A Guide to at-Home Hydroponic Gardening

One of the most important things you can do at this point for yourself, and your family, is to become educated on the issues of the current levels of contamination in the food and water supply. And from that point of knowledge set up some basic food production in your home of greens grown in purified water. Working with the earth elements can also assist in balancing and calming our central nervous systems mentally, emotionally and energetically.

Always with a focus on the practical information for well-being and safety, my non-physical Guide Team has set me on a path to understanding the crisis at hand, and we have shared that information in great detail. This includes understanding that “organic” food choices and separated well water are not immune to a much greater toxicity as a result of the forever chemicals that have poisoned the land for decades with the approval of the agencies that were supposed to be protecting the public. Water testing parameters are long outdated as well, and the water filter industry is engaging in deceptive marketing practices.

You can read in the highlighted discussions (Links below), that provide solutions and keys to navigating these critical issues for decision-making.

Then with your new awareness, this page is available to help you set up hydroponic food production gardening in your home. This is a wonderful and easy way to become more self-sufficient, have fun, and provide your family daily with fresh greens to eat. It takes up very little space; is not dependent on the weather; has its own automated lighting system; is fully automated to water itself; is easy to clean; and not only pays for itself very quickly, it will then save you money. And the best part, in my opinion, is that you never again have to eat slimy contaminated produce greens from the grocery store.

Adventures in Hydroponic Gardening

Gardening for me has always been a happy place, but leading a busy life, I also wanted a system that was easy and automated. I’ve provided you here with the steps and products I use for my own hydroponic gardening. This is not a “hobby” set-up. This feeds me twice a day with fresh greens, and it’s easy to scale up and expand for larger families. And to the lettuce varieties I add cherry tomatoes and stock flowers for happiness and a wonderful scent. Above all though, it’s key to remember that this is an investment that when compared to purchasing organic produce and dealing with major illness, is incredibly inexpensive. My sharing here can get you started with a successful garden. As the industry changes so may product availability, but you will be able to flow with those changes from this outline.

Step 1 – Proper Water Filtration

Be sure to start by reading the discussion provided on The Water Industry, that clarifies how to select a drinking water filtration system that is actually third party tested and certified to remove all levels of contaminants. If you are feeding your plants contaminated water, then your hydroponic garden will not be providing you with safe food production.

Step 2 – The Ahopegarden

This 60-pod horizontal hydroponic system has two tiers.

The plastic Grow-pod Inserts that come with the Ahopegarden are sturdy and reusable. But if you ever want to purchase more, they are on Amazon for a cheaper price. Remember that the inserts for Aerogarden brand products also fit the Ahopegarden.

Grow Sponges - The garden comes with your initial supply of grow sponges to plant your seeds in. From there you will need to purchase more, and I recommend these on Amazon which are less expensive.

Algae Covers for Plant Pods – It’s critically important to keep green algae out of your garden system. Light plus water plus food causes the buildup. I don’t use disposable stick-on labels for the tops of my plastic pod inserts. Instead I made a 1-time purchase of algae growth flex covers that will last forever and work better from JayBeeFarms on Etsy.

Algae Covers/Spacers for Garden Holes – You won’t always have a plant in the 60-holes of the garden system. Sometimes it’s better to give your plants more space to grow. So the garden comes with a small supply of algae covers for light blocking spacers. So, I also purchased extra pod cap spacers from JayBeefarms. BUT...you must ask him for the ones that are compatible with multi-systems and NOT the Aerogarden type that have the three plastic tongs sticking down. The bottom of the spacer needs to be just a continuous ring of plastic that are similar to Aerogarden size. Message him and he will know what you mean. The Ahopegarden comes with a bunch of these, but not enough. And I like the flat colorful ones from JayBeeFarms.

