to grow the plants. They are grown in an inert growing medium and are given a mixture of nutrient and water. The plants that are grown in soil spend a lot of energy searching for air, nutrients, and water. The water, air, and nutrients are mainlined directly to the rootball, in hydroponics, thereby freeing the upper flower, leaf or fruit to use its energy.
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