Hydroponics Growing System Indoors

[BrianGSDTexoma]

I was looking at these Herb Garden Kit Indoor for growing cooking herbs. They look like might work pretty well. Summers in Texas get hot and I dont have a spot for garden. Anyone ever try one of these? They have some good deals right now

 

[JLeonard]

I remember some friends when I was back in college was growing some "herb" with a similar setup.....Seemed to work pretty well.

Jim

 

[hammer77]

My girlfriend has/had a little system, not that model you posted but same concept. Personally I would just use pots and a soil with a light hanging above. If your interested I could recommend some light fixtures. I have a lot of experience with indoor gardening.

Dave.

 

[chopsaw]

Brian , I have 3 aero garden Harvest 6 pods each .
Key to the herbs is to keep them picked . Even if you don't use it . I bought containers and dried a bunch , but you'll never use it all fresh .

You don't need to plant all the holes either . I have pre seeded pods and pods that you seed yourself . 2 of these are shut down right now , but getting ready to reset them .
Mine has jalapenos still in it , but it's ran its course . Still setting peppers but it's getting pretty ratty . I've been picking 6 jalapenos about every 2 weeks for a year now .

I highly recommend them . I also started the Carolina Reaper plants in it , then transplanted outside . They did well after they got over the shock .
Any questions let me know .

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

Brian , I have 3 aero garden Harvest 6 pods each .
Key to the herbs is to keep them picked . Even if you don't use it . I bought containers and dried a bunch , but you'll never use it all fresh .

Wow Rich. I was wanting to do peppers also. Looks like this going to be the way to go. Got some shopping to do.

 

[chopsaw]

I can tell you what I learned starting out . dr k also uses them , and helped me with some great info when I started .

 

[chopsaw]

I had the same trouble as you with the peppers . Get so darn hot here in the summer it shuts them down . Then when it cools they go crazy but it only last a couple weeks . Like I said I planted those Japs in the Areo garden Feb. of 2021 . It currently has 4 medium peppers on it .

 

[travasskavich]

Is the light rack adjustable on those? My God they've made indoor easy these days. My wife could even keep plants alive in something like that

 

[chopsaw]

Is the light rack adjustable on those?

Yes they have some that go to 2' 0" . Mine go from 5" to 12" .
You adjust it up as the plants grow .
They also sell a seed starter plate for them . For starting indoors and transplanting outside .
They have several different models .

 

[jcam222]

An aero garden is on my hit list before next winter. Love using fresh herbs

 

[pineywoods]

Remember hydroponics has been around for many years often named something different. It can be as simple as a container like an 18 gal tote or kiddy pool with a piece of foam floating in it with holes punched for the plants. Or can be the Aero Garden type stuff to the types below or you can DIY many other systems depending on what you want to do, how much you want to produce, what you want to produce.


Here's a few that can be used
http://www.vertigro.com/category-s/129.htm
https://www.farmtek.com/prod/ft-cannabis-dutch-buckets/113621.html
https://www.farmtek.com/prod/ft-cannabis-dutch-buckets/112529.html
https://www.farmtek.com/prod/113700.html
https://www.farmtek.com/prod/115141.html
https://www.farmtek.com/prod/115110.html

There are a bunch of other ones offered besides these.
It might take me awhile but I will try to go by the research farm and take some pictures we have most every type system set up there in hobby farm type sizes.

 

[chopsaw]

An aero garden is on my hit list before next winter. Love using fresh herbs

I have mine in the laundry room off the kitchen . really nice to walk in there and pick what you need fresh of the plants .

 

[JeffShoaf]

I got an aerogarden several years ago mainly for a few herbs for pizza; it worked well but when I added tomato and pepper plants it was and the tomato plant took over. Upgraded to a Rise Garden with two levels; it has a lot more room and I'm pretty happy with it. I have tomatoes, sweet peppers, basil, a few other herbs, leaf lettuce, kale, and swiss chard. I get way more lettuce that I can use since I'm not a salad person and the mini Siam tomato plant produces for months. You can get one, two, or there levels; I have two levels.8

The Rise is a bit expensive; their seed pods and nutrients are expensive too. I got some generic empty pods from Amazon and got some seeds locally but still mainly use the Rise pods. The app is pretty good at guiding you thru the weekly maintenance and gives good advice on pruning and harvesting but it is geared towards their seed offerings. When some plants get large, they get thirsty and I have to add water an additional time or two each week. Gotta keep an eye on the tomato plant and keep it pruned or it will take over.

They recommend "deep" cleaning every 3 months, which requires taking all the plants and water out and is not fun. I can't seem to do this without damaging the plants so I'm averaging every 6 months. At 6 months, there is a lot of gunk in there from the nutrients and plants and it definitely needs a cleaning. I use a wet/dry vac to suck the water out of the water bin and the small amount of water that remains in the trays which takes a lot of the pain out of the process. The water bin is in the cabinet below the plant trays and it's awkward getting it in and out due to the big tray in the bottom of the cabinet to catch water in case of leaks.

Overall, I'm very happy with it. If be happier if my cat would stop eating any hot pepper plant I get started (he leaves the sweet pepper plants alone).

Indoor Garden w/ Hydroponic System | Rise Gardens

Choose from our selection of modular smart indoor gardens. We offer four sizes to meet a variety of gardening goals. Our Triple and Double levels are best for those who choose to grow tomatoes, peppers and other large vegetables.

risegardens.com

 

[6GRILLZNTN]

If/when I get the light kit, I'll be year round with my Tower Garden.

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

Upgraded to a Rise Garden with two levels

Man that a nice system but like you say costly. I looking at this like a hobby. I not doing outside containers any more. I may have to think about this.

 

[90beater]

I did an outdoor one for a few years.

It worked well, a little too well.

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

Any questions let me know .

I still trying to figure out what I going to do. I like the Rise Garden but pretty pricy. Have you tried tomatoes in yours?

 

[chopsaw]

I still trying to figure out what I going to do. I like the Rise Garden but pretty pricy. Have you tried tomatoes in yours?

The ones I have support grape tomatoes . My Daughter planted them in hers . Did pretty good , but we had it to full .

 

[Brokenhandle]

I know a garden fresh tomato mid winter would be awesome!

Ryan

 

[sawhorseray]

I still trying to figure out what I going to do. I like the Rise Garden but pretty pricy. Have you tried tomatoes in yours?

My Dad built a outside hydroponic garden over 45 years ago, auto watering system, visqueen cover, he was handy with the tools. I recall we had great maters and chard in abundance, we lived in Redwood City, CA back then, best weather on the planet. RAY