There is a lot of excitement in the world of indoor gardening. Being able to grow fresh fruits and vegetables all year round no matter what is happening outside means saving on the grocery bill and improving health. An indoor hydroponic garden can be grown without soil and without a large footprint. In your garden you can grow over 40 varieties of leafy greens, delicious herbs and edible flowers!

What Is an Indoor Hydroponic Garden?

The simplest way to describe hydroponics gardening is that is a method of growing without using soil. This is not a new concept; rice and some herbs have been grown for over a century using this style of gardening. Hydroponics comes from two Greek words: hydro meaning water and ponos that means essentially the water does the work. Plants need water, sunlight carbon monoxide and nutrients to grow, an indoor hydroponic garden meets all these needs.

Steps for Working an Indoor Hydroponic Garden

There are four, easy basic steps for enjoying your indoor hydroponic garden. Using an indoor gardening system makes gardening simple enough for anyone to be able to experience fresh food all year round.

1) Choose your crop. This may be the most difficult step. With over 40 varieties of fresh food to choose from, deciding what you want to grow can be a challenge! The good thing is, because you can grow all year long without the worries of what Mother Nature is up to, you can have multiple crops throughout the year and grow everything you want. This can include leafy vegetables such as lettuce or kale, or herbs such as dill, chives or even thyme. Crops can also include edible flowers such as chamomile or lavender.

2) Wait for the seed pods to arrive. Seed pods can be delivered right to your door. Seed pods can be purchased after each harvest or in a subscription form. When the current garden is ready to harvest the next set of seeds are already on their way – no more waiting. The seed pods have the seeds and nutrients ready to go. Or, you can purchase seed from your local retailer if you prefer.

3) Grow. Technology has caught up with gardening to create smart gardening. This technology allows an indoor garden to be fully automated; no more over or under watering your crop. Smart gardens will ensure that your garden has the right nutrients, the right water and the right light to grow amazing crisp and fresh garden food.

4) Harvest: Using the proper gardening techniques, bring the food from indoor hydroponic garden to your plate. While you’re harvesting your new seed pods will be delivered (if you are on a subscription service) and you can start this process again, ensuring that you have fresh food at all times.

Consider Your Lighting

Lighting is another major factor in your indoor hydroponic garden. Like growing vegetables outside, light matters. Grow lights will allow the plants to grow similar to them being in sunlight. There are a few varieties. Cool white or full spectrum lights are great for those who are new to indoor gardening. They are also better for smaller plants such as herbs and leafy greens.

LED lights are also a great light source for an indoor garden. There needs to be some research done prior to using a LEDs as they have different light spectrums.

More experienced growers may look at high powered lights such as the metal halide or high pressured sodium bulbs. This can be used for larger plants, but these lights may need additional equipment due to the heat output. These large bulky style lights are used by more experienced hydroponic gardeners.

Indoor hydroponic gardening is so easy that even someone with a brown thumb can say they have a green thumb! Whether you are trying to impress someone with fresh vegetables and herbs, or you just want to enjoy fresh food at each meal, an indoor hydroponic garden has what you need.