Five Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Indoor Garden
Even though we are moving toward growing herbs outdoors, I keep all of my indoor gardens during the summer months. I was surprised at how convenient it is to have these gardens nearby and how it allows me to use crops like fresh herbs more often. A side effect that I didn’t expect was how much I love having real plants and greenery in my bedroom and living room: the garden makes a soothing sound of water running like a stream, and I love the smell of the plants. If outdoor gardening isn’t for you, you can find one of these indoor gardening kits that require little to no skill and are just a trick.
These commercial kits include everything you’ll need, from seed cups and growing media to lighting and a pump to regularly recirculate water. Small sets like the Aerogarden Harvest or Letpot can be placed on a countertop, while larger sets like the Rise need their own space on the floor. Here are the tips I’ve developed to make better use of these gardens.
Buy level
Hydroponic gardens work by keeping plant roots constantly hydrated, either in a pool of recirculating water or by regularly “watering” them with a pump. For this to work effectively, the entire system must be level. Typically larger kits like Rise have adjustable feet to help with this, but a system like LettuceGrow doesn’t, so you’ll need spacers. You will still need to make sure your countertop garden is level. Otherwise, the water will flow to one side of the garden and some roots may not receive moisture. If only one side of your garden is sprouting, this may be the reason.
Grow the right crops
Hydrogardens grow crops in a confined space, with limited “sunlight” and no soil in which the roots can take hold. While almost everything will still grow, crops that will require a lot of support, such as pumpkins, may not thrive. . Crops with a very long growing season, such as pumpkins, are also not ideal for this system, since you will have to turn the gardening system over before the pumpkin is ready to grow out of the sunshine. Moreover, although smaller vegetable plants are being produced all the time (I recently grew real tomatoes on eight-inch Aerogarden plants), that doesn’t mean they will taste good. I have been very disappointed with hydroponic grown fruits and vegetables; although they still receive nutrition, sunlight and water, they usually don’t taste very good. So, while you can grow almost anything, I’ve found that the best way is to simply grow herbs or simpler, shorter crops like peas.
Learn to self-pollinate
Since your hydroponic garden will not be visited by bees to transfer pollen from plant to plant, you will have to do this if you are growing any fruits or vegetables. I’ve seen many of these gardens advise casually shaking the plants every now and then, but that’s disingenuous. To achieve good pollination rates, you need to vibrate the plants well and do this often while there are flowers. The best way I’ve found is to use a real vibrator or massage wand and use a smart automation that will run it for a minute every few hours. I specifically looked for one that plugged into the mains and used a manual switch rather than a button that had to be turned on every time. This way I could leave the device on and just set up automation for the outlet it was plugged into. I just left it on top of the garden, but you can also tape it to the back. As long as it is attached to the garden in some way, it will vibrate enough that the pollen will be released and form a cloud of yellow dust that will settle on the flowers and pollinate them.
Grow any seed you want
Most hydroponic garden companies sell seed packets or starting materials for these gardens, and they are quite expensive. But gardens provide everything a plant needs to grow: sunlight, nutrition and water. You can always purchase the pods and growing medium from the secondary market and plant the seeds yourself. There is nothing special about the lettuce or herb seeds they use and you most likely have the seeds or can buy a bag of them cheaply. Although small “patio” vegetables are bred specifically for this purpose, similar varieties can usually be purchased online (though, again, they are grown mainly for sport, as they are not very tasty).
Be vigilant in pest control
The plants themselves will attract pests such as aphids and mosquitoes without much effort. Hydrogardens seem to be making the problem worse, so you need to be proactive. Always ensure there is no standing water around from a leaking unit or when adding water to the unit. It’s a good idea to use traps nearby. I like the Zevo Flying Insect Traps, which use ultraviolet light to attract insects. You might consider adding nasturtium flowers to your garden – not in abundance, but in one of the growing pods, as they “lure” aphids into the trap. Aphids are attracted to nasturtiums and simply hang out on them, avoiding other plants; you just leave the nasturtium to do its job.
The secret sauce for me has been using small gardens to grow herbs, which I use constantly, trimming the plants regularly to keep them from running away. In larger gardens I grow greens such as lettuce, celery, celeriac, chard and spinach. Using such small, compact plants means nothing gets crowded out, there’s no fruit to disappoint or take up too much time, and you’ll end up being very happy with the experience.