Hydroponic gardening - has anyone dabbled?

[Lostvalleyguy]

There is a place not too far from where I live that caters to the hydroponic gardener. While many of the tools and components are far too large for my living space, I would be curious to give it a try. Fortunately, I get a reasonable amount of sunlight so I shouldn't need huge grow lights.

Has anyone had any experience with this? How much would it take to experiment?

 

[firelily99]

Its not like sprouting some seeds in a few pots. This is something that will require a commitment to do. If you haven't had much gardening or plant experience then it might be something that you should wait on until you do learn more.

 

[Chuck]

I was involved back in the 70's when hydroponics first started. It is or was an involved process. I suppose it could be scaled down but the return would be minimal. We had a 200' x 100' quanset type greenhouse and a 2500 gallon main tank and a 1000 gallon supplemental tank. We could grow about 1500 producing tomato plants. I am sure things have changed since but back then the produce just wasn't right. And I am sure techniques have evolved into something a lot different from what it was then.

 

[briza]

Not sure if you're after a large scale hydroponic set-up or are just interested in growing quality veg from your balcony or small backyard?Hydroponics is the go. It kills growing with soil especially in pot plants on balconies... almost impossible to grow proper veggies in soil pot plants... hydroponic however... you can grow anything. If you have sun, you're in business. Theres plenty of cool systems out there, heres one that doesn't require bolting into walls and has a cool bamboo theme. http://www.verticalgrow.com.au It's based on nft (nutrient film technique) but has a bigger channel diameter so you can grow large veggies. It uses drip tech to water each plant site.