2 years ago i started with soil gardening in containers on my small balcony. Last year i discovered hydroponics, but i was not sure what you can grow hydroponically and what only grows in soil. So during the last months i did a lot of experimenting, i planted all kinds of different plants in hydroponics and now i can say: you can grow every plant in hydroponics. How you can do it: For leafy greens you don‘t need any substrate at all, you just hang the plant into the nutrient solution. Plants that form a root or bulb (beets, carrots, potatoes, onions etc) want some kind of substrate around their roots, as Mike already pointed out. But this substrate does not necessarily have to be soil, that is the important thing to understand. You can substitute soil with clay pebbels, little stones, coco coir, sand etc. So here is my own hydroponic method: In one of the videos Mike said: „Use what you already got“ - a very good advice. As i already got balcony planters which are normally filled up with soil, i decided to use these for my hydroponics. I put a garbage bag into the planter, to block the holes in the planter. Then i fill up 4 inch net pots with clay pebbels and put the plant into the net pots. Then i place the net pots into the planter and fill the planter with nutrient solution. All you got to do is maintain the level of the nutrient solution, you can let it drop but when you fill it up again then never higher than half the height of the net pot. This way the air roots which form in the upper half of the pot are never drowned. If you want to grow sweet potatoes or normal potaoes you don‘t want to use net pots as the bulbs need a lot of space. Just take a suitable container, fill it with clay pebbels, put your plants in and water with nutrient solution. After the grow is finished you can wash and reuse the clay pebbels, so no waste is produced and you have less cost (than soil) in the long run.
Awesome! I love it! Thanks for all the useful info, I am sure this is going to help countless people. I get questions about this all the time. Have a wonderful day and Keep on Growin'!
I appreciate your honesty and how you really want people to start simple. Thank you for also letting us know who we can look to for other options. Not all content creators are like that.
Hey Mike, I am thankful for the big ❤ u have. All u want to do w ur channel is to give ppl the knowledge to eat healthy, save money, n personally to enjoy the Hobbie of gardening in a very easy way. Thanks for sharing the other 2 channels. Enjoy it weekend.
Thank you Claudia. We are all in this together and now the internet has allowed us to share more freely. It's a wonderful thing. Enjoy your weekend too!
I grew a radish in an old jelly jar using the pool noodle/cloning collar method. Worked just fine. Tasted like a regular radish. It was a cylindrical variety rather than round, so that helped it to not outgrow the cloning collar. I'll have to try carrots just for kicks. Glass jars are fun for root vegetables because I can watch them get bigger.
Interesting concept. I forget the gardener, but he grew potatoes in buckets with a soil mulch combo. He had a slotted table and just dumped out the soil at harvest time, and the soil falls through and you are left with the potatoes. The soil is retrieved from under the table and reused, all a little more mulch and plant again.
I did radish in 3 inch net cups with the clay balls in Folgers Instant containers. Basil does great too. Tape or tie four of them together for stability indoors. Outside they`ll need to be anchored to something.
Hi Mike, I have watched your videos now, loved them all. That being said, I have the microgrowns down perfectly and love them - sunflowers. kale, you name it. And I get what you are saying on root veggies. BUt with all those greens and little salads, we just gotta have some radishes, especially in the winter, Is it possible in the year or so, you have any more info to solve my question? i did see the links you posted already. There will be a couple of happy radish eaters here in Idaho if you can some up with a solution or even a suggestion. :-)
2 years ago i started with soil gardening in containers on my small balcony. Last year i discovered hydroponics, but i was not sure what you can grow hydroponically and what only grows in soil.
So during the last months i did a lot of experimenting, i planted all kinds of different plants in hydroponics and now i can say: you can grow every plant in hydroponics. How you can do it:
For leafy greens you don‘t need any substrate at all, you just hang the plant into the nutrient solution.
Plants that form a root or bulb (beets, carrots, potatoes, onions etc) want some kind of substrate around their roots, as Mike already pointed out. But this substrate does not necessarily have to be soil, that is the important thing to understand. You can substitute soil with clay pebbels, little stones, coco coir, sand etc.