Smart Plugs for Automated Lighting & Watering - The Ahopegarden only comes with one of these and the instructions on how to set up the scheduling on an easy app on your phone. Your garden needs 15-hours of light per day. More than that will burn the plants. Lights need to be set 4-6 inches above the plants. You will need to purchase a second smart plug you use to set up a timer on the pump. Ignore the instructions that come with the garden that you should run the pump 24-hours per day. That is unnecessary and will burn the motor out faster. I set up my pump to run for 30-minutes every 3-hours. Plus a few extra cycles turned on at night. There is a limit to the number of scheduled on-off times you can add to each smart plug. But they work great. Just remember to check on them every once in awhile. A power surge or outage can accidentally disconnect them and 24-hours of light will hurt your plants.

Plant food – There are lots of opinions and retail hydroponic garden plant nutrients on the market, and I’ve found a great many of them to be terrible and dirty. I don’t recommend the food that comes with the Ahopegarden or Aerogarden.

After 3-years and tons of research and issues, I finally found the best hydroponic plant food. It is from a company called "Jack's Nutrients."

You need the following:

Jack's 15-6-17 Clone = for seeds and babies

Jack's 5-12-26 Part A = for regular plants with root systems and true leaves

Jack's 15-0-0 Part B

Because of the extreme FedEx shipping cost through Jack's Nutrients, the best way to buy this economically is online through GreenHouseMegaStore in the 25-lb bags each for part A & B (that gets mixed together for adult plants.) I bought a few bags of the Clone in the 2.2lb size since I use a great deal less of that. GreenhouseMegastore is constantly back ordered on the smaller bags, so the link I gave you above for the Clone food is to buy it directly from Jack's (shipping at lower weight isn't as big an issue.) If you buy on backorder from GreenhouseMegastore they take your money, and you could go months without getting the product. If you have questions about the Jack's Nutrients (or the other current retail locations to purchase it through), you can call Lauren who has an advanced degree in hydroponic gardening and is wonderful. She is a patient teacher who can walk you through a lesson in pH/EC testing, and more. And if you are later having difficulty finding the right water balance for your hydroponic gardens, Jack’s Nutrients has a service to test your water and help find the issues. Here is her direct contact information:

Lauren Houston / CEA Specialist - JR PETERS INC / Call: 866-522-5752 ext. 41 | jrpeters.com / email: lhouston@jrpeters.com

How to mix the food:

Get a cheap plastic wide-mouth gallon pitcher with at lid. I mix it one gallon at a time because you need to get the proportions just right so that the pH is between 5.8-6.2. And the EC is right around 2.0. You will need a pH-EC combination meter to do this. I bought a cheap one on Amazon for $25. That was a mistake because they are not trustworthy. I made an investment in a BlueLab OnePen. They have a grow-book that's wonderfully informative that you can download for free also.

You are also going to need to buy some pH Down solution. The one I am recommending is the brand “Bloom City” because it doesn't have the preservatives or artificial dyes. And if you don't already have something similar, you need milliliter droppers for application.

So, for the baby food, I mix 1/2 teaspoon of the granules with one gallon of water. Then add approximately 1 milliliter (ML) of pH down solution. These amounts are based on my Multipure purified/filtered water that is slightly high pH. You need to use your pH/EC meter to verify this is correct for you. If the pH is too high, add pH Down solution. Add more or less of the clone nutrients if the EC is too high or low.

For the adult plant food, you need to mix it in a very specific way and order. The Part A and then Part B nutrients get mixed together. Add ½ to 1 teaspoon of the part A nutrients to 1-gallon of water. Stir until dissolved. Add 1/4 tsp of the part B nutrients and stir that until dissolved in the same gallon of water. Use your meter to check pH & EC. Add pH down in the amount of 1ml at a time until the pH is between 5.8 and 6.1. (lower is better.)

When pH is too high, the plants will stop growing and never re-start if left at high pH too long. You should check the tank water every 3-days or so because as plants sit in the water and absorb nutrients, the pH will get too high and you will need to add pH Down solution to the tank. Approx. 1ml per gallon for every .5 drop in pH you are trying to achieve.

It is OK and even recommended that you make the plant food in advance. Just don't leave it sitting in the sun.

