Easy Hydroponic Gardening

A couple of years ago, my in-laws gifted me a hydroponic garden for Christmas. This led to the inside joke of growing “basement lettuce.” We keep this in the basement due to the bright lights! In all seriousness though, hydroponic gardening is becoming more and more popular! I have a six-pod set up, meaning I can grow six different plants at a time.

Using this is surprisingly simple and straight forward. Once you have the system, all you need are pods, plant food, and water! The pods and plant food can be purchased together, or you can buy them individually. So far, I only have experience purchasing them together as a kit. They already have the seeds in them, but you are able to purchase just the pod and plant whatever seeds you would like as well!

The pictures from above are what are next on my list to try growing! So far, I have only tried lettuce and herbs. Both grew very well! My husband and I enjoy having freshly picked produce in the middle of winter. I have seen pods for strawberries and mini tomatoes as well! Will be for sure be trying those out too!

Once you get the system, you place the pods in the holes on the top and cover with the included plastic domes (included in the kits/seed in pod combo), adjust the light to the lowest (closest to pod) setting. Then follow the onscreen directions which include adding water, adding plant food, and setting up a timer. The light on this model automatically turns on and off according to how much light each type of plant needs! I can’t speak to others, but I’m sure they are similar!

The screen alerts me when it is time to add water or plant food! That’s it! Within a couple of weeks you will see your plants grow! Be sure to adjust the light height so you don’t burn the plants. I try to keep it probably 4-6 inches above the plants.

What is really neat about using a hydroponic system is that it allows you to literally watch the roots grow, which obviously can’t be done when planting in the dirt! It amazes me how quickly they grow!

This is probably one of the easiest ways to have a hydroponic garden because the system basically does all the work. There are other ways to do it as well and on a much larger scale. I have been looking into giving it a try now that I have larger grow lights (for seed starting indoors). My hope is to try it this coming winter because… seriously… how awesome would it be to go pick a garden salad in the middle of winter! Let me tell you… Minnesota winters get LOOOOOOOONG!

We will see what happens! If I can talk my husband into helping me build some type of large hydroponic gardening system, I promise to take you along for the ride!