Making a vegetable garden at home, even in the absence of a plot of land available, is possible: hydroponics and technology offer many solutions.
Ok, it is not exactly a green economy, nor is it something specific for those who want to cultivate, however even for the nerdiest, the dream of a vegetable garden at home is now absolutely possible. It is also so in tight spaces, even where there is no soil and tools to cultivate, as long as technology is exploited intelligently to satisfy at least small basic needs.
Why do this? Because it is nice to be able to see what you bring to your plate grow; it is helpful to have some ingredients available when needed, and it is nice to be able to rock an alternative to the aisle of a supermarket when leaving the house is a problem, or a chore, or a threat.
A terrace, a window, or, in whatsoever case, just a simple plan to bring greenery into the house when the weather isn’t conducive to going outside and looking for it is sufficient. The investment is minimal, and in this small guide, there will be all the necessary advice for a first step.
Where experience or studies do not succeed, technology can arrive: it is sufficient to arm yourself with the best tools and lower the bar of demands, thus achieving results of sure value that go well beyond the concept of “0 km”. Satisfaction is priceless from the balcony to the kitchen and then directly into the plate, following the entire supply chain with your own eyes and hands.
The Garden in the House: the Hydroponic Greenhouse
Let me be clear: the hydroponic technique is a natural science, highly complex and advanced, which requires highly sophisticated studies and technologies. If, however, the objective is not of a professional level, and if we are satisfied simply – as in our case – to have a method to cultivate in a comfortable, clean, practical, and without too much effort, then here is precisely the dimension of hydroponics can give great satisfaction.
The principle behind the hydroponic greenhouse is related to the ability to cultivate in water without simply relying on the soil: the soil, in this case, is mere instrumental support, but in reality, we let the cultivation be found in the air in the water. All the nutrients you may need.
The lighting can thus be artificial, forcing the traditional day/night rhythms and obtaining extremely rapid growth rates compared to traditional processes. The recycling of the air can be forced, the temperature can be controlled, and the quality of the water (as well as the number of its nutritional principles) must be monitored continuously.
This is a home garden structured on an automated process that, in a small way, can be enclosed in small size pots with everything needed to create an ideal microclimate for a small hydroponic ecosystem: light, temperature, water, and automatisms can be subjected to automatic processes and cyclical controls, asking the user that minimum daily contribution that offers the feeling of having cultivated something with one’s own hands.
There are no weeds to remove, no pesticides to use, no animals to remove, no dirt to remove. Still, above all, there is no long cycle of traditional agriculture: from sowing to harvesting, very little will pass, with great satisfaction in proportion to the costs and the effort made.
Both Amazon and eBay (to name two of the major online marketplaces) provide a lot of material for the world of hydroponics. These tools are increasingly desired now that the isolation has been clarified as a minimum of autonomy on specific products and practices. Related to nature can be particularly desirable, helpful, and affordable.
Home Garden: Hydroponic Salad
The first possibility for a small vegetable garden in your own home is the Green Farm hydroponic greenhouse, designed primarily for aromatic herbs, plants, and flowers in dimensions that are reduced to 60 x 37.5 x 42.5 cm. The process is simple:
The Light Is Artificial (Led)
The base is hydroponic (water containing all the valuable nutrients). The temperature is optimal thanks to an automatic control and management system.
Systems of this type promise growth at double the speed compared to traditional rhythms thanks to the absence of day/night alternation and the continuous presence of optimal growth conditions.
The Green Farm hydroponic greenhouse price is equal to and can offer very valid support for tiny homes and 1-2 people.
Attention: LED light is essential, but it should not be improvised. Not all LEDs are adequate because only by simulating the variegated richness of shades of sunlight is it possible to offer the leaves what is necessary for growth. The LEDs are indeed one of the most essential components for instruments of this type, they can make the difference, and poor quality and low-cost instruments will, in most cases, have a low-caliber lighting system.
On Amazon, you can indeed find lamps and bulbs ad hoc just for hydroponics, for those who want a do-it-yourself garden developed piece by piece.
Aromatic Herbs Underled
Another viable solution is the AeroGarden Miracle-Gro Harvest system: smaller dimensions, additional options, and LEDs designed to simulate the complexity of sunlight in the best possible way. The LEDs have a power of 20 watts, and the panel signals when the cultivation needs water or nutrients. Some seeds are included in the package, but in these cases, the supplied seed does not always arrive at its destination in the best conditions to take root and grow: some experiments will be necessary – and fun – before having a small continuous indigenous production.
Small Cost, Small Space, Small Needs
A solution such as the Smart Garden smart pot allows you to have minimal productions at a low price, with a valid ornamental function that will enrich your windowsill with the usefulness of home cultivation at hand. A vase of this type allows a couple of “organic” crops for flowers or aromatic herbs, leveraging the 7.5W lamp and the maximum height of 27cm. The vase is 37cm long overall, so it has a minimal footprint and essential design to fulfill its ornamental function fully.
Click & Grow’s Home Garden
Click & Grow is an extremely “smart” solution because it brings together the entire supply chain to allow easy cultivation for those who, far from having a “green thumb,” have fast fingertips on screens and keyboards. With Click & Grow, in fact, you not only buy the hydroponic system, but you enter an honest service that also includes the sale of “capsules” with integrated seeds. A sort of Nespresso of the vegetable garden at home, to put it vulgarly, which allows you to choose the type of favorite vegetable and to bring it under the low-consumption LEDs of the dedicated lamp, to make it grow in a short time thanks to the hydroponic principle of the vase in equipment.
The Emsa m5261900 Click & Grow Smart Garden pot has a cost of. The seeds have variable prices and quantities, available in bundles for a varied and (why not) fun production.
Cultivation in Pots
If you prefer to avoid the hydroponic philosophy to rely on a small pot with natural soil, technology still comes to the rescue thanks to tools such as the Xiaomi Mi Flora sensor :
Xiaomi implant sensor has a professionally accurate temperature / light sensor, which helps to monitor and analyze sunlight and temperature, measurable light intensity up to 100000LUX, light intensity accuracy is 100 lux, and the temperature accuracy is 0.5 ℃.
The sensor can be inserted into the soil, bringing specific sensors to the height of the roots to monitor at the same time brightness, humidity, and other factors that can contribute to the health and luxuriant growth of the chosen vegetable. The service works thanks to the interaction with a remote app that records the data collected by the sensor, analyzes them based on the needs of the chosen crop, and thus provides advice on watering or fertilization. The sensor has a cost equal to, and this small figure allows not to forget watering or treatments that the only experience would lead to guess.
Those who want to extend the reach of pot cultivation can also find online kits with wheels, fabric beds, vertical planters, and much more: growing on the balcony becomes possible to the extent that you intend to optimize the spaces based on the number of flowers, herbs. Or vegetables that you intend to look after.
With agriculture, you do not improvise, you do not learn to cultivate overnight, and relying on technology is certainly not a sin: on the contrary, the vegetable garden at home is – today more than ever – trendy. A pinch of technology is enough.
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