These are the plastic gallon jugs I store the pre-made Jack's Nutrients food in. The Ahopegarden needs a total of 8 gallons to fill both the top and bottom. You need to do a complete tank refresh and cleaning approximately every 6 weeks. I purchased an electric water removal pump to make emptying the old water out of the top and bottom faster. Do NOT use a pump or materials or accessories that are used anywhere besides your hydroponic garden. If you get contaminants in the system, you will have issues. The garden needs to be kept in a room where you do not open windows or doors if you want to have the best chance of not getting aphids or other pest infestations. These are very difficult to eradicate, and you could lose all your plants when needing to sanitize and start over. Having the food made in advance makes the tank water change less stressful. After you get the old water out, just use a bit of food grade 3% Hydrogen peroxide, filtered water, and paper towels to wipe the tanks clean before you add fresh nutrients. And when the garden is fully operational and filled with plants, it drinks about a gallon of water every 1-2 days.

A Separate Nursery for Seed-starting - Because the seeds need different Baby food nutrients than the big plants, I start mine in an Aerogarden Bounty Seed Starter with the Clone food. They are not ready to move to the Jack's Nutrients adult garden and food until they have their first expanding true leaves and at least a 1-inch long root.

Here is the Aerogarden Bounty Unit I use for this.

And here is the Aerogarden Bounty Seed Starter kit top insert for it. This is an invaluable tool for rotating new babies and keeping a steady supply of mature plants in your large gardens for harvest.

You can always look on Amazon to buy these things for Aerogarden as well. You will also need extra pump filters.

I purchased the space covers and plant covers for the Aerogarden seed starter tray from JayBeeFarms on Etsy. It is critically important to keep algae growth out of your gardens as best you can.

The Best Seeds...

I have tried lots of different types of seeds to plant in my gardens. My goal is mass food production of greens. These are some sources and types for the best lettuce varieties I recommend. Not all seeds grow well in hydroponic gardening but exploring and trying things is fun!

I love the Butterhead Lettuce varieties and recommend you try an array from Johnny's Select Seeds. Notice that they carry lettuce varieties specially designed to grow well in hydroponic gardens. And one great thing is that you can harvest just the outside leaves and some will keep growing back for over a month!

The Lettuce, Bibb (Lactuca Sativa - 500 seeds) from Southern Seeds is a Romaine that carries a lot of water in its stems and that is difficult to grow in hydroponic systems.

Romaine Parris Island COS in another non-GMO Heirloom seed from Gardeners Basic. I purchased these on Amazon. They grow tall and strong.

I plant these with some space around them - don't try to plant all 60 holes at one time or the plants will not grow well. Harvest from the outside of each plant rather than allow too much crowding. If left too long in the garden, they will eventually turn bitter. You will get a feel for this. Plant 1-2 seeds in each grow pod, but thin each pod to only one plant.

Lights should be kept within 4-6 inches from the tops of your plants. If lights are set higher than this, plants struggle, stretch, and get “leggy.”

The Ahopegarden System above plus the Aerogarden Bounty seed starter would be my recommendation for the easiest and most affordable overall solution. If you want to get creative and build your own light system, some people choose to save money by purchasing simple seed starter trays rather than the more expensive Aerogarden Bounty. But lighting is critical, and I've found that moving/circulating water produces the best results and in the end is worth the extra expense.

I also use a vertical tower Gardyn Home hydroponic system. This one I will say is very expensive and comes from a company that is price-gouging and overpriced. It grows wonderful plants and is key in my food production but requires expensive parts and supplies. If you decide you’d like to try this one, just remember to look on Etsy and Amazon for your supplies. And don’t use their food or pay for the overpriced membership fees. This was my first hydroponic garden. The columns leak and aren't light-blocked so I had to wrap the tower columns in aluminum foil tape to avoid green algae infiltration. So honestly, if you are just starting out, I recommend buying multiple Ahopegarden units instead for higher quantity food production, less expense, greater ease of use and cleaning, and more versatile parts.

Wishing you fun explorations and empowering solutions on your gardening path ~