Indoor Vegetable Gardens

A well designed hydroponic grow room provides the systems needed for good plant care in an easy to use fashion, so that essential chores are not overlooked or put off. Plenty of light, water and nutrition must be readily available. Equally important is controlling the temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide levels. A separate wet area, away from electrical systems, is necessary for mixing nutrients and clean up. Locate all pumps and switches for easy access and cutoff in case of leaks or maintenance issues and place plants at a comfortable height whenever possible.

Hydroponic Grow Room Design

The first consideration in hydroponic grow room design is available space. Small spaces and closets are easily adapted to vertical growing. Horizontal racking is convenient for larger spaces.

Plan for plenty of storage space within the room as well as a mixing area with a water supply. Use outlets with ground fault interrupts and, if possible, locate electrical outlets higher on the wall to avoid contact with splashing water. Separate the wet area and the electrical systems.

Control Humidity in the Grow Room

Constantly running water, leaky systems and high humidity can damage carpeting and encourage the growth of mold within walls. Plan ahead and avoid problems by covering everything in plastic before installing your systems.

Staple plastic in place to cover the ceiling, floor and walls. Join the edges with duct tape to make a vapor proof seam. In large grow rooms that use 10 or more light fixtures, it is a good idea to run a de-humdidifier at night to remove excess water and prevent condensation.

Grow Room Lighting Systems

The amount of light needed varies from plant to plant. Plants need enough intensity and the right wavelengths. Using multiple lights located in close proximity to the plants will increase the intensity. Reflectors strategically placed to focus light back onto the plants will also help.

Both red and blue wavelengths are needed for healthy plant growth. Commercial grow lights specify which wavelengths are provided. When using fluorescent lights, mix warm spectrum and cool spectrum lights to ensure the right balance of light.

Operating the Hydroponic System

Decide which hydroponic system or systems you will use and install them in the space. Lettuce and other greens do well in a deep water cultivation system. Nutrient film technique systems, ebb and flow systems and drip systems are all successful with vegetable and herb crops.

During the vegetative stage of plant growth run the lights and nutrients for 18 hours daily. To induce blooming and fruit production, reduce the light to 12 hours daily and change the nutrient solution to a blooming solution.

Hydroponic Grow Room Ventilation

Lights add a lot of heat to the room. Adequate ventilation using an exhaust fan helps, but an air conditioning system is best, especially if multiple lights are used. Plan to keep the temperature in the grow room below 80 degrees F.

Plants breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen. In a closed system, it is a good idea to enrich the air using a carbon dioxide generator. Bringing in fresh air from outside will increase the carbon dioxide, but growth rates will improve with higher concentrations of carbon dioxide.

For More Information

The Simply Hydroponics website has a wealth of information on hydroponic systems and free hydroponic system plans.

Gardening without soil offers solutions for third world countries, worn out agricultural land plus have the advantage of being environmentally friendly. Read more at Go Green With Hydroponics: Sustainable Gardening Practices That Are Economically Viable.

This article on Hydroponic Gardening gives an overview of hydroponic gardening: what it is, why people do it, where to buy hydroponic gardening supplies and kits.