I am thrilled to have guest blogger Chris Wimmer sharing his wisdom and experience today regarding hydroponic gardening. Be sure to read all the way to the end and follow the link to get his new, free Spring Hydroponic Growing Guide. Enjoy!
It’s officially Spring and it’s time to start your spring garden. Using hydroponics in your outdoor garden gives you all the benefits of indoor hydroponics with the added benefits provided by the sun’s full-spectrum lighting.
Definition of a Hydroponic Garden:
True hydroponic gardens contain no soil. The soil is replaced with an inert medium such as rockwool or coco coir.
Water and feeding are automated so the plant is never without either.
pH levels and fertilizer are easily measured to ensure the plant’s energy is focused on vegetation and flower/fruit growth at all times.
There’s more to a thriving garden than that which is mentioned above, but the above-mentioned variable are the heart of growing your produce hydroponically.
Benefits offered by an outdoor hydroponic garden:
Easy natural lighting:
The sun will always be the greatest natural resource on Earth so we should always embrace it. Hydroponics work perfectly with the natural summer sun patterns. There’s no need for a timer or adjusting the distance of the lamp like there is in an indoor growing system.
Little or no dangerous chemicals needed:
I find that a clean well maintained growing tray will significantly reduce the number of critters around your plants. Addressing a few critters is usually pretty easy vs. the swarms that can occur in the soil.
Quick tip: Add a bug zapper in near your garden to safely guard your plants.
You control all the growth variables:
With hydroponics, your plant’s root system is constantly fed a water, oxygen, and fertilizer-rich solution to maximize their growth. Since you’ll also be controlling the pH level of the feeding solution and growing media, the plants growth won’t be inhibited by acidic imbalances that can happen naturally and which are harder to control with plants grown in soil.
What crops should you grow?
You can grow anything you want BUT some are more work than others.
In general, root vegetables are harder to grow because of their depth requirements. It’s best to start with one of the easier-to-grow plants listed below, to get acquainted with the various hydroponic techniques first, then move on to more difficult-to-grow varieties of fruits, veggies, shrubbery, or exotic flowers.
Tomatoes
Herbs
Salad greens
Wheatgrass
Strawberries
Interested in starting something this spring?
If so I just completed a Spring Hydroponic Growing Guide which I’m offering for FREE. It will teach you all the basics of hydroponics, provide you key questions you should consider before starting, and even a couple easy step by step system building guides. Happy growing!
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