Planning Your Hydroponic Garden – Equipment and Supplies

With the right hydroponic equipment and hydroponic gardening supplies, your indoor garden will flourish, producing fruits, vegetables, flowers and herbs that surpass the quality you can buy in your local store, and best of all, it’s all free of potentially harmful chemicals and perfectly safe for you and your family to eat – year-round, no matter what kind of climate you live in.

And, no matter where you live, you are sure to find that ordering your hydroponic growing supplies and hydroponic garden supplies online saves you time and money. Plant nutrients, hydroponic grow supplies and hydroponic nutrients are inexpensive and can be delivered right to your front door, providing you with yet another level of convenience as you continue growing herbs, berries, vegetables and fresh flowers indoors.

Following are some things to consider when planning your garden:

1. Start by determining what type of plant you want to grow.
The types of plants determine the types of system you will need. In short:

For growing things like lettuce, herbs (particularly basil), beans, and annual flowers (such as marigolds, zinnias, nasturtiums), try a really simple system. (Aerogarden or Baby Bloomer for example).

For growing plants that yield tomatoes, cucumbers or bell peppers and such, you may want a slightly more complex (active) grow system. Ebb & Flow and Drip systems would both be good choices.

Recognizing that hobby gardeners like herself prefer to grow the vegetables they like to eat, such as tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, beans, peas and fresh herbs, Julia was quite comfortable helping her friends set up both systems, for she had perfected the process in her own home.

2. You will also want to determine what kind of grow system/garden will work best for you. Given that there are several to choose from, refer to our easy to read grow system table, we put together to help clarify the array of choices available.

This table makes it easier for even beginners to understand the choices and determine which grow system will work best for their needs and their home.

For instance, on the grow systems table you will find a wealth of information on each system, what each system is best suited for, and how to choose a system, such as the Aerogarden or the not-too complex Ebb and Flow and Drip Systems, for a beginner, or for the more seasoned hydroponic gardener, the highly-effective Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) System may be the best choice. A variety of complete indoor hydroponic systems are available that are easy to set up and use and are versatile enough for gardeners of all levels.

3. You will also want to carefully consider your indoor environment, assessing the light, temperature and relative humidity to help you determine what lighting system will work best for your new indoor garden.

Think about it like this: The more light, the better. This includes sunlight and artificial light. For general-purpose indoor garden, metal halide lights provide the best solution. And you can use a simple timer to turn lights on and off and on.

Use this information as a basis for helping you to understand what kind of lighting system will work best for you and then refer to the Grow Lights page where a clear, concise table on grow lights has been included.

4. The next thing to consider is the temperature in the room in your home where the garden will be placed. Of course, lights tend to keep the grow room warm, but you should also know that the room should not drop a great deal in temperature when the lights off. In most cases, usually a home heating system is fine as long as there is proper ventilation in the room.

5. And speaking of ventilation, a gentle, constant flow of air should circulate amongst plants. To help achieve this, use a small fan pointed to ceiling, which forces air through the duct with fan turned on.

6. You will also want to consider the amount of humidity in your home. Humidity is a good thing, but cautions that too much can lead to disease. To help remedy this, if you have a large garden, you may need to decrease humidity by using an exhaust fan/cold air vent or dehumidifier.

Keep in mind that good ventilation, if weather permits, can eliminate humidity and bring CO2 into plans, which is an extra bonus.

7. A robust water filtration system is an advantage; however, this is not a must. You simply need to make sure the water you sue in your hydroponic garden does not contain chlorine. If you do have chlorine in your water, not to worry. All you have to do is let the water sit for 24 hours in a large container and the chlorine will dissipate. May need to check ph levels of your water. Ph level, a measure of acidity/alkalinity of the water, is important because it affects the absorption of nutrients by plants. For most crops a range of 5.5-6.5 is ideal. Digital meters, popular with hobby growers, make pH testing easy. 

8. I started my Aerogarden in my kitchen and then as I “grew” my garden and developed a larger hydroponics gardening system, I began larger vegetables and fresh herbs in her my sunroom. Because it is light and bright (and even painted in bright white enamel, which reflects the light), the room was a perfect choice. Additionally, choosing a room with easy access is a must.

Most important of all, is knowing that this is a fun, simply hobby that will certainly yield you and your family great results with little time or effort. You can choose just about any space in your home to set up your new indoor garden and in no time at all enjoy fresh herbs, fruits, vegetables and flowers all year-round – regardless of where you live or your outdoor climate.

And, because there is no soil involved, your new garden is clean and very easy to maintain. You can even move your hydroponic garden outdoors during the summer months if you want to.

As you prepare to start your new garden, we have carefully assembled the following resources on nutrients, atmosphere and additional supplies, such as replacement bulbs, to get you off on the right foot and keep you there.