Grow Leafy Vegetables at Home

Hello Friends, I am back with Corona special blog again. This time I am sharing with you an excellent and modern way to grow vegetables at home without soil and much hassle. We all accept that another lock-down can be enforced any time and we will again struggle for our daily needs. Of course you can store plenty of cereals, pulses and grains but what about vegetables??? You can't store it for long. You need it fresh and healthy. So why not grow it at your home only in very less space!!!

The concept is known as "Hydroponics" and its innovation dates back to 1699 and modern Hydroponics are boon of Israel. In this concept you grow your veggies without soil and you typically require only 10'x5' space at your home/garden. Also the water consumption is 80% low than traditional gardening. Lets see some of the advantages of Hydroponic farming:-

1. Soil less thus no soil based deceases, less insects, odor less.
2. Requires less space, approximate 150 plants would require only 10'x5' space.
3. Fast growth as plants get minerals directly.
4. No tilling, digging or dirty work.
5. Less maintenance required.
6. Running cost is as low as 250/- per month.
7. Extremely less water required so saving water.
8. Environment friendly, no wastage.
9. Since no soil is used thus your crop will be pesticide free and healthy.
10. You get fresh leafy veggies at your home.
11. You are the owner of your own home farm where you can do experiments with different crops.
12. On call support from experts are available to deal with any difficulties.

But there are few disadvantage as well:-

1. One time setup cost is little bit high but it is investment for years.
2. Growing big vegetables like pumpkin, bottle gourd etc requires expertise and change in overall setup.
3. For better results you need to keep the Hydroponic system in shade or net.
4. The quantity of nutrient should be exactly as per plant requirement. Higher or lower quantify will damage the crop but this rule applies on all farming systems.
5. If you have relative hard/soft water, you need to use softener/hardener for better growth.

How it works : The whole system is based on PVC pipes where hole is made on the upper part of the pipe and net pot is kept on it with media (clay pebbles, coir coins, perlite etc)  and sapling. The water is kept in container with pump and minerals dissolved in it. Once the water with minerals are pumped inside the PVC pipes, the water gets circulated and plant roots absorbs the nutrient directly. The remaining water comes back in container and re-pumped in PVC pipes thus you require extremely less water because each drop of the water is either consumed by plant or drains back in the container.  

Essential Components to start : You need following components to start Hydroponic farming at home:-

1. Hydroponic System (You can buy it here) or call me on 7000870513 for half price in Indore. Alternatively you can use following diagram to make your own easy Hydroponic system at home.
2. If you make your own Hydroponic system than you need separate Netpots, Seeds, Clay Pebbles, Nutrients, Seedling Tray & Coir coins to start with. (You can buy a single starter kit here which contains essential items to start with).

Lets plant something : Since now you must have understood the overall working of Hydroponics, lets go ahead with plantation of some green leafy delicious veggies. Follow below steps to establish your own hydroponic kitchen garden:-

STEP 1 : Take any seed as per "seed sowing calendar" and put in water overnight. Next day take a coir coin and put the seed in and sprinkle some water. Now keep it in seedling tray and wait till the seed get germinated. Make sure you don't make it wet, just keep it moist.

STEP 2 : Once the seed get germinated and sapling grows out, transfer the sapling along with coir coin in a netpot and fill it with clay pebbles. After this put the netpot on Hydroponic system.

STEP 3 : Now bring the nutrients and make a quantity relevant to your Hydroponic system. Typically it is taking 100 litres water which will be sufficient for 1 month for a 50 planter hydroponic system. Mix the required quantify of nutrients in that water as per instructions given with nutrient solution and put it in Hydroponic water container. Keep pH and tds level as per values mentioned. You can use pH meter & TDS meter for measuring it. 

STEP 4 : Lets start the Hydroponic system and start the pump so that it will circulate the minerals for the plants to grow. Do not forget to cover the Hydroponic system by green/white net so that it doesn't get direct sunlight and burn the plants.

STEP 5 : Now its time to wait for few weeks to grow your vegetables. Show your amazing kitchen garden to others and start consuming your crops and make delicious, farm fresh, pesticide free and healthy cuisines at your home.

Troubleshooting : Sometime you can encounter slow plant growth or less green color on leafs. This is indication of malnutrition. Don't worry, you can quickly consult with your service provider on phone call and they will be able to help you out. 

Friends the concept of Hydroponics is relatively new for most of us but this is the future of farming. The subject is very vast and I wanted to keep my blog short and simple. For further details you can contact me with specific questions and I will be ready to help you.

Thank You