Moved Hydroponic Garden Indoors and Started Basil in Germination Station
Over the weekend, it was time to swap out the nutrient bath in the hydroponic garden, and with the forecast for this week making an overnight freeze not out of the realm of possibility, I figured I'd take the whole works inside.
It's now set up in my office, with all of the portable lights I could rig together pointed at it. I had planned on getting more of a "real" light setup before I moved it inside, but clearly my planning mojo is seriously depleted these days.
At any rate, I also made a few modifications to the setup at the same time. Because I bought such large net cups (I'd buy smaller next time), I actually moved the plants together with 2 in each cup, which made more room for future plants. I'm going to have to also do something to pull the stems together better because the stevia is pretty much sprawling out all over to the sides.
With the extra room, it made sense to start some other plants growing, so I filled the "germination station" I bought with vermiculite, basil seed, covered and watered it. I plugged in the heating pad and we'll see next weekend if they start to grow. If only a few germinate, I'll just use them. If lots start growing, I may have lots of basil seedlings if anyone wants some.
As far as bugs, etc. from bringing it inside, I haven't yet found any evidence of that being a problem. Of course, only time will really tell. I may come into my office some morning this week to be greeted by swarming pests.
Beyond the existing setup, I've been scoping out spots in my house where I could set up one or more plants with lighting. Ideally, what I'd love to have eventually is all of my "in stock" produce growing at home. I want to just grab potatoes, onions, herbs, garlic, peppers, salad greens etc. from my own supply, especially when I can control the pesticide/herbicide levels. Of course, some of those items are hard to grow hydroponically or are really inefficient. For now, the stuff I'm planning to grow is enough.
