The hydroponic balcony is a new concept in apartment gardening. It uses the principles of aquaponics, but with an apartment balcony, the scale of the system is much smaller than with a traditional fish-filled tank. A hydroponic balcony will still require quite a bit of maintenance, but it will be more contained than with a traditional grow system. Vegetables and herbs can all be grown on this type of system, and a beautiful balcony design can be achieved as well. You’ll need to choose which vegetables you want to grow first, though, before you go any further with apartment gardening design.
When you begin, make sure that you have the basic equipment for hydroponics, such as pumps, filters, trays, reservoirs and pots. If you’re going with a hydroponic system for a garden on your apartment, be sure that your apartment is Class A or B. You should also know the size of the area that you have to work with. Choose containers that are large enough to hold at least five plants, but no more than ten. If you have a larger area to work with, a larger container would be better.
Keep your plants watered regularly throughout the day. Choose a low-light regimen so that the roots can absorb plenty of nutrients from the water, as well as to ensure that they don’t get burned. For a starter hydroponics garden, use half medium, half clear water. Once the roots start growing nicely, you can slowly add more nutrients to the water. This type of farming is known as long-term planting, and your plants will grow for up to one year without any additional fertilization.
There are three basic kinds of hydroponic planting. They are aeroponics, nutrient film technique, and mineral media. With the help of an automated system, you can grow different varieties of plants in one small room without much effort. Just make sure that you don’t over-fertilize or you’ll be sorry.
Aeroponics is the most popular method of hydroponic gardening because it is easy and inexpensive. It requires only a lightweight glass jar that’s big enough to let some space for air to circulate. The most popular nutrient solution used for this kind of planting is fish nutrients. Since there’s no need to harvest or to worry about bugs, this method is more hygienic and safe for children. However, because there’s no dirt to clean up, it’s not as good for the environment as nutrient film technique or container gardening.
Nutrient film technique is the easiest among all three. It uses nets filled with soil and plant nutrients in order to attract plant species that are suitable for your climate. You can choose between vegetable seeds, fruit, and flower crops. Nutrient film will give you healthy and blooming plants. But since it’s so simple, many people tend to use hydroponic growing medium.
If you think that this kind of system isn’t efficient enough, you can also install a water pump and aeroponics system together with your hydroponic balcony. The pump will help move the nutrient solution around and the system will help keep the soil to aerate. If you combine these two farming techniques, you’ll have two separate systems that can provide the nutrients that your plants need.
There are many advantages in using hydroponic gardening hydroponics. It allows you to grow different kinds of plants, even some that aren’t native to your area. Also, it’s economical and easy to set-up. And because it doesn’t require much work, you can save money for other expenses, such as for food and clothing. The only thing you need to do is invest in a good balcony system, the right lighting system and an efficient water pump if you want to grow plants in this special kind of system.