New way to grow food in these uncertain times
Growing some of your own food can be as easy as 1,2 and 3. I don’t mean breaking out the tiller or the traditional rake, hoe and shovel. I mean:
- Grow some sprouts or micro-greens.
- Fill a container with nutrient solution.
- Place your sprouts in the container so their roots touch the nutrient solution.
That’s pretty much it. You will have to watch the nutrient level, don’t let it drop below half full (or empty, if you tend to be a pessimist). This type of growing is based on hydroponics, growing plants in nutrient rich water. Hydroponics has been around for quite some time but the new way that I am speaking of is relatively new.
Traditional hydroponics usually involves costly equipment to get started such as pumps, meters and auto dosing equipment. You also have to figure out what type of grow medium you want to use ranging from rockwool cubes to extruded clay pebbles. There is also a learning curve associated with it. Because of this, most people get turned off.
I tried traditional gardening for years but my work took me on the road quite often, sometimes for weeks at a time. Upon arriving home, many times I would find some sort of horticultural disaster. I began researching different ways of growing ranging from hydro- and aeroponics to bio-intensive and square foot gardening. My first attempt at hydro was exhilarating, no more tilling, weeding and composting. I did it on a shoestring with minimal equipment just to experiment, I figured I could always add to the system.
Everything seemed to work perfect in my new veggie wonderland until one day when work called me away for about a week during the hot Florida Summer. A storm tripped my breaker and the pump went off. In one day my entire crop was gone. This happened a few times and I was pretty much done with gardening until I heard of Dr. Kratky’s work. He figured out how to grow plants hydroponically without the use of pumps for aeration. Since then, hobby gardeners have been experimenting with his ideas. I made a few containers out of totes from the local hardware store mimicking the containers that Dr Kratky used. It was amazing! Totally off grid, no pumps required. It is pretty much a care free system, I was amazed and started experimenting, changing some things up to fit my needs.
That was over 8 years ago and I have never looked back. I have begun sharing my experience through social media. I have connected with people around the world and many are trying this easy way of growing. I get messages from every corner of the globe thanking me for sharing this with them. Some took the knowledge back to poverty stricken neighborhoods or villages, retirement communities and households trying to make ends meet. They are all now growing some of their own food. I am totally humbled by this and give credit to Dr. Kratky whenever I can.
With this system, just about anyone, anywhere can grow some of their own food, a basic necessity of life. I grow nutrient rich micro-greens and transplant them into these off grid containers to grow into baby greens. As the plants mature, we constantly pick greens from them and can restart a new crop whenever we like. Imagine having fresh herbs and greens right outside your kitchen door without all the back breaking work that goes into traditional gardening. Well, now you can! I continue to experiment with this fascinating way of growing and will always share what I learn with the world. Providing for yourself during uncertain times is very empowering.