So here is my own hydroponic method:
In one of the videos Mike said: „Use what you already got“ - a very good advice. As i already got balcony planters which are normally filled up with soil, i decided to use these for my hydroponics. I put a garbage bag into the planter, to block the holes in the planter. Then i fill up 4 inch net pots with clay pebbels and put the plant into the net pots. Then i place the net pots into the planter and fill the planter with nutrient solution.
All you got to do is maintain the level of the nutrient solution, you can let it drop but when you fill it up again then never higher than half the height of the net pot. This way the air roots which form in the upper half of the pot are never drowned.
If you want to grow sweet potatoes or normal potaoes you don‘t want to use net pots as the bulbs need a lot of space. Just take a suitable container, fill it with clay pebbels, put your plants in and water with nutrient solution.
After the grow is finished you can wash and reuse the clay pebbels, so no waste is produced and you have less cost (than soil) in the long run.
Awesome! I love it! Thanks for all the useful info, I am sure this is going to help countless people. I get questions about this all the time. Have a wonderful day and Keep on Growin'!
Thank you for sharing your experience. My new goal is to try root vegetables so this was very helpful.
That’s awesome thank you.
Thanks for the helpful answer to the question about plant's the form a root or bulb.
I appreciate your honesty and how you really want people to start simple. Thank you for also letting us know who we can look to for other options. Not all content creators are like that.
Hey Mike, I am thankful for the big ❤ u have. All u want to do w ur channel is to give ppl the knowledge to eat healthy, save money, n personally to enjoy the Hobbie of gardening in a very easy way. Thanks for sharing the other 2 channels. Enjoy it weekend.
Thank you Claudia. We are all in this together and now the internet has allowed us to share more freely. It's a wonderful thing. Enjoy your weekend too!
I love the ginger video at Kratky.
Isn't it awesome!
I grew a radish in an old jelly jar using the pool noodle/cloning collar method. Worked just fine. Tasted like a regular radish. It was a cylindrical variety rather than round, so that helped it to not outgrow the cloning collar. I'll have to try carrots just for kicks. Glass jars are fun for root vegetables because I can watch them get bigger.
do you think taro will work ?
Hoochoo also has good info about this!
I have to get me some kratky beets. The greens are so delicious ❤
Interesting concept.
I forget the gardener, but he grew potatoes in buckets with a soil mulch combo. He had a slotted table and just dumped out the soil at harvest time, and the soil falls through and you are left with the potatoes. The soil is retrieved from under the table and reused, all a little more mulch and plant again.
Thank you. I'm new to the whole concept of hydroponics and had been wondering about growing beets specifically for greens.
Love your stuff Mike - your focus is brilliant... Be the best at what you do -- just as you are.
Thanks! That means a lot to me.
I did radish in 3 inch net cups with the clay balls in Folgers Instant containers. Basil does great too. Tape or tie four of them together for stability indoors. Outside they`ll need to be anchored to something.
Great info thank you
Oh! So you did harvest greens several times in that year! It looked like you hadn't. Cool! Looks can be deceptive.
Thanks Mike!🌱💜
Keep up the great work.
I started lettuce and i transplanted it. My first batch 🎉
NICE!
Thanks for sharing 🙏 😎 🏖 🏝
Thank you sir.
Are roots vegetables like beet ,turnip etc grown hydroponically safe for human consumption
Are there hydroponic for tumeric, ginger, galangal?
I sure would like to learn some tips from you.
Dr Kratky's link is in the description.
I can not find growcrackie
found it the T was left out
Hi Mike, I have watched your videos now, loved them all. That being said, I have the microgrowns down perfectly and love them - sunflowers. kale, you name it. And I get what you are saying on root veggies. BUt with all those greens and little salads, we just gotta have some radishes, especially in the winter, Is it possible in the year or so, you have any more info to solve my question? i did see the links you posted already. There will be a couple of happy radish eaters here in Idaho if you can some up with a solution or even a suggestion. :-)
actually working on that now.
@@KeepOnGrowin wonderful news!