I Grew Veggies In Water
A couple of years ago I came across a video of someone showing off their indoor garden setup. They had a lot of the aerogarden units and they were growing all sorts of lettuces and herbs and even small tomatoes. I thought it looked neat but what caught my attention was when they said it was growing on purely water and nutrients. I was amazed.
I've always been interested in gardening and growing my own food but one thing kept stopping me: I hate bugs with a passion. The option of growing it completely indoors, with no need for anything flying sounded good. So I got one of the units.
The first thing I tried growing is lettuce. Didn't do any research on it, so I didn't know they bolt really fast in the heat. I started it in the middle of summer and within a few weeks, the leaves got too bitter and it started getting taller. My dumbass thought I did something wrong with it so I cleaned the unit and stored it in the basement, never to be seen again.
Fast forward to two months ago, I came across another video but this time I went down a huge rabbit hole of plants and how they work and hydroponics and nutrients yada yada yada. I revived my unit and have been growing four basil plants for over two months now. I've harvested it a lot at this point and it still keeps on growing.
I also set up three mason jars Kratky style and have two arugulas and one lettuce growing in it. They're not doing as well as the basil on the unit and I have some theories as to why but I won't be able to run experiments yet until I get back from vacation next month.
I'm just happy they're actually growing! Now, did I go overboard with my seed/supply purchases? Yes, yes I absolutely have. I caught myself though and I stopped. When I start to feel tired and cranky I get a strong urge to shop to cope with it and sometimes I get into wishin I can turn my whole house into a farm but I just nap it away.
Anyway, it works! You can grow things in just water, nutrients and some grow lights (or the sun if you get enough of it). Here are some pictures of my small set up. Gives me a lot of appreciation with how long it takes to grow food.
