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Vertical Hydroponic Garden – Lots Of Food From Small Spaces

Have you ever thought about starting a vertical hydroponic garden? One look at the picture below will help you understand why vertical farming might just be the best growing option for your hydroponics farm.

Our Beginner’s Guide To Hydroponics is on sale for a short time. Check it out!

Vertical hydroponic farm

Vertical farms have the potential of providing lots of produce, even when you have limited available space. The term “vertical garden” means plants climb UP, instead of sprawling OUT.

Books About Vertical Gardening

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What Is A Vertical Hydroponic System?

A vertical hydroponic system is a common method for growing plants indoors. In this case, the plant roots are suspended in water, and nutrients are supplied through an aerated nutrient solution.

The main advantage of this technique over other methods such as soil-based or tray systems is that it allows for more precise control of the environment (e.g., light intensity)

Vertical hydroponics has been used for decades to grow vegetables and herbs, but recently it has gained popularity as an alternative to traditional methods of indoor gardening. The main advantage of this technique is that the plant roots are not exposed to any kind of soil or substrate which makes them more resistant to diseases and pests.

How Does It Work?

Vertical gardening uses conventional hydroponic techniques but instead of growing plants horizontally, they grow them vertically. Nutrient-rich water is pumped up from the bottom and then distributed evenly throughout the plant roots.

What vegetables can you grow in a vertical hydroponic garden?

There are many vegetables you can grow in your vertical hydroponic system. Here are just a few to get you thinking:

  • lettuce
  • Swiss chard
  • spinach
  • kale
  • broccoli
  • tomatoes
  • peppers
  • cucumbers
  • eggplant
  • and more

What can you not grow in a tower garden

While many vegetables will do well in a vertical garden, some are just not meant to be grown in a hydroponic garden. Most root vegetables, such as potatoes and yams, turnips, carrots, garlic, and onions, are best grown in the ground or in containers that can be planted directly into the soil.

Since vertical hydroponic setups are created because of limited space, other plants you shouldn’t grow in an indoor tower garden are those that need a lot of space to grow, such as butternut squash, zucchini, melons, corn, etc.

Advantages Of Vertical Gardens

  • Growing a garden vertically maximizes a minimal amount of growing space. Just provide adequate nutrients, and you can grow a lot from just a few pots.
  • Brings gardening to the urbanite. Many city folks do not even have a tiny yard available for gardening.
  • Gaining in popularity are community rooftop or terrace gardens, shared by multiple gardeners, which take up little space. With careful planning and the right hydroponic system, an amazing amount of crops can result. For this reason, many urbanites choose to grow vertical gardens on a co-op basis.

Vertical Farming Disadvantages

  • It may be harder to provide adequate and even supplemental lighting for indoor vertical gardens.
  • Some crops are not suited to vertical hydroponic farming (i.e. corn)
  • It can be more expensive: many pre-made vertical planting systems cost more than traditional pots. They are specially designed for easy set-up, maintenance, and operation, which can increase upfront costs.

Vertical Hydroponic Garden Ideas

You can do this in two ways:

1. Use a conventional horizontally based hydroponic system but also provide a network of lattice, trellis, or strings to train vining crops UP.

Vertical hydroponic garden

2. Start with a vertical-based hydroponic system.

We recommend and sell this unit: FarmTek Hydrocycle Vertical Aeroponic System

Farmtek hydroponic garden

If you want to be inspired, take a look at this short video. AMAZING!!!

Vertical hydroponic gardening - Pinterest image
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Stella and Simon, a couple of back-to-the-land, baby boomer enthusiasts, have embraced the world of homemade hydroponics on their three-acre plot of Florida piney woods. Their journey began after drawing inspiration from Epcot Center’s hydroponics exhibit, and they've delved into various hydroponic methods, experimenting with different systems, configurations, and crops both indoors and outdoors. Their expertise culminated in the creation of an innovative homemade hydroponics greenhouse, documented in their book, Simon’s Super Simple On-the-Grid, Off-the-Grid Hydroponic/Aquaponic Survival Greenhouse.

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