First, I am not an expert in hydroponics, only a guy looking to make sense out of all the opportunities to grow healthier, more productive plants in a "non-soil" environment. My use of hydroponics started due to the frustration that many home gardeners deal with each year. Soil quality, weather, pests (airborne and four-legged ones), limited growing seasons, and in my particular case - a limited selection of locally available produce to create the cuisine my family enjoys.
As a rancher, you would think that I may have the best means of producing high quality beef and produce right out my back door. I'm not that kind of rancher. Check out www.spiralhornranch.com for more information on that side of our lives. More to the point, I have mediocre soil, hot Texas summers, literally tons of four-legged pests that love to eat anything you attempt to grow without electric or eight foot protective fences...just ask the neighbors.
My last experience gardening outdoors was almost 20 years ago using raised beds for planting. They were great and produced! Unfortunately they also required weeding, careful watering - both rain and timer based, fertilizers, and protection from pests. I became a slave to the garden.
We love to cook with fresh herbs and vegetables. Unfortunately my small rural community does not place the same demands on the local grocery stores as we do which results in a 100+ mile drive to a "big city" Central Market, Whole Foods, or more amply stocked grocery to obtain the supplies we desire. I knew there had to be a better way.
Like you are now (I suppose), I began a search on the internet and came across the subject of hydroponics. I saw an episode once on "How Its Made" - Science Channel I think - where they grew lettuce using hydroponics. Lettuce without dirt? I thought, how unnatural! That stuff must be full of chemicals and stuff that is bad for you. I wrote off the idea completely. I laugh now at my ignorance and acceptance of "traditional" ways of doing things. Come to find out, hydroponics have been used for over a century. Sorry, no history lesson here, you can Google it if you are interested about the Incas and others using the theories of hydroponics from yesteryear.
What I will show you here is what I learned and put into practice. Everything I will show you is store-bought or acquired through well known hydroponic suppliers on the Internet. Yes, I know, I could have built a lot of this stuff from local hardware super centers. All you have to do is look on YouTube for videos of DIYer hydroponic set-ups. Unfortunately a lot of them learned from their mistakes along the way. Not criticizing, I like to do a lot of tinkering too, and may still in this hobby later on. For now, I wanted proven systems (some have over 25 years of successful use) and a full basket of herbs and vegetables in a few months.
I will first document my grow room, hydroponic and aeroponic systems, water filtration, lighting, CO2 system, HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning), germination station, and other grow room necessities as I saw them. I will then discuss seed selections I made and their germination. Once ready to transplant, I will show you that too. I will tell you about the nutrients I selected and how I use them. I want this blog to be interactive. As I said in the first sentence, I am not a hydroponics expert, merely a student of the subject and always willing to learn and share along the way. I will share my failures as well as my success.
