Hydroponic or soilless gardening and indoor gardening are fantastic ways of growing fresh food year round, especially in situations where there is no available land. Hydroponically grown plants grow faster and are ready for harvest sooner, and there are no worries about soil-borne diseases or pests—plus there’s no weeding! There are small, self-contained systems that will fit on a shelf or a windowsill, as well as larger, more complex units that you can design to suit your particular needs.
Choosing a system is the first step. Consider the amount of space you have, as well as your budget and time constraints before purchasing any equipment. Be sure and think about whether you may want to expand eventually, and what you’d like to grow.
Hydrofarm has adapted the techniques that commercial growers have successfully used for years into convenient home gardening systems. Emily’s Garden™ is a compact hydroponic unit that’s perfect for the novice gardener. The system includes nutrient, seed starter cubes, growing media and six individual planters. It will produce an abundance of herbs, leafy greens and smaller vegetables and flowers. The addition of grow lights such as Hydrofarm’s Jump Start® T5 Grow Light System will ensure a bountiful harvest no matter what the season.
For the tomato lover, juicy home grown tomatoes become available any time with Hydrofarm’s self-watering Tomato Barrel™ tomato planters, which do utilize soil as the growing media. The Tomato Trellis™ Garden On Wheels is a portable unit with a trellis that expands to 4 feet tall. The wheels make it easy to move the trellis to a sunny corner of a balcony or patio. The Tomato & Pepper Tree™ has a 3’ tall trellis ring, and will produce amazing amounts of peppers and tomatoes. The Tomato Barrel™ has a trellis that expands to 4 feet tall. These units will produce fruit outdoors of course, but for year-round harvesting, growing indoors under lights is recommended.
A perfect starter light from Hydrofarm is the supercompact Mini Sunburst® unit. It consists of an all-in-one magnetic ballast/reflector system which is easy to hang and will provide plenty of light while running quietly and safely. It includes the bulb, hangers, instructions and lighting recommendations. It may require a plug adaptor or voltage converter for operation in India.
Media-based systems such as ebb-and-flow, top feed or bottom feed systems rely on a growing medium to support the plants and hold nutrient solution around their roots. Most operate on timers, alternately wetting the medium to wash out salts and replenish nutrients, then draining so the plants can draw in oxygen. With these systems, setup is more complex, costs are higher and media needs to be replaced occasionally. These systems need to be protected from power outages, which can leave vulnerable roots high and dry if the pump stops running.
One complete ebb and flow kit available exclusively from Hydrofarm is the Active Aqua™ Grow Flow Ebb & Flow System. This includes 12 2-gallon bucket growing modules, a digital controller, a 55 gallon distribution reservoir, two 250 GPH high flow pumps and all the fittings and tubing needed to install the system. It is also expandable up to 48 growing modules.
Make sure that your lighting components are compatible before you purchase them. “Intelligent” dimmable ballasts such as Hydrofarm’s stateof- the-art Phantom ™ series are among the ballasts that knowledgeable growers are choosing for their sophisticated features, super reliability and energy efficiency.
The best reflectors, such as Hydrofarm’s premium Daystar®AC Reflector or the value-priced Xtrasun® Aluminum Wing Reflector, create wide light spread and run at a cool temperature, something to consider in enclosed grow rooms. Again, some electrical products may require plug adaptors and/or voltage converters.
As you gain more experience and knowledge about soilless and indoor gardening, you’ll quickly discover how much technology is changing and improving this worthwhile endeavor. We’re now able to grow food in places once thought impossible, and the world will eat better and more frequently because of it.
The experts at Hydrofarm continue to lead the way by bringing the best and most innovative products to the market. You can depend on their knowledge and expertise as you learn more about this fascinating way of gardening.
Read the original article Soilless Gardening India Magazine: Issue #6