Save Money by Growing Your Own Hydroponic Systems
You’re probably still waiting for your corn to be ready to harvest and your pumpkins to turn orange, but now is the time to start thinking about the long fall and winter ahead—a dark time when you won’t be able to get any decent tomatoes. to save your life and the peppers will skyrocket to $5 each. Although you can move the season earlier or later by using a cover crop such as Agribon or cold frames , summer crops are still best left in summer temperatures. That’s why we’re going indoors this year, with hydroponic indoor growing systems. The key is to get things started now so that when you make this transition in the fall, your houseplants will be ready to pick up the slack. For hydroponic systems this year I will be using Rise Roma , Aerogarden Harvest , LetPot and Aerogarden Farm XL . I’ll use Rise Roma for the tomatoes; Harvest and LetPot for herbs and tender greens; and a farm growing peppers, eggplants and other medium-sized greenhouse crops.
Plants from hydroponic systems are too expensive.
If you’ve purchased a hydraulic system (and there are many), you probably realize that there are three different payment methods. Firstly, the system itself. Second, a subscription if required (most don’t). But what they will bring you is the beginning of vegetables. For most of these systems, the company sells seed pods or has already started growing vegetables. If you’re connected to the Lettuce Grow online community , you’ll see frustrated posts about the ever-increasing prices of these starts and sometimes inconsistent quality, and it’s not just Lettuce Grow – it’s a problem for everyone.
I’ve had decent success with seed pods from Aerogarden and Rise Gardens, but looking at the cost of these pods and the relative cost of seeds and making them yourself, there doesn’t seem to be much value in it. Moreover, while sowing seeds outside is quite difficult, sowing them inside is a piece of cake. Some hydro systems, like Rise Gardens, have a designated area for sowing new seeds before you transfer them to the actual tray for a full-size start. In some cases, tiny nurseries are provided for growing seeds.
Choose high-yielding crops that make sense in limited space and short time frames.
I won’t waste space or energy on crops like flowers (they can’t be eaten), broccoli (they take too long and can grow outside in the winter), or cucumbers (they need more support than hydro towers can offer). Instead, I concentrate on different water systems for full-sized tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, tender greens and herbs. These are crops that tend to be unpalatable and expensive to stock in the winter, and I like to have them on hand to use on a whim.
Look for micro or patio seed varieties.
Here’s the reality: There is nothing special about the seeds or seed pods you receive directly from these companies. You receive a plastic basket with peat granules inside, which serve as a nutrient medium for the seeds placed in the peat. The seeds are usually obtained from vegetable varieties that are produced to be quite small and very fast growing, and there are many companies that have “patio” varieties designed for small planters. I spoke with Dave Whitinger, owner of Victory Seeds (an underrated and affordable seed source that I use every year) and they supply hydroponic tower companies with seeds. In particular, in the tomato category, he recommended micro tomatoes and dwarf tomatoes.
If I were looking for peppers, I would focus on snack peppers, which means small sweet peppers growing prolifically on one plant, rather than the standard bell pepper plant, which needs a lot of space to grow several heavy bell peppers in a season. I would look at the Burpee Sweet Nibbler range in yellow or red or the Confetti Hybrid . Burpee offers many patio varieties , and you can choose from most of the peppers in this section, as well as many hot peppers. Remember that if you grow hot and sweet peppers next to each other, they will all become hot.
For eggplants, consider Patio Burpee options such as Early Midnight or Patio Baby.
The good news is that with almost all of the other crops we’re about to discuss, from tender greens like lettuce to herbs, you can grow almost any variety without too much trouble. These crops are already relatively small and quick and easy to grow.
Let’s start growing
Unfortunately, there is no standard grow pod for all hydro systems. So depending on what system you’re working with, you’ll need to buy the appropriate plastic baskets and peat pods for that system, which can be found on the company’s website or on Amazon. This is usually as simple as going to the company’s website. . For example, Aerogarden sells these parts directly on their website , or you can purchase them on Amazon . Once you have the pieces, you’ll want to put them together. Place the peat pod in a plastic basket, then carefully place two or three seeds into the peat and cover with a paper disc (seed kits often come with seed kits). You can designate the variety on the disc.
From here, you need to understand some of the basics of growing seeds, whether for hydro towers or outside. Seeds need moisture and warmth. They don’t need light yet – in fact, most seeds prefer darkness at this stage until they develop leaves. As long as you keep those peat pods moist and the water temperature around 75 degrees, the seeds should grow. It helps coat the seed pods to retain moisture, which is why many seed kits also come with tiny, adorable plastic domes. But you can also wrap the entire tray in plastic wrap. And remember, you can grow seeds in a real tower; it doesn’t need to be done anywhere else. There should be no nutrients in the water at this point, and while you can experiment with the pH (most hydro systems have kits and tools to measure pH), unless you have a very acidic pH in your city water, some plants will not require treatment to grow . seeds.
It will take a few weeks to see the tiny sprouts, and once the sprouts have two leaves, you can remove the plastic domes. When they’re about an inch tall, take clean scissors and trim off all but the strongest stem (remember, you put two or three seeds in there just to be on the safe side, but you only want one plant per pod). Congratulations: you’ve started growing your own seeds, saved a lot of money, and have the materials to keep doing it again and again.