Growing Healthy Hydroponic Vegetables: Getting Started

First harvest of Lapham's Living Lettuce

Trials in Sure to Grow Cubes

Basil growing in a homemade Hydroponic / Aeroponic Hybrid growing chamber in a homemade greenhouse built using a carport frame and left over scraps from a commercial greenhouse

These are some pictures of my first trials growing hydroponic vegetables. Just get started on a small scale and do not be afraid to make mistakes. Growing healthy hydroponics vegetables indoors is fun and easy! Experiment with different plants and different systems to see what works best for you.

• I had great success growing organic basil from seed in rapid rooter plugs.
  
• Growing Living Lettuce was best with the STG cubes in a raft or deep water culture system.
• For growing tomatoes I had the best results witha 50/50% mix of hydroton or lecca expanded clay pellets and coco-coir.
• In the hybrid hydroponic / aeroponic growing chamber, I also had good results growing a variety os peppers which were started from seed in rapid rooter plugs then placed into grow cups and filled in with lecca or hydroton expanded clay pellets. This was the same method used for growing basil and it prooved to be very successful.

In order to get started growing healthy hydroponic vegetables, all you need is to do some research online, read some books or make a trip to your local hydroponic supply store. They should be able to get you set up with the materials that youll need to begin indoors or outdoors. Do not feel pressured to buy any expensive growing systems or kits. You can do it your self for much less money.
God Bless and happy growing!

Greenhouse Growing: Grow Healthy Hydroponic Vegetables Indoors

It is that time of year again! Time to get into the greenhouse and start planting those healthy hydroponic vegetables! It is fun and easy to get started growing hydroponics in a greenhouse. If you have never tried to grow your healthy hydroponic vegetables in a greenhouse before, here are a few tips to make getting started a little easier:

• Buy a completye greenhouse kit. This saves a lot of time in construction. Complete kits come with many different options, so do your homework and find one that suits your needs.
• Start seedlings in your house. Heat is expensive. Any growing that can be done inside your house will save you money on heating your greenhouse.
• Spend some time researching what type of growing mediums you will use. Different mediums are better for different hydroponic systems as well as different vegetables. Coco-coir, hydroton or lecca, and S.T.G. or Sure To Grow cubes are my favorites.
• Use the space in your greenhouse wisely. Try to grow the most you can in the space that you have. This will help you to get the most bang for your buck. Try growing vegetables like peppers that need lots of light up high and vegetables like lettuce that need less light below. If the plants get lanky or leggy, they are starving for light and should be given more.
• Consider using supplemental lighting to extend your growing season. When day light hours start to drop off some plants, like lettuce, will begin their reproductive phase giving you bitter lettuce. Daylight compact florescent or blue spectrum metal halide are good for vegetative growth while red spectrum sodium bulbs are good for flowering/ fruiting plants.
• Good ventilation is key to growing healthy hydroponic vegetables in a greenhouse through hot summer months. A greenhouse that incorporates an opening roof vent is the most economical means of ventilation. The implementation of a vent located high in the peak at one end of the greenhouse and a fan blowing outward high in the peak at the other end is also an effective method of removing hot air from the greenhouse.

Most importantly, don't be afraid to experiment and have fun! Reading and research can save you a lot of time and heartache, so do your homework. Before you know it you will have all of your friends, family, and neighbors raving over how delicious and beautiful your healthy hydroponic vegetables are!