How to Do a Homegrown Ecosystem
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How to Do a Homegrown Ecosystem
By John Ujlaky
As rising gas prices, warm weather smog alerts and the future specter of water rationing bring home the urgent need to conserve Mother Earth’s precious resources, we can move to protect hearth and home with our own fashionable update on the old-fashioned kitchen garden.
Using organic methods and hydroponic growing techniques, any family of four now can produce all the vegetables and herbs members need to thrive in nearly any 8- by 8-foot spot. As with everything else, the three R’s apply–reduce, reuse and recycle.
Pick a Spot
The chosen garden space may be inside a greenhouse, sunroom or spare room, as well as likely spot outside. The main requirement for any plant growth is light. If natural light is unavailable, a grow light will work. Grow lights come in shapes and sizes suited to any configuration. A local hydroponic supply store will have information and staff will be happy to assist in selecting the right light.
Next family members need to build a helpful environment around the garden spot. Like us, plants need exercise. An oscillating fan sized to the area fits the bill. Once turned on, it redistributes the carbon dioxide plants need to breathe and cools light bulbs.
Even though plants have a marvelous capacity to give off oxygen by day and carbon dioxide by night, they also must have opportunity to breathe-in fresh air. In an enclosed growing space, periodic air exchange between indoors and out will keep plants from suffocating. Depending on the garden location, a heater, air conditioner, humidifier, dehumidifier or carbon dioxide supplement may be needed to ensure plants have an optimum environment, so they may flourish at their maximum potential.
Select a System
Since a hydroponic garden requires no soil, greenhouse growers are able to offer a wide selection of designs suited to amateur and hobby gardeners. One of the beauties of hydroponic systems is that they need just 25 percent of the water consumed by a comparable soil-based garden. The most widely used models involve drip irrigation, aeroponics or ebb and flow.
Highly regulated drip irrigation frees soil gardeners from hand watering plants. Aeroponic, or airborne, watering systems use misters to spray suspended plant roots and produces faster results than most other systems. An ebb and flow approach remains one of the easiest systems to build and grows fantastic plants. All can be tailored to any space. Again, a local hydroponic professional will have ideas on the best option for a particular garden layout and conditions.
Choose the Food
Plant fertilizers directly contribute to the flavor, aroma, quantity and quality of foods. So their makeup counts. How we apply fertilizers will evolve as we learn how plants use the nutrients.
In general, fertilizers with a greater proportion of organic components tend to produce more favorable qualities. Addition of some beneficial bacteria typically found in healthy soils tends to produce faster growth, better taste and longer shelf life. The 20th century adage, "synthetic fertilizers win the race," isn’t always true. A healthy vermicompost bin is the perfect solution for recycling table scraps and dead foliage into beneficial growth elements that feed the hydroponic system. Additional macro elements still are needed, and these can be locally purchased in organic forms. Together these components provide highly desirable fertilization.
Note that labels on plant fertilizers can be confusing or misleading. The Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) logo appears on products this reliable organization evaluates. OMRI-listed products are universally considered acceptable for organic growing. Other fertilizer manufactures may sell identical products, but they won’t have paid for the certification that warrantees content. Discussions with an experienced hydroponic pro will clarify what is safe, healthy and suitable for both the plants and the diners who will enjoy them.
Waste Not, Want Not
To complete the cycle-of-life in our homegrown ecosystem, we like to use a vermicompost bin. Filled with Red Worms to hungrily consume table scraps, plant waste, coffee grounds, melon rinds, and other organic material, the vermicompost bin produces benefits to the whole garden. The Worm’s solid waste called "casting" and liquid drainage called "tea" can supply your garden with needed micronutrients and bacteria.
The castings are a safe and organic by product, which is mixed into deficient soil or sterile soil-less mediums. Liquid worm tea can be added in large quantities to hydroponic reservoirs or directly to soil bound plants. Few other natural components can do what worm casting do for plants.
Fostering the life of green growing plants inevitably creates a spiritual connection with our own life. We better perceive the oneness of creation. We tend to take less for granted, and better appreciate the one Earth we all share.
The present actions we take as individuals as well as groups are shaping our future. Making the most of hydroponic garden techniques is a delicious way to enhance our family’s impact on the environment and preserve the best of everything for our children’s children.
John Ujlaky is owner of Horizen Hydroponics, 1622 Leonard St. NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49504. He may be reached at 616-791-1664 or HydroStore@Hhydro.com. For more information visit Hhydro.com.
Source: Originally published in Natural Awakenings West Michigan April 2007 Natural Home issue.
Benefits of a Hydroponic Garden System
