My Hydroponic Seedling Experiment Part#1 Supplies
For those of you who don't know - "Hydroponics" is a method of growing plants in water (nutrient rich water) instead of soil.
This year we (my husband & I) decided to start half of our seedlings hydroponically to compare against those started in good old fashioned dirt. After the seedlings are set up we will of course be transplanting them into the garden - so we will not be growing hydroponically all the way to harvest - just to start our seedlings.
Today we will talk about what is needed. We bought 2 systems (it's just a plastic tray with a dome & space for the roots to grow into the water below). There are also two different types of growing medium - the green one seen below is meant really just to germinate the seed and then it is allowed to grow for 2 weeks before planting outside (things like cukes). The "Rapid Rooter" is meant for a little longer growing time before planting outside.
The Rapid Rooter looks like dirt but feels like a sponge.
I will let you know how the results of this experiment in a month or so - ENJOY!
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How much does something like that cost? We just started a raised bed garden, but I'm interested to see how this goes.
ReplyDeleteThe plastic trays are only a few dollars each but the growing medium is not cheap. The green mat seen in the pictures was $12 and one package of the other growing medium in these pictures was I think $16.
DeleteI think I'm leaning more towards good old fashioned dirt - but I'll let you know in another post how it went. Thanks!
Did you have to purchase pumps or other special equipment? I'm interested in trying this :) Thanks for sharing on The HomeAcre Hop! Hope to see you again today!
ReplyDeleteNo I didn't have to buy special equipment like pumps - because I'm just using hydroponics for my seedlings & then I will transplant into the garden when they are big enough. However, I will be doing a "result" post in a few weeks - I know right now that I prefer dirt.
DeleteThanks!