Home and Garden
Welcome your garden into your home
year round with grow lights.
by Sara Holtz
Though cold, bitter temperatures reign outdoors, there's no time like the present to bring a little spring into your home. Hydroponics and grow lights allow you to cultivate plants whenever you want and without all the mess.
Ken Hottell, master gardener at Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service, says by producing your garden hydroponically, your end result is a healthier, more disease-resistant plant with optimum nutrition and moisture levels,. It is estimated that they grow 30 percent faster because they have a smaller root system.
"Veggies like peppers, cucumbers and broccoli tend to taste better than those grown outside," he says. "They are getting everything they need when they need it."
Kyle Jones, advanced sales associate at Worm's Way in Bloomington, says the advantage of hydroponic gardening is you can do it year-round without being limited by the weather outside. "You don't have to worry about irrigation. You're able to extend the season by growing indoors," he adds.
Hydroponic growing systems are ideal for flowers, herbs and vegetables. Since there is no soil involved, you don�t have to worry about weeding, cultivation or pests. It also is believed to be the most efficient way to deliver food and water to plants.
Here are some factors to consider as you decide the method that's best for you:
> Growing media: Earth-friendly growing systems come in all different shapes, sizes and divisions. Media-based systems use a form of growing medium like ebb-and-flow, run-to-waste, drip-feed and bottom-feed. On the other hand, water culture systems like aeroponics, where the plant roots get misted with nutrient solution, don't use media.
> Active vs. passive systems: Active systems use pumps, timers and other electronic devices. Passive systems integrate some gadgets but do not use the pumps to run the process.
> Lighting: Of course you can place your herbs and veggies in front of a sunny window, but in the darker days of winter especially, you may want to highly consider an artificial grow light. An artificial HID light increases the intensity of light plants normally would receive in the sun. Various wavelengths of radiation cause different plants to respond in physically different ways. Lettuce, for example, will grow a lot faster hydroponically, Jones says.
Though hydroponics, ranging from $100-$500 for small or medium-sized systems, may not appear especially cost-effective, they can benefit you and your environment.
Jones recommends the AeroGarden, which can be found at retailers, including Bed Bath and Beyond and Target. "It already comes with the light, seeds and nutrients. Just add water and plug it in," he says.