A hydroponic system can provide you and your whole family with fresh vegetables even if you don’t have your own yard. You can successfully grow everything you need for cooking right in your kitchen!
Here I will help you understand what hydroponic systems are currently available and hopefully, you will find one that is right for you.
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The Rise Garden
- Provides the whole family with leafy greens
- Three floors allow you to grow 36 plants at a time
- High efficiency and ergonomics
- Application that can control the whole system
AeroGarden Harvest
- Easy to install and easy to grow
- Minimal maintenance requirements
- Affordable price
- Compact size
The Farmstand
- High efficiency with a minimum of water
- Ability to grow a significant amount of vegetables
- Takes up little floor space due to vertical design
- Nice and ergonomic design
Why hydroponics?
The first and main reason why more and more people choose hydroponics is the very high growing efficiency. With a hydroponic system, you can get a much faster harvest than you would with soil.
In addition to faster growth, you can also count on more generous fruiting. The plant does not have to waste energy to get nutrients and therefore all its energy is spent on fruiting.
The second reason for its popularity is that hydroponic systems can be installed anywhere. You can put it in your kitchen or basement. There is a wide variety of hydroponic systems to suit all needs.
Almost all modern indoor hydroponic systems have LED lights. This makes it possible to benefit from them both in the house and in the apartment. In addition, the compact size and ergonomic design can make hydroponics a harmonious part of your interior.
There is nothing new in hydroponics itself, even in ancient times people grew plants without soil but only in water. In our time this principle has been significantly improved and now the plants receive a nutrient solution rich in oxygen directly to the roots. This makes hydroponics the most efficient way to grow food today.
How does it work?
There are several types of hydroponic systems, but their essence can be summarized by the fact that the roots are in free space and are washed with nutrient solution. This makes life a lot easier for the plant because there is no need for the roots to penetrate into the heavy soil.
To get this advantage, the developers of hydroponic systems had to make a reservoir where the roots are located. Some systems also have a separate tank. The movement of water is done by a water pump.
An indispensable attribute of the hydroponic system is air stones through which the air pump supplies oxygen to the solution. The oxygen-rich solution greatly increases the yield.
Indoor hydroponic systems are equipped with LED lights. This makes it possible to place them even in a room with no windows, for example in the basement.
All you have to do is find a place for your hydroponics and plug it in. Then pour water, add nutrients, and plant the seeds in the net pots. That’s it, now you have to wait for the harvest.
The Rise Garden – Best Overall
The reason why The Rise Garden is the best hydroponic system overall is because it is a complete system that can provide the whole family with leafy greens and herbs.
This system is close to the professional hydroponics that is used in greenhouses for commercial growing. At the same time, it is very beautiful to look at and can easily fit into any interior. The frame of this system is made of wood and all the elements are painted white. As an option is also available in black.
There are one or two-level versions of this hydroponics system but the three-level is the most effective. Just imagine the system takes up 4 square feet of floor space, but with the three-level version, you get 12 square feet of a hydroponic field!
You can grow 12 plants on each level, but you can upgrade and the system can go up to 36 plants per level, so you can grow up to 108 plants! That’s enough to feed a family of 3 or 4.
Powerful lighting ensures good growth of lettuce, spinach, basil, and other plants. The Rise Garden is definitely a good investment as it will allow you to save not only on buying plant food but also on the time you spend on going to the grocery store.
AeroGarden Harvest – Best For Beginners
The best hydroponic system for beginners is AeroGarden Harvest. This is the device with which I began my acquaintance with hydroponics and I want to tell you that it is really worth it.
AeroGarden Harvest is quite inexpensive and that is very important in the beginning. If you have no experience with hydroponics, you first need to learn what it is and then make a higher investment.
This system has 6 holes for growing plants. However, you will not always use them all. For example, for growing lettuce, it is best to use three. This gives the plants more room to grow.
It is very easy to install and use. All you have to do is to pour the solution and provide electricity. And of course, you plant the seeds. Then the system itself will turn the light on and off. It will also let you know if you need to add water or change it.
There are a few different versions of AeroGarden Harvest. They all have different features and you have a lot to choose from.
The manufacturer also provides you with seeds and fertilizer. But if you have experience, you can use your own seeds or nutrients.
In general, this system can provide a family of herbs or some amount of leafy greens. For a larger crop, it is better to choose a more previous system.
AeroGarden Harvest Elite Slim – Best Hydroponic Herb Garden
Elite Slim is best suited for growing herbs because of its shape. It is 15 inches wide and only 4.5 inches deep. Such size allows you to place this device on a kitchen cabinet close to the wall.
That way you have plenty of room for cooking and you’ll always have herbs at your fingertips.
The Elite Slim also has 6 holes for seeds, but they are arranged in one row. This design avoids the situation where certain plants are blocking access to other plants.
The Elite Slim allows you to grow plants up to 12 inches tall. That means almost any herb will be available to you. If any plant grows too tall, you can always prune it.
The device is fully automatic and is equipped with a 20-watt LED light. It will tell you when you need to add water or nutrients.
The AeroGarden Harvest Elite Slim is fully capable of meeting your family’s herb needs for cooking all year round.
Lettuce Grow The Farmstand – Best For Vegetables
The Farmstand from Lettucegrow is one of the best for producing a large crop. This system is designed so that the roots have plenty of room to grow. As a result, you can get not only herbs or lettuce but also vegetables.
You can grow cherry tomatoes as well as regular large tomatoes in this system. It’s also great for growing cucumbers and even zucchini. But to get a bountiful harvest you need to give the plants lots of light.
The Farmstand is available with or without LED lighting. I recommend making sure you order the lights and place the system near a window (preferably a south-facing one). That way you will have a great crop all year long.
In the summer you can move the system outside or on the balcony. Turning The Farmstand around on its axis from time to time will give the plants an even amount of sunlight. As a result, you will provide your family with a significant amount of plant food.
The advantage of this particular device is its modularity. You can order the system about 4 feet high but then upgrade it to over 6 feet high. The maximum number of plants is 36 but they have plenty of room to grow which will result in higher yields.
AeroGarden Sprout – Best for Small Spaces
The term small space is quite relative. In general, all of the systems presented here can fit even in a small apartment and even more so in a house. However, the last device that I want to recommend to you is worth your attention.
The AeroGarden Sprout is the smallest hydroponic system available today. You can put it in a very small space. You can even put it in a kitchen cabinet. At the same time, you should not expect any big yield from it.
The AeroGarden Sprout has three growing holes and one air pump. There is also a water level sensor and the system will remind you when you need to give the plants food.
The unit has a 10-watt LED light. The growing height is up to 10 inches. All of this is to say that Sprout is a device that can provide a certain amount of herbs for one person.
Who is the AeroGarden Sprout suitable for? Despite its small size, it would make a great gift for a friend to learn about hydroponics. It is also a great device for children to teach them to grow their own organic food and be closer to nature.
Hydroponics needs maintenance
In the end, I want to tell you a few words about the maintenance of hydroponic systems. Whatever device you choose from the ones presented here, remember that there are some things that you must do regularly in order for the plants to thrive.
The first is regular water changes. In general, the water should be changed every two weeks. In larger systems, you can change the water a little less frequently, e.g. every 20 days.
Also, don’t forget to refill the water when the device reminds you to do so.
Be sure to clean the entire system when you change the water. All units get dirty during use and algae builds up inside. This reduces the efficiency of hydroponics so cleaning is a must.
If you have chosen such devices as AeroGarden Harvest, AeroGarden Harvest Elite Slim, or AeroGarden Sprout you need to shorten the plant roots. The fact is that the tank of these devices is small enough and over time, the plant roots clog it severely making it difficult for water to move.
To avoid this happening check the roots from time to time if they have not turned into a clump. If so, cut them back, but no more than 20 percent. Just trim off the part that is heavily intertwined.
Also, be sure to keep the water in the right condition. I mean pH and electrical conductivity. Usually, hydroponic system manufacturers give detailed instructions on how to do this.
I hope you found a hydroponic system here that works best for you. I wish you a great harvest and all the best! Bye!