If your child brought a plant home from school and you’re wondering how to care for it, you’ve come to the right place! The plant is growing hydroponically, which means its roots will grow in water, not dirt. The plant may be in a small amount of growing medium like coco coir, perlite and/or vermiculite, but this is only to help it get started.
Quick Guide
- If your plant is in a red plastic cup, transfer it to a larger container (like a wide mouth mason jar) – see below.
- Place your plant on a sunny windowsill or under a grow light.
- When the water level in your container gets low, add more water and nutrients*
- When your plant is big enough, harvest and enjoy!
*To mix the nutrients, dissolve the contents of the white pouch into 4 litres of water and then dissolve the contents of the black pouch into the same 4 litres of water (a milk jug works great for this). Store unused nutrient solution in a dark place.
Benefits of Hydroponics
Hydroponic gardening is a great way to grow food year-round. Because hydroponics doesn’t require soil, you don’t need a big yard to have a garden – in fact, you don’t need a yard at all! With grow lights, you can easily grow your favorite berries and vegetables indoors and have a perpetual growing season!
With an indoor hydroponic garden, you also:
- use 90% less water than soil-based gardening
- grow plants faster
- don’t need to worry about hail, frost, squirrels or summer snowfalls
- can grow plants that aren’t suited for our climate
Transferring Your Plant
If the plant came home in a red plastic cup, it is best to transfer it to a larger container. A wide mouth mason jar or old spaghetti sauce jar work great. You can even cut a 3 inch hole into the lid of a large plastic container (like a yogurt container) to put the plant in.
We recommend wrapping your container in tinfoil, or using a container that is dark in colour to block light from the nutrient solution. If the nutrient solution is exposed to light, green algae may start to grow. This algae is not toxic or harmful to humans, but it can use up nutrients intended for your plant.
To transfer the plant, lift the black net pot out of the plastic cup and place it in the container so that the top lip of the black pot rests on the top opening of the container. Then fill the container with nutrient solution (see below) so the water level reaches halfway up the black pot.
Feeding Your Plant
Your plant came home with a mixture of water and hydroponic fertilizer (nutrients) in the container. When you transfer the plant to a larger container (if required), and when the water line drops below 1/4 of the volume of the container, it is time to add more water and nutrients.
Until the plant’s roots emerge from the black pot, nutrients should be in contact with the bottom 1/4 to 1/2 of the black pot. When the roots emerge, maintain a minimum 2 inch gap between the bottom of the black pot and the top of the nutrient solution.
We have provided enough nutrients to make 4 litres of water/nutrient mix (nutrient solution) – this should be enough to grow a few heads of lettuce.
To make the nutrient solution, fill a 4 litre container (like a milk jug) with water and pour in the fertilizer in the white pouch. Close the container and shake until the fertilizer has dissolved. Then pour in the fertilizer in the black pouch, close the container and shake until it has dissolved. Store unused nutrient solution in a dark place