Page 14 - Kwasind June 2020 issue

JUNE 2020
My Hydroponic Garden Margaret Winter
Like you, I am disappointed to not be planning my Island forays, especially to the Chef’s Garden where one of my duties is to keep the garden edges straight.
I am, however, thoroughly enjoying my own little hydroponic garden which gives me one salad a week and thought I’d share my experience with you, especially with those of you in condos.
My hydroponic garden came from IKEA in Spain as I just loved the design. Sadly, it is not available here, but there are some very good options. Aerogarden and Root Farm have various sizes of planters which are attractive and readily available. The IKEA planter does not have recirculating water and I have not had issues with stagnation as I refill it
Hydroponic garden Photo: Margaret Winter.
once a week. Both Aerogarden and Root Farm do have planters with pumps for water circulation. Having a light that can be adjusted in height gives more flexibility as the seedlings grow to larger plants.
It has been a learning curve researching what fertilizer to use and the more I read the more questions I had as different plants need different blends and strengths of fertilizer. Both
DINING • 14
Harvested Kale Photo: Margaret Winter.
Aerogarden and Root Farm have their own fertilizers with the Root Farm method selling different pre-mixed fertilizers for the various stages of growth.
I decided to go the simple root, pardon the pun, and bought a big box of MiracleGro 20 20 20. The online instructions said to use one teaspoon of their fertilizer and half a teaspoon of Epsom salts per litre of water. My new seedlings did not like that and looked burned with yellow leaves. I have since reduced it by half and the results are healthy and happy plants.
Those thriving in my indoor garden are kale, arugula, thyme and basil. I think the other seeds I have, that disappointed, are old and I will experiment, again, with spinach, oregano, and chives.
Finished salad. Photo: Margaret Winter.
When I travel, I harvest all plants, clean the planter and start fresh when I return. It is so rewarding to eat a salad of my own creation grown hydroponically inside my condo.