For a few years now I have wanted to plant my own food and maybe a little more to give it away or sell it. Honestly, although it catches my attention, I don't understand how it works. Do I really have to verify that the crops are seasonal? Is it feasible to have hydroponics outdoors (for example on a wall)? If possible, do I have to see meteorological data such as humidity and temperature? What things does the hydroponics system have to have? How do I prepare the nutrient liquid? And what do you recommend when germinating seeds?
I know there are many things but every time I searched I got more questions than answers xD
by Sylph_277353
3 Comments
It is definitely feasible to grow outdoors but you are subject to greater pest and disease pressures and the whims of an uncontrolled environment. On the upside sunshine is free. I grow this way.
What do you want to grow and what space do you have to work with? Almost anything works but some options are more optimal and practical. Growing on a wall can work as long as the wall doesn’t face north (assuming the northern hemisphere) and gets some sun. You just need to have sufficient spacing so that the upper plants don’t shade out the lower ones. You could use insect netting over the wall to reduce potential pest problems too. Such a system would be best for growing leafy greens such as lettuce and Pak Choy etc.
Nutrients are available in liquid form where you dose a certain amount per gallon or litre. Dry nutrients are much better value though and you usually weigh out a certain amount per volume of water. There’s two or three different powders that must be mixed in individually (otherwise they won’t dissolve properly). You should know the EC (electrical conductivity – representative of nutrient strength) and pH (acidity/alkalinity – needs to be in an optimal range for nutrient absorption depending on the crop)
For germination, it’s something I do indoors under artificial light. I used rock wool but there’s many alternatives. As long as you can maintain the temperature within the range recommended for the crop and keep things humid until germination (but not too wet afterwards to prevent dampening off). It’s not too complicated. I do it in trays with a dome. As soon as about half the seedlings have emerged I remove the dome.
If you are going outdoors it can be useful to know the weather but you can’t always do much with the information.
Yep. I do it every summer on my balcony. To really help we need to know what you hope to grow, where you plan to set it up/growing zone and sunlight volume/ duration on browser per day.
Don’t get to big at once. Try some 5 gallon bucket kratky tomatoes/peppers or a diy kiddy pool floating raft kratky for lettuce or whatever. Start simple to see if you even like it before investing in serious NFT, etc setups