It’s hard to believe that it’s time to start veggies for the hydroponic system. After all, I’m in North Texas and we are getting hit with so much cold, snowy weather. Which makes it difficult to get the hydroponic system set up outside. And I know my northern friends have an even longer wait. I am still going to go forward with the belief that there will be a place to put these veggies when it’s time for them to be planted.
You can watch how I start the hydroponic seeds by clicking here.
A Veggie Is A Veggie
You might wonder if there is a difference between a veggie seed for a hydroponic system versus a veggie seed planted in a dirt garden. The answer is no, the difference is the planting material. Most of us are use to starting seeds in a planting mix which I do for most of our garden. However, the veggies seeds I start for our hydroponic systems I use a material called “rock wool”. The seed grows roots in this medium very well. It also protects the hydroponic system from dirt which can contribute to clogging the system.
Watering System
The thing that keeps me drawn to a hydroponic system is how water is used to grow the veggies. The main water source for the system might be an upfront heavy use of water. In our case we will be filling a 275 gallon tote full of water. That is a lot of water! However, it’s all the water we will need for a season of growing plants. A hydroponic system is a closed loop of circulating water so except for some evaporation the same water is used over and over again.
Here is a blog I wrote about starting our first hydroponic system
In North Texas this is important and very helpful because there are always water restrictions in the summer which makes it very difficult to keep the veggie plants alive in the heat of the season when watering the garden is very restricted. These totes are easily found and relatively inexpensive, we found ours on Facebook Marketplace.
Here is to your homesteading dreams,
Shawn
Outside Hydroponic Set Up - Our DIY Homestead
[…] Suppressing the weeds is pretty easy to understand. Here in North Texas the weeds can grow up as tall as your head or no grass or weeds at all. Just depends on the season. The leveling need is understandable as well. Since we don’t plan on scraping the ground down to be level the wood chips will be used for that. There will be totes inside that will need to have corners raised or lowered. Chips will work great for that. You can see what the end goal will look like by checking out this blog. […]