If you grow your own plants hydroponically I recommend you buy hydroponic seeds. There are a number of advantages to buying hydroponic seeds rather than seedlings from a plant store.
- Seeds come in so many varieties and they don’t contain the diseases found in seedlings.
- Pests can infect your hydroponic garden and be difficult to eradicate. If you buy young seedlings from a plant nursery there is always a chance that they already contain pests. Aphids are common in plant nurseries and they are difficult to spot. You can bring them home without knowing it and spread throughout your hydroponic garden.
- Some seedlings do not take well to being transplanted from soil to a hydroponic medium. The roots will require a rinsing and not all soil grown plants will survive this method.
- There is more satisfaction in starting from scratch and knowing that the plants have been grown entirely by your own effort. Starting seeds hydroponically doesn’t require an expensive hydroponic kit although you should move them to a hydroponic unit once they have matured.
Hydroponic seed starter kit:
- Small inorganic Starter plugs/cubes
- Hydroponic domed propagation tray
- Warming seedling mat
- Thermometer
- Fluorescent grow-light or natural light
- Seedling solution (Advanced Nutrients / General hydroponics)
- Hydroponic medium
Hydroponic Starter Plugs
1. Germinating seeds hydroponically will require small inorganic starter plugs or flats before the plant has produced any roots. This is because if you place these hydroponic seeds straight into granular hydroponic media the seeds can get washed away with the nutrient solution, or they fail to get enough moisture to germinate.
2. Push each seed into a starter plug or starter cube – you can use a pencil to create the holes. Place each of the starter plugs into a slot in the hydroponic propagation tray. For hydroponic tomato seeds, peppers, cabbage, basil and broccoli 2 seeds per cube should be sufficient; for herbs, 4-6 seeds per cube.
Hydroponic propagation dome
3. Place a clear, transparent, plastic dome over the plant tray. You can buy a hydroponic propagation dome that enables you to adjust the humidity with adjustable vents (see image to the right). The container should hold in moisture and heat the air around the plants. Keep the plants warm with a temperature of between 70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit and exposed to plenty of light. You can buy a seedling heat mat to keep the seedlings warm by placing the mat underneath the dome. Like all seeds, hydroponic seeds requires a lot of warmth to germinate and light to sprout.
4. Water once or twice a week depending on how quickly the tray dries out. Water by adding seedling solution to the tray, not directly onto the plant. Feed the plants a hydroponic nutrient solution by measuring the solution in a separate container before adding it to the tray otherwise you can easily add to much or too little of the nutrient and kill the plants. The solution should have a PHP of around 5.5.
The company “Advanced hydroponics” – popular amongst hydroponic gardeners, provides PHP ‘perfect technology’ in their hydroponic nutrient solutions ensuring a stable PHP throughout growth. Their “NO SHOCK” nutrient solution is specifically designed for cloning, rooting, germination and transplanting. According to Advanced Nutrients “NO SHOCK… provides seedlings with calcium, potassium, Vitamin B-1 and other substances proven to strengthen seedlings so they develop root systems.”
Use No Shock mixed solution immediately after planting and once a week until seedlings break through the surface. You can also use No Shock after they have been transplanted to a larger growing unit. Carefully water using 5 ml (1 tsp) of No Shock per litre (quart) of water. Evenly water using 500 ml of No Shock mixed solution over each 25cm x 50cm (10 inch x 20 inch) planting flats.
5. The seeds should start sprouting in a couple of days. Within 1 to 3 weeks, the plants should be 2-3 inches tall and the root systems should be apparent from the outside of the starter plug. Leave only the strongest seedlings in a single plug by removing the skinnier weaker ones.
6. You should transplant the seedlings to a larger sized hydroponic pot or hydroponic unit. It is important only to transplant them after their roots start to show through the sides of the plugs so they can access the hydroponic nutrient solution in their new larger container. Some plants like tomatoes and peppers can take a little longer to grow. Do not remove the seedlings from the plugs. Just place the plugs directly into the hydroponic pots or unit.
7. After transplanting the seedlings to the hydroponic unit sprinkle some hydroponic nutrient directly over the plants and let it soak all the way into the hydroponic medium. Do this every day for a week to ensure the roots do not dry out before they can access the water and nutrients in the bottom of the unit.
8. They should be exposed to plenty of light in their new hydroponic unit. However if you are using an indoor light be careful not to expose the baby plants directly under a hot light which could cause them to shrivel up and die. Keep the light at a good distance at first and then bring the light nearer after they have matured.
