Hydroponics has been an interest of mine since I read Gerald K. O'Neils book The High Frontier: Human Colonies in Space. The pictures in that book of perfect bug free gardens spoke to the technician in me.
I have tried real gardening, but it is a lot of work with shovels, rakes and other heavy equipment. The results have also always been very varied.
I have tried a greenhouse, but that was also a lot of work, and the tomatoes were never that good. Those few that made it to the end.
One of the problems is that I expect it to be "set and forget". I mean, plants they grow everywhere. I spend hours every year trying to eradicate weeds. So why cant usable plants be just as easy?
That is probably the main reason I have failed with garden and greenhouse. Because they seldom are. On the other hand there is no end to the amount of trouble i will go to to make automation work.
So Hydroponics should be just my cup of tea.
I recently got my interrest in hydroponics renewed, and did a few days of research. I found the book How-To Hydroponics about the subject. I bought it as a pdf and read it in a few hours. There was a lot of good tips, and a lot of experience in it. Highly recommended! (No I don't make money writing that ;-))
I got bitten by the bug again and decided to build a small indoor system to try it out. I believe that the best place for a hydroponic garden is inside the house in the living room, kitchen etc. as it has several advantages.
- You need artificial light to grow indoors. If the garden is inside your house, you can turn of the other lights you would normally use. So lighting is cheaper that way. Just time the light to turn of at midnight.
- Indoors is close to the kitchen where the produce is used.
- plants cleans the air. How to Grow Fresh Air: 50 House Plants that Purify Your Home or Office. Yes I have read that too.
- Indoors is already heathed. Plants love that.
- Plants are perty. I love that.
The main problem with that idea is that the hydroponics systems that are available all seem to have their origin in professional gardening. Not exactly a business known for its design acumen.
I want my indoor garden to be pretty. A Scandinavian designer furniture. A statement. Something I would be proud to have in my living room.
Nothing like that is available, so I have decided to make my own.
Well ok I will begin on a small scale and rebuild an IKEA bookshelf to a hydroponic indoor garden that I will place in my cellar.
That way I can show the wife my vision before I put neon lights, water and aquarium pumps in the living room.
More in the next article.
