A hydroponic garden is a great place to start if you have been thinking about growing your own produce at home but don’t have space for a big outdoor garden. This article explores the benefits of hydroponic gardens, introduces you to AeroGarden, and shows DIYers how to start a hydroponic garden at home.
How to Start a Hydroponic Garden 101
It might sound complicated, but a hydroponic is simply a type of garden that uses water and certain nutrients to help grow plants and food, instead of soil.
Therefore, it is ideal in indoor environments for anyone who doesn’t have a backyard to grow their plants.
Interestingly enough, the Urban Garden Center reports that “hydroponics allows plants to grow up to 50% faster than they do in soil.” Hydroponics is a sustainable and environmentally-friendly movement that produces better-tasting food with higher nutritional content.
8 Benefits to Using A Hydroponic Garden
Anyone Can Do It
Hydroponic gardens are great for beginners and pros alike.
No matter if you live in a traditional house, apartment, condo, or college dorm, you can begin to grow your favorite herbs, plants, and vegetables without a university degree.
No Outside Space Needed
In addition to not needing a traditional yard to start your garden, hydroponic systems do not need any soil for growing your plants, and happen to use less space in general.
You Conserve Natural Resources
Hydroponic gardens use much less natural resources, including less water (up to ⅔ less) than what outdoor plants require. And of course, you are not using soil at all so you save that precious resource as well.
Experience Benefits of Grounding
Simply by being in touch with plants and herbs, you are creating a conscious connection to the Earth which is an important element of ground therapy.
Gardening has been found to promote relaxation by reducing stress and anxiety while providing a host of benefits to your body.
DIY Friendly and Affordable
Whether you prefer to build your own hydroponic garden or purchase a ready-to-grow system from a well-established company like AeroGarden, there are low-budget options to explore for any size project.
High Production Yield
With hydroponics, you are in total control over the nutrient balance of whatever you are growing. This is critical for producing more flavorful and nutritionally-packed results.
The best part is that for the amount of space required, the yields from a hydroponic garden are significantly higher than traditional growing methods.
No More Seasonal Frustrations
Since hydroponic gardens are established indoors, you no longer have to worry about seasonal limitations in your growth cycle. You simply have total control over the entire environment you set up for growing your favorite stuff.
So Easy, The Kids Can Do It
Gardening is a great way to encourage family time and getting everyone involved in a fun and educational hobby that produces something tangible in the form of delicious fruits and vegetables.
AeroGarden- The SMART Hydroponic Gardening Solution
AeroGarden is definitely the craze in the small home hydroponic community. This fantastic company offers stress-free garden solutions that are great for both beginners and pros alike.
Consider yourself a bonafide grower in three easy steps — literally, all you have to do is add plant food, water, and control the lighting from an easy-to-use interface and enjoy your harvest within just 4-6 weeks.
For instance, Aerogarden offers this Mighty Mini Cherry Tomato Seed Pod Kit (9-Pod) for just $21.95. This plug-and-play system is an all-frills-and-thrills package deal that produces carefully selected varieties of NON-GMO herbs, vegetables, and flowers without the use of harmful herbicides and pesticides.
With this system, you can be eating a delicious Aerogarden tomato in no time.
The most labor-intensive (but far from difficult) part of this from-couch-to-gardener hydroponic growing solution will be the cleaning aspect.
AeroGarden cleaning is essential to maintaining a healthy growth environment between plantings and before growing a new seed pod kit.
Get Your DIY Indoor Hydroponic Garden Started
There are six main types of hydroponic systems to include: deep water culture (DWC) systems, wick, nutrient film technique, ebb and flow, drip systems, and aeroponics.
Square Mile Farms points out that a deep water culture “is the easiest type of hydroponic system that you can build and maintain at home.” Another enticing aspect of beginning your own hydroponic garden is that you can make your very own system using up-cycled materials that you probably already have laying around your home.
The basic materials you will need to get started include:
- Storage Container, Bucket, or PVC pipes (large-diameter)
- Garden-specific Net Pots
- Air Pump
- Hydroponic Nutrients
- pH Meter
- Measuring Cup
- Pipettes
- Drill
- Hole Saw
Watch the full video below to make your own hydroponic garden!
What Can You Grow In A Hydroponic Garden
You can grow just about anything in a hydroponic garden. However, there are some plants and foods that are easier for beginners to grow in this type of system.
Here are some to start with:
Fresh greens
Lettuce tends to be one of the first plants people grow in their indoor hydroponic gardens. They are very easy to grow in general and tend to grow quickly indoors as opposed to in soil.
Herbs
Another great option is herbs, which you can use for cooking, as well as medicinal properties. Some herbs to start with include basil, rosemary, chamomile, thyme, cilantro, sage, and parsley.
Fruits
Yes, you can also grow fruit in your hydroponic garden! Strawberries are a very popular choice to start with, along with other types of berries. You can also grow larger fruits like cantaloupe or watermelon.
Takeaway
If you’ve been wondering how to start a hydroponic garden at home, these tips will help you. A hydroponic garden is a soil-free system that conserves precious water and supports a new and improved growing method. It produces high-quality fruits and vegetables in a sustainable way that will fill your table all year long.