Adventures in Hydroponics

Oh no ... I've discovered the wonder of hydroponics. I need another hobby like a dog needs fleas.

My outdoor hydroponics set-up is the Smartgardens Autopot system. Cost me about $140, but oh! it's so worth it. Self-watering systems are wonderful. I only have to fill the reservoir about 2 or 3 times a week. This clever system uses gravity and valves to supply the nutrient solution to the plants. You can learn more about it and other cool hydroponics systems by visiting the FutureGarden website, as well as other on-line vendors (just google "hydroponics").

Currently, I'm using General Hydroponics nutrients for all my systems: Flora Grow for vegetative growth, Flora Bloom for the flowering and fruiting phases, and Flora Micro to provide both growing stages with micronutrients.

The seeds for the tomatoes and the eggplant (all heirlooms) were obtained from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. The basil seeds were picked up at my local grocery store (Whole Foods).

Autopots 

(All photos of the autopot system, unless indicated, were taken on July 31st '04.

  

Meet my autopots! The green tub, sitting about 1.5 feet above the ground on concrete blocks, is a reservoir that holds the nutrients.  Black airline tubing is attached from it to a green base that houses two green pots. Inside the base is a valve -- when the nutrient solution in the pots are used up by the plants, the valve opens. Gravity feeds more nutrients from the reservoir into the pots.

This is "Tomato Row." My plants grow on the sides of steps leading to my apartment building. The plants on the left are MMs grown  in potting soil (seedling runts I didn't have the heart to throw out that became a tomato jungle!).

The plants on the right are my hydroponically-grown MMs and YBs. Aren't they GORGEOUS?! Each were lovingly raised from seed. When they reached adolescence, most were given to friends. I've been receiving rave reviews about the tomatoes they've produced.

A close-up of the tomato pots. MMs are on the left, YBs on the right. The growing medium is a mix of perlite and coconut fiber, a nice combination with good water-retaining and air-absorption properties that promote healthy root growth.

A view of the basil and eggplant pots. The Italian basil plants used to be three times its pictured size. But yesterday, I chopped off alarge bunch of leaves for a friend, who was quite impressed by the quality of the plant (he had never seen such large leaves, and he's a chef!).

The big-leaved plant on the right is Ping Tung eggplant. It's a slow grower, but worth the wait.

My Yellow Brandywines just before they ripened.

(I keep forgetting to photograph the Mexico Midget tomatoes on the plant. They are about 1 inch or more in diameter, deep red, with a subtle sweet tangy flavor. Lovely! I've been enjoying them in my salads.)

Here's a little vege art!" The gorgeous orange globe was the second-born Yellow brandywine. (The first was gobbled up before I remembered to take a photo.) This beauty went to my saintly neighbors who cheerfully put up with all my crazy projects. It's surrounded by luscious Mexico Midget tomatoes. These photos were taken in early August.

My first eggplant! Isn't it absolutely adorable?! That's my thumb on the left for scale. Ping Tung is described as a sweet Chinese eggplant. It's going to be so much fun watching the little fella grow and mature into a big sweet succulent eggplant. Then, I'll eat it.

 

Here's that eggplant about 2+ weeks later, just before I harvested it. It was sauteed in a little olive oil (crisp on the outside, soft inside) with a dash of salt. Yummy!

Oh, I can't help it ... more "vege art," the Eggplant and Tomato Symphony. The two large tomatoes came from my neighbors.

Lessons Learned:

1. Follow the mixing instruction on the nutrient container carefully. If the solution is too strong, water cannot be absorbed effectively by the plant. I almost killed the tomatoes, and as of today (Sept 17 '04), they've still not recovered.
2. Trim the suckers during the growing phase or you'll have a tangled web of vines.  
3. Use a TDS meter to monitor nutrient strength -- the more nutrients the plant can absorb, the better-tasting the fruit or leaf. But if it's too strong, it will kill the plants. Find that balance for safely max'ing out on nutrient absorption without disrupting water intake. Each plant has a recommended nutrient mix and strength.

Lessons not yet learned:

1. How to organically get rid of white flies.
2. Self-control and discipline! Put limits on my growing goals. 
3. Don't try to save every trimmed stem or fallen unripe tomato because you feel sorry for it ....  

Homemade System

(Photos taken in late August / early September)

My first homemade indoor system was a planter filled with leca clay balls, with airstones bubbling air through the nutrient solution. I had it on a north window for a while where it produced the wimpiest Bok Choy and Chinese kale plants you'll ever see. Since then, I've moved them under 150W of flourescent lighting. The Chinese Kale eventually grew out to make a very nice stir-fry.

The latest indoor system (started in early September) is a similar setup for growing salad greens -- arugula, endive, red kale, red and green romaine, Salad Bowl and Lolla Rossa lettuce. It's purely experimental. Is there enough light, correct nutrient strength, or other unknown gremlins in the system? Only time will tell.

I used a Rubbermaid storage container (made with food grade plastic), lined the outside with a black garbage bag to avoid algae growth along the sides. In the bottom, I placed three long airstones (available at aquarium stores) that will provide aeration for the nutrient solution. Each airstone is connected to an airpump.

These are the seedlings, about a week old. They were grown in some starter plugs that I picked up at my local hydroponics store. In the background are plastic baskets, also available from the hydro store. The starter plugs (a spongy organic substance with nutrients) will be placed in the basket, then planted in the clay balls.

Here's the fully assembled system. (It's located under a saltwater aquarium, home to Jerry, the horseshoe crab). Leca Clay balls support the baskets containing the starter plugs. On the left is a small plastic crate containing the air pumps. Illumination is provided using two clamp-on Home Depot worklights, each with a 40W compact flourescent (warm white) lightbulb. Each bulb puts out the equivalent of a 100W incandescent light bulb. (I may switch to cool white, since foliage growth prefers the blue end of the spectrum whereas flowering/ fruiting plants prefer the red end.)

Future plans

I just purchased a 400W Metal Halide High Intensity Discharge light (Hydrofarm Radiant) to keep the madness going indoors through the winter. I'll continue to use the autopot indoors to keep growing tomatoes and eggplant. The next big purchases will be a TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) meter to measure nutrient strength, as well as another hydroponics systems (TBD, probably a drip irrigation WaterFarm). I'd like to also grow some herbs, Alpine strawberries, Bok Choy and Kale over the winter.

So many veges to grow, so little time and money. I want a greenhouse so bad!


If you'd like to learn more about hobby hydroponics, check out the Growing Edge magazine website. For commercial hydroponics agriculture, have a look at the amazing work being done at Cornell. Other hydrolinks can be found at the Home Harvest website links. I'm working on a radio show script about hydroponics agriculture, and when it's posted on the Earth & Sky website, I'll provide a link to it.