Hydroponic basilMore and more food plants are being grown using water as a medium. It allows intensive growing, providing a lot of food in a small space.
What you'll need:
A large plastic pot
Chunky coconut fibre/mulch block (pref. no added nutrients)
A bucket or deep plant tray
Basil (or other herb) seedling
Coco specific hydroponic nutrients (hardware or hydroponics shop)
Soak the coconut fibre block in water. Once it is expanded it may be a good idea to rinse it a couple of times to remove some of the tannin. Don't let it drip on pale paving, it may stain for a while.
Simply pot the seedling into the coco mulch as you would any other plant, it will have lots of spaces in it but that's okay.
Give it a water in with the nutrients. Only make up how much nutrient you want to use.
Remember to give it a drink every couple of days, more often when it's hot and as the plant gets bigger. It's best not to let the plant sit in deep water for too long, but again, once it warms up, you may need extra watering anyway and it can use a bit up in a day.
It will need a few hours sun a day to keep it happy. We started ours a bit early this year but it should be okay once it warms up.
I also am trying out a little window box Roma tomato in a hydro bucket too and so far it looks good.
Enjoy!
8 comments:
Hello there! I'm trying something. Have you ever tried using shredded paper as your growing medium? It's sterile too isn't it?
Shredded paper might compact down pretty quickly but for short term growing it could be alright. Try and use stuff without too much ink, especially coloured ink... it might have some nasty stuff in it.
That's true. I tried it with my tomatoes. It's in a cut soda bottle and I used shredded paper to hold the plant steady. It's so-so for now. I hope my plant survives though.
Hello again! In this setup, do you let the medium dry out before topping the bucket with water? I have some basil submerged in water (no medium). They thrived for a couple of weeks but then they started rotting. I'm kinda wondering why.
Plant roots need air as well, which is why the medium is important as it must hold enough water but also let some air around it.
There are a variety of hydroponic mediums available. Chunky cocopeat works well as it stays damp, so we only water the herbs every few days.
Wow, nice post. Really it is very helpful and informative post. Thanks for sharing this wonderful post with us.
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