After sampling hydroponically grown vegetables at Disney World, Nicole Kemper of Elgin determined to establish a hydroponics garden in her basement.
Chicagoan Robert Cassella is an urban gardener with a minimum of sunlit space to cultivate. So when he received a hydroponics gardening kit as a gift, he embraced it as a way to expand his basement garden.
From General Hydroponics in Sebastapol, Calif., agronomist Mike Heuer says Americans are just beginning to discover the quality and taste benefits of hydroponically grown produce. “Hydroponically grown food is not tainted with chemicals. It is an earth-friendly way to grow produce,” says Heuer.
The method has been around since the 1930s. It directly delivers water-carrying nutrients to plant root systems, accelerating their growth rates. Early Girl tomato plants planted hydroponically in February will be ready for harvest by early May.
And most Americans unwittingly have sampled hydroponically grown foods–Holland yellow, red and orange bell peppers probably being the best known of them.
American hydroponics growers tend to operate from California or the Southwest. But, increasingly, commercial growers and a few hobbyists in the Midwest are attempting this gardening method.
The initial investment in a hydroponics garden can be steep. In the first seven months after the Kempers started their garden, Nicole estimates they spent between $800 and $1,000–an investment she considers worthwhile for the quality and superior taste of produce she hopes to eventually grow for her children.
She started with a $270 six-tray system that houses up to 18 plants that she bought at Brew and Grow in Schaumburg (another operates in Chicago on Elston Avenue near Cortland Street). These two shops and Greenfield’s in Niles are among the few Chicago suppliers that stock hydroponics systems, supplies and accessories.
Although systems vary in how they operate, essentially all hydroponics systems consist of a growing chamber that houses the plant root system. It usually sits alongside, near or above a reservoir that houses a water-based nutrient solution that is pumped into the growing chamber and through the plant root system, with the excess being pumped out of the growing chamber and back to the reservoir.
Prices tend to be comparable among local suppliers and catalogs. Most sell several systems at an average price of $50 to $70. The smallest of these kits include either a tray of individual growing chambers that contain a half-dozen plants or one larger growing chamber that will house several small to medium-size plants.
Emily’s Garden is a good example. It’s a fairly simple system of small trays that sit just above the reservoir. Individual wicks in each planter draw nutrients from the reservoir to the plant.
Ebb-and-flow systems cyclically flood nutrients into–and then drain excess nutrients from–the growing chamber ($139 for a 22-by-22-inch growing chamber version at Brew and Grow, $239 for a 44-by-36-inch growing chamber version at Greenfield’s.).
At prices closer to $300, both Greenfield’s and Brew and Grow market drip systems that use an automated timer to drip nutrients directly to each plant’s root system twice a day. These systems are expandable, allowing growers to add two trays at a time (at about $60 per two-tray add-on). The system reservoir will house up to 30 plants.
Hydroponics uses inert growing media rather than soil. Media such as sand, perlite, vermiculite, coconut husk fiber and gravel don’t react to nutrients that are delivered to the plants they support, and are generally included in hydroponics kits.
Richard Hall, a Park Forest gardener who has grown hydroponics produce for years, says newcomers to this method should start with a small system of a simple crop like basil, chard or radishes.
And because the need for artificial lighting dramatically escalates the cost of hydroponics, he also suggests starting in a sunlit window. “Then over winter you only need to supplement sunlight rather than create an entire artificial lighting system,” he says.
But gardeners like Cassella and Kemper who are setting up their hydroponics gardens in a basement are forced to experiment with and buy artificial lighting systems.
Cassella successfully grew soil-potted tomatoes by using low-intensity fluorescent tubes for 15 to 16 hours each day. But as he expands his growing, he expects to shift to high-intensity light in the form of metal halide (MH) or high-pressure sodium (HPS) light systems.
And part of Kemper’s upfront investment included the purchase of a 1,000-watt MH lamp suspended seven feet above the hydroponics garden.
The cost for these lamps depends on wattage and how much growing area they cover. At Greenfield’s, a 175-watt MH lamp or a 150-watt HPS lamp sells for $149.95. Both cover a two-by-three-foot growing area. A 1,000-watt MH ($249.95) or HPS lamp ($299.95) covers an eight-by-eight-foot area. And both stores sell a rotating lamp called a Sun Circle with two rotating arms (about $290) or three rotating arms (about $360). Replacement bulbs range from $34.95 for a 175-watt MH or 150-watt HPS bulb to $74.95 for a super MH bulb.
Finally, most hydroponics experts advise those entering this hobby to educate themselves through reading and getting consultation as they experiment.
In Australia and New Zealand, where hydroponics has thrived for years, there are scads of support groups. But in this country, where hydroponics is a more nascent technology, fewer sources of consultation and support exist.
A trained master gardener, Hall is a hydroponics gardening consultant for CompuServe’s Garden Forum. He says he loves to talk hydroponics and will answer hydroponics questions via his e-mail at internet:agfox@compuserve.com.
One source that has been useful in Hall’s own research is The Grower’s Edge, published by New Moon Magazine (800-888-6785). Those interested in hydroponics can visit its Web site at www.growingedge.com to review the magazine and find links to stores. General Hydroponics (800-374-9376) also has a particularly informative home page at www.genhydro.com.
