Weather Phenomenon…

If you have been paying attention to the weather over the last few years you are aware of the weather issues that the United States has endured. One coast floods and the other coast has forest fires with the Midwest farmers facing problems feeding their livestock and planting crops. You might ask yourself what any of this has to do with you. But I believe most of us can understand how these weather systems can and will touch our lives as we see food prices increase. The scariest situation is the food shortages that we are just starting to see in the states, it makes me wonder what is to come…

Ron and I were talking about the weather issues and how we believe it was going to affect the food system in the United States. We agreed that now would be the time to work towards having a food source year around not just at the end of summer. Gardening has always been a relaxing hobby for me. I love planting a seed and getting a crop at the end of the season. At best I’m an enthusiast but not necessarily an expert in gardening but I am willing to work towards our goal of growing food year around.

Trying New Ways of Gardening…

Fortunately, I’m married to a guy that can build just about anything that I can imagine in my mind. I have done a lot of reading about hydroponics and aquaponics. Hydroponics is growing plants without dirt, in a water system using nutrients for the roots. Aquaponics is the same system with fish in the system under the plants. Figuring it would be easier to start our journey with hydroponics I showed Ron some plans for the system and off he went to designing and building our first hydroponic system.

Our First Hydroponic System…

He built a wooden frame that holds four rows, each four feet long, of 2 inch PVC. Then he used an 1 ¾” hole saw to create six holes in each row. This was enough room for 2” net pots which is what we used to hold the plants so this system equals 24 spots. There is a 5 gallon bucket with a small pond pump which circulates the water through the system. We put a timer on the system that runs for one hour and then shuts off for one hour which helps the system from becoming stagnant.

The Planting Begins…

I knew that lettuce was an easy plant to grow in a hydroponic system so that is what I started with. I ordered a packet of different lettuce types to try out the system for the first time. The first 10 plants were New Zealand Spinach, Mizuna Mustard, Bloomsdale Spinach, Curled Peppercress Cress, Lucullus Swiss Chard, Green Oak leaf Lettuce, Dwarf Siberian Kale, Butter crunch Lettuce, Roquet Arugula, and Southern Giant Collard.

The seeds germinated in two days and in two weeks the root system was large enough to put into the hydroponic system. I was so excited! The system is almost two months old and we have trimmed enough off two times to help with salad for dinner.

Success…

So far our hydroponic system has been a success! The plants are doing well and I think that as long as we trim the plants the leaves will continue to grow back. One of the things we have learned is that the nutrients and PH are important to monitor to keep the plants well nourished.

What are your thoughts of hydroponics?