Indoor hydroponic gardening, or hydroponics as it's commonly known, has had a bad press over the past few years, due to illegal plants being grown away from watchful eyes and extending the growing season indefinitely. However, we're going to lay the bad press to rest and find out what all the fuss is really about.....

​

Hydroponics is the answer to growing plants if you haven't a garden, are physically challenged, or simply live in a short season growing region. With a fairly small initial outlay - hardly more than the cost of a few regular garden tools - you can set up an indoor hydroponic gardening area in a cupboard under the stairs, a basement or even the attic if it's easily accessible.

​

Indoor hydroponic gardening - the running costs:
Running costs have to be considered as the lights will be drawing electricity for long periods. It's impossible to put an exact figure on the electricity bill, but when you come to buy your starter kit, the information should be available according to your area and the lights used. Technology is improving all the time and newer energy-saving bulbs are becoming available regularly.

​

Then there are costs of nutrients - these are needed to add to the water to replace nutrients normally extracted from the soil.

​

New cubes will have to be purchased from time to time... cubes are pots and soil combined and seeds are started and moved on using cubes which are made from materials such as rockwool.

​

Seeds have to be bought, but with a little careful attention, the germination rate will be good, and seeds can be sown sparingly.

Getting started:
You can start off the seeds in a couple of different ways. If you use a soil-less mix - peat pots or similar, the seeds will germinate with fresh water only. But if you decide to start the seeds in 'rockwool' - which is a popular hydroponics medium at the moment - you will need to add nutrients to the water from the start.

​

Seeds and cuttings can be easily started in rockwool filled cubes and you should have full instructions in your kit as to how and when you should plant different species of plant.

​

NB: Make sure you have as much information as possible when buying hydroponics equipment. Buying a kit is the best introduction to this type of gardening. Don't spend money on 'extras'. The gadgets and add-ons may not be beneficial to you. Grow some stuff first, then decide if you need to spend any more money!