Hydroponic Seed Starting: A Guide For First Timers
Hydroponics seed starting may not be every beginner's option, but understanding the basics is all it takes to make you succeed in hydroponics gardening.
A soilless gardening system, such as hydroponic seed starting method, requires determination to succeed and sufficient knowledge on how this kind of gardening innovation operates. Although soil is a basic ingredient in growing plants, the hydroponics system serves as an answer to establishing a garden with healthy plants in the absence of space for soil.
Rockwool is the most preferred mineral wool in hydroponics seed starting method.
Why Hydroponics than Other Planting Method?
Hydroponics is definitely one of the best options of gardeners who live in an urban space. Putting up an indoor garden was once a fantasy until hydroponics system was discovered. Here are some of the many advantages why people go for hydroponics than the traditional gardening system:
1. It’s Soilless
Not all soil in every place is suitable for growing plants, but the good news is that it is possible to grow plants without soil through hydroponics. This soilless system is also space-saving and gives no room for weeds to grow.
2. A Pretty Good Plant Growth And Yields
It’s not hard to believe that through hydroponics, plants grow efficiently for about 20% faster than leaving them in the soil. There were also a number of observations recorded that plants grown through hydroponics are bigger and taller than those growing in soil. This can also be accounted for the fewer occurrences of diseases and pest infestations on hydroponic plants.
Graph showing a huge difference in the effect of hydroponics versus soil to the height of tomato plants.
3. Water Saving
Ironic as it may sound, but gardeners can save around 90% of water with hydroponics. Instead of being wasted by watering the plant every day, the water is placed in a reservoir where it is stored and used only for plant’s need to absorb it.
4. It’s Easy To Build
Making a hydroponics garden may sound intimidating because of its new concept, but it is, in fact, easy. The popularity of this method made the tools and materials cheap and readily available on the market today.
Benefits Of Starting Your Own Seed
Buying seedlings and growing the plant may be attractive as you can skip the seed-starting process, but there are actually a number of benefits in starting your own seed.
Tools And Materials Needed
Setting up a hydroponics garden may look expensive, but the result is all worth it. Every start of a gardening system is costly, but in hydroponics, the maintenance cost is way cheaper than all other methods.
An average of $30 can already purchase the basic materials needed to set up a hydroponics garden at home.
The following materials are easy to outsource in the market:
Rockwool is found to be an excellent medium for growing seeds because of its moisture-retentive property that allows a healthier seed growth.
Steps In Seed Starting
There are a number of recommended hydroponic systems that beginners can choose from, but whichever you opt to have, make sure to use a clean water as it is an essential thing in Hydroponic seed starting.
Here is our hydroponic seed starter guide to succeeding in this planting method:
Putting more than one seed in your grow cube gives a bigger chance of seeing sprouted seeds in one grow cube.
The growth of plant roots in your seedlings is a sign that it is ready to be transplanted.
Steps To Transplanting
Make sure that your hydroponic garden is already set up while the seedlings are still being developed. As soon as the seedlings are ready to be transplanted, carefully pull them from their nursery and transfer them into the hydroponics garden.
Understanding the elements of hydroponics is helpful in choosing the right tools and materials for the process and in setting up your hydroponics garden.
Take note of the following when transplanting the seedlings:
Sustaining a Hydroponics Garden
Knowing the process of hydroponic seed starting will be in vain without learning the basic in maintaining a hydroponic garden. There are a number of methods in doing soilless gardening but for beginners, it is better to start with the easiest method like the Kratky hydroponics. This method was made simple by its inventor, Bernard A. Kratky because it does not require electricity or air pumps.
Below are the important points to ponder in maintaining a hydroponics garden:
LED and HPS light are commonly used in hydroponics.
Conclusion
It is important to know your readiness in setting up a garden with hydroponics system before deciding in growing seedlings for hydroponics. Not all beginners would opt for hydroponic seed starting, but they could always change their preference in the long run, especially when they are already familiar with the entire process of hydroponics gardening.
Pin it!
hydroponic seed starting pin it
