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Back in 2022, my school friend Clara & I decided to go on a little adventure right at her home in New Jersey. Clara always loved new gardening ideas, so when she suggested making a hydroponic garden at home, I was totally on board!
Did you know According to NASA a hydroponic system can produce up to 10 times more yield than a soil based garden? Crazy, right?
Now, you might be asking yourself, “What exactly is hydroponic gardening?” Well, it’s a way of growing plants without soil! Instead, it uses water full of nutrients.
This cool method goes all the way back to the ancient Hanging Gardens of Babylon! It has changed quite a bit since then.
With hydroponics, you can forget about weeding & enjoy fresh produce all year long. It’s no surprise that the hydroponics market is expected to hit $17.9 billion by 2026!
So how did Clara & I turn her spacious sunroom into this amazing hydroponic oasis? Let me share with you..
Choosing the Right Hydroponic System
First, we needed to pick a system. There are a lot of types out there:
- Deep Water Culture (DWC): In this one, plants hang out in nutrient-filled water. It’s easy to set up & saves money but can have root rot if not aerated well.
- Nutrient Film Technique (NFT): Here, a thin flow of nutrients goes over the roots. It uses nutrients smartly but might have pump issues.
- Ebb and Flow (Flood and Drain): This method floods the grow tray with nutrient solution sometimes. It’s flexible & works for various plants but needs careful timing.
- Wick System: Nutrients move up to the roots through wicks. Very simple with no moving parts but only works for small plants as it delivers nutrients slowly.
- Aeroponics: Roots get misted with nutrients. It has lots of oxygen for fast growth but is tricky and can cost quite a bit.
After doing our research (and watching lots of YouTube tutorials!), we went with the DWC system since it’s simple and great for newbies.
Clara’s room had loads of space and got tons of natural light too! But if you’re short on space, don’t fret! There are plenty of compact systems that fit nicely in apartments or even on kitchen counters.
Essential Components: The Building Blocks of Our Garden
Next up was gathering supplies. Here’s what we needed:
- Grow lights (we picked LED for being energy-efficient)
- Air pump & air stones
- Nutrient solution
- pH testing kit
- Growing medium (we used rockwool cubes)
- Containers for planting
Setting everything up felt like putting together a giant puzzle but much more fun! We spent a whole weekend getting things just right, from hanging grow lights to setting up the air pump.
Preparing the Nutrient Solution
In our setup, the nutrient solution acts like soil, water & fertilizer all in one shortcut! It was awesome to see how this simple-looking liquid could help our plants grow big and healthy without any dirt at all. Clara & I were stunned!
A good nutrient mix has everything plants need: Macronutrients, Secondary nutrients, and Micronutrients. Each part matters for plant growth.
For example, nitrogen helps leaves grow, phosphorus supports roots, and potassium boosts overall plant health.
At first, Clara & I went with pre-mixed commercial solutions because they were easy for us clueless beginners! We didn’t want to stress about mixing ratios too much either.
We used a two-part solution, one for growing and one for blooming, so we could tweak it as our plants grew. As we got better at this whole thing, we started trying our own mixes!
Choosing Our Plants
Now came the super fun part, picking what to grow! We kicked things off with leafy greens like lettuce & spinach along with some herbs like basil and mint. They’re great for beginners since they sprout quickly and aren’t too fussy.
Once we felt brave enough, we tried growing tomatoes and peppers too! Let me tell ya, nothing compares to picking a fresh tomato in the chilly New Jersey winter!
The Importance of pH
One really important lesson was about keeping pH levels just right. When mixing our nutrient solution, we followed directions to keep pH between 5.5 and 6.5 since most hydroponic plants love slightly acidic environments here. We grabbed a quality pH meter and made sure to check regularly.
I still remember when our basil leaves started looking kinda yellowish. We tested the pH & saw it had jumped up to 7.2! After adjusting it back down again though? Our basil perked up like magic!
Maintaining Our Hydroponic Garden at Home
Our garden doesn’t just take care of itself (though sometimes it felt way easier than traditional gardening!). We checked on it often keeping an eye on nutrient levels & pH balance was key!
Weekly checks using an electrical conductivity (EC) meter helped us know when we needed to top off or swap out solutions.
Clara became pretty good at spotting problems, she could guess what each plant needed just by looking at its leaves!
We figured out pretty quickly that algae can be pesky too! With some adjustments to lighting schedules & keeping things tidy in our reservoir? We managed just fine!
The Fruits (and Veggies) of Our Labor
Fast forward to today, we’ve got a thriving hydroponic garden happening over here! Sure, we’ve faced hiccups remember the Great Basil Meltdown of ’23? Basil really prefers not too much light but those lessons taught us loads!
Best part? We’re eating fresher veggies now than ever before! Research shows hydroponically grown veggies can pack up to 50% more vitamins compared with soil-grown ones! Plus again with zero mystery pesticides, we know exactly what goes into our food!
Ready to Start Your Own Hydroponic Journey?
Feeling inspired yet? If you’re curious about starting your own hydroponic garden at home, just jump in! More folks are discovering how wonderful indoor gardening without soil can be here in the US.
Whether you live in a nice New Jersey tract like Clara & me or cozy downtown apartment there’s definitely a hydroponic system waiting for you.
Hydroponics isn’t just for expert gardeners you can totally do this too! It’s perfect if you want fresh produce even when space or weather is tricky. Tons of beginner-friendly setups are available online or at local garden shops they can be really affordable too!
So if you’re itching to grow your own herbs or veggies or even flowers? Give hydroponics a whirl! It’s such a fun way to bring gardening inside even if you don’t have much experience and with a little research you’ll be a pro!
