(9/29) The definition of hydroponics is: a technique of growing plants (without soil) in water containing dissolved nutrients. A hydroponic system for your home provides a garden that will thrive in any room, produce bigger and faster growing plants as well as better tasting produce.

My 2020 Christmas gift from my husband was a hydroponic system. Did I ask for it – no, but he thought it would be something "cool" we could do together. Well, he was right! After assembly, reading how to plant, learning about the nutrients, what type of water that should be used (more to follow on this), etc., we planted. The system we purchased starts out with putting your seeds into a seed pod that fits into what is called a "net cup" and then this goes into the nursery (which is for sprouting the seeds). To give you an idea of what this nursery looks like, just picture a rotisserie chicken container. This is placed under the grow lights and once the seeds have sprouted and outgrown the nursery, it is time to transfer the "net cup" to the holes in the shelving of the hydroponic system. We planted lettuce (several varieties), kale, Swiss chard, herbs (basil, oregano, sage, cilantro and parsley), one tomato plant, one pepper plant and two eggplants.

As the hydroponic system is self-watering (ours has a 5-gallon tank), it keeps the plants watered and oxygenated. As we have well water that also has a water softening system, we opted to use distilled water. Who knew how difficult it would be to find distilled water during a pandemic! Each time we would go to the store we would pick up several gallons if they were on the shelf, but we found that filling our empty gallon jugs with city water from my daughter’s house works just as well.

The grow lights are LED panels that mimic the sun and provide a broad spectrum of light the plants need to grow. Our system has an app that tracks when the water level is low, when nutrients are needed, helps track the progress of the plants and even lets you know when to harvest them. It also comes with a nutrient stick that monitors the pH, the EC (electrical conductivity) and the temperature of the water. These are very important for nourishing the plants.

Getting the nutrients to the proper levels takes a bit of practice, but once you understand what your plants require and what it takes to maintain the proper levels, your plants grow and produce. There is a bit of troubleshooting involved especially if the nutrient levels are not correct. We had a few plants with yellowing leaves which is usually a sign of oxygen deprivation (especially if the yellowing is near the bottom of the plant) and means something needs to be fixed with the water. It is also essential to check the roots periodically too. If they look slimy, brown or black it could mean the plant is deficient in nutrients. If the tips of the leaves are burning, this too is related to the nutrient solution. It is almost always that the solution is too concentrated or it could be that there is a salt buildup and the salt is hurting the plant.

This is where the importance of using the correct water comes in. If the leaves of your plants are curling upward it typically means there is a problem with the pH. If the leaves curl downward, this is the opposite problem that there is too much fertilizing instead of not enough. If your plants are growing too tall and skinny, it usually means the plants need more light. Have you heard the term "leggy"? This is due to not enough light, so of course the natural solution is to ensure the plants are getting the right amount of light per day. Our hydroponic system has a timer where we can set the amount of hours the lights are on each day. Based on our research and the type of plants we were growing 10 hours of light per day was sufficient. Plants growing too tall can also have an issue with the temperature. Look at the temperature of the room in which you are growing. If it is too warm simply lower the temperature to ensure the plants will grow as they are supposed to.

I found a great book that gives the various levels to help track where nutrients should be for a healthy, producing plant. For example: Basil – EC – 1.6-2.2; pH – 5.5-6.6; Temperature – 65-95 degrees F; and Lighting – 10-12 hours a day. Peppers – EC – 2.0-2.5; pH – 6.0-6.5; Temperature – 65-75 degrees F; and Lighting – 18 hours per day. As you can see no plant is the same, so finding the medium is optimal.

With troubleshooting the problems the next step was waiting for the plants to produce flowers. With flowering vegetables that are outdoors the bees take care of pollination, but when growing indoors the plants require hand pollination. You are essentially forcing the point by transferring pollen with a small paint brush from one flower to the next creating the fertilization process. Within a few days to a week you will see the tomato or pepper pop out and how much fun it is to watch things grow. Having a hydroponic system has enriched our enjoyment of gardening, plus we are now reaping the benefits of having fresh vegetables and herbs year round.