Have you ever wanted to create your own indoor garden? There’s never been a better time to start! Indoor gardening allows you to grow anything from elegant houseplants to delicious vegetables. Not only will you gain a sense of accomplishment, you will also get to enjoy the greenery around your house. With the help of a hydroponic system, you can also grow these plants in a water-based, nutrient-rich solution without any soil. This article will cover the top reasons you should start an indoor hydroponic garden and helpful tips if you've had one. We'll also recommend the best plants for indoor gardening. Top 6 Benefits of Having an Indoor Hydroponic Garden 1. Free of Chemicals Fruits and vegetables from the market are often loaded with pesticides and chemical fertilizers that can do us more harm than good. When ingested, these chemicals can cause all kinds of adverse health effects, such as rashes, dizziness, diarrhea, and more. In recent years, more and more people have moved towards growing their own food to avoid these issues all together. Thus, it’s no surprise that automated home growing systems have become an increasingly popular option to harvest organic food that is not only delicious, but also pesticide-free. 2. An Economical Choice Yes, growing a garden has the potential to reduce your grocery bill. While starting an indoor garden from scratch will incur some cost, it will pay off sooner than you think! Fruits and vegetables sold in a traditional supermarket are sensitive to inflation because of their short shelf life and their scarce supply during natural disasters. By growing your own greens, you don’t have to worry about compromising your healthy lifestyle when prices go up. You can start your indoor garden with a hydroponic grow box and a few bags of seeds. Consider this an opportunity to invest in your health and, before you know it, you’ll be saving big on your grocery bill. 3. Enhance Child Development Children are curious about the world around them. An indoor garden is a perfect opportunity to teach children where their food comes from and allows them to enjoy the growth of a plant at every stage. The process of tending a plant and exercising patience has also been shown to build children’s self-confidence, improve their focus and memory, and even help relieve stress. In the long-term, gardening positively impacts children’s mood and psychological wellbeing, all while encouraging them to eat healthier. However, if you have young children, the mess of indoor plants may seem daunting. That's where grow boxes like 'abby' are perfect! Since abby uses a hydroponic system, you don't have to worry about cleaning up after dirt. The abby Grow Box also comes with a child-safety lock so you don't have to worry about unsupervised accidents. 4. Better Taste If you’ve ever grown your own vegetables, you’ll know this to be true. Supermarket veggies are bred for longer shelf-lives and uniform appearance, not flavor. In modern agriculture, the soil is usually stripped of natural nutrients and fertilizers do not enrich the soil’s microbiome, which would allow plants to reach their full nutritional profile. Nutrients = flavor. Once you've tasted organic vegetables grown indoors, we promise you won’t go back to the store-bought variety! 5. Green Therapy Some call it “green therapy” — taking care of living plants brings out the best in us, while also making our bodies healthier. Research has shown that tending to a garden can train us to be more attentive, increasing our levels of empathy and compassion. Indoor plants have also been shown to reduce stress levels, lower blood pressure, and improve our sleep quality by enriching the room with oxygen. Consider an indoor hydroponic garden system as the perfect opportunity to boost your mental and physical wellbeing. 6. Sustainability Both economic and climate disasters are inevitable. These events can lead to supply shortages, which result in major price jumps. Indoor gardening allows you to sustain your healthy lifestyle even when market produce isn't easily accessible. Growing your own food is not only self-sustaining but also great for the planet! Chemical pesticides and fertilizers can consist of methane and carbon dioxide, which can both contribute to the buildup of greenhouse gases and global warming. By starting your own indoor garden, you'll be doing yourself and the environment a favor. How to Build an Indoor Hydroponic Garden? If you've decided to move from soil to hydroponic gardening indoors, ditch the dirt and start growing plants without soil! There are two methods of hydroponic gardening: dipping the roots directly into nutrient-rich water, or growing the plants in containers with a soilless mix of perlite, sand, and/or coconut fibre. Then the container should be submerged or suspended in a water-filled reservoir. If you want to try this soilless gardening, you can buy a pre-made hydroponics growing kit, like the Hey abby 420 Edition (better for beginners) and OG edition (more advanced), or DIY one by yourself. Once you've set up your hydroponic kit or built your growing system, you can use the following tips: Add hydroponic nutrients to the reservoir in accordance with the directions on the package. Many are available in liquid and powder form; It's better to fill the tank with filtered water instead of tap water, as it often contains fluoride and other elements that can harm plants. If your indoor hydroponic system is able to purify water automatically, then choose whichever is easier for you; The ideal water temperature is 65°F to 75°F with a pH between 5.5 and 6; Use an aerator or pump to move the water in the reservoir to prevent stagnant water and bacterial growth; Empty, clean and refill your hydroponic nutrient at least every two weeks. While almost any types of plants can be grown hydroponically, the technique is most often used to grow vegetables or herbs. In the next section, let's look at what can be grown in your hydroponic indoor garden. 8 Best Plants to Grow Hydroponically in Your Indoor Garden 1. Tomatoes Tomatoes are perfect for your indoor vegetable garden or in grow cabinets. The major reason is that you only need a small space for their plants to grow. And with a few nutrients, tomato plants grow easily; once they have grown, their juicy flavor is worth trying. 2. Cucumbers Cucumbers grow best in water and are ideal for hydroponic gardening in indoor hydroponic cabinets. With enough space in the water, cucumbers will grow profusely. 3. Bell peppers You're also recommended to grow peppers in an indoor hydroponic garden, as the conditions are favorable for them. You should remember to monitor the temperature and humidity levels. Regular pruning and pest control are also necessary. 4. Blueberries Blueberries are one of the best plants for hydroponic gardening indoors, because their plants need a high level of acidity; and with a hydroponic garden, it's easier to create an environment with blueberries' desirable acidity range compared to soil-culture growing. 5. Lettuce With efficient hydroponics, lettuce leaves can be harvested with little effort. This plant hardly needs any growing space. Therefore, hydroponic gardeners prefer lettuce. When you start growing lettuce, you can harvest lettuce within a few weeks. 6. Strawberries Don't forget one of the most popular fruits, strawberries. They love moisture, and therefore a hydroponic indoor garden is suitable for strawberries. 7. Spinach Spinach is a popular leafy vegetable that grows quickly in a hydroponic setting. As they're an excellent source of vitamins A, C, and K, you can try growing them for numerous health benefits. 8. Cannabis Check out the healthy cannabis plants that are grown hydroponically with our hey abby grow box kit. Although cannabis plants are not as easy to grow as previous ones, they might be more suitable for hydroponic growing than you imagine. Growing marijuana hydroponically gives you preciser control over the nutrient and water levels, and as a result you'll see faster growth and higher yields. Some growers also believe hydro weeds come with a higher potency and better flavor profile.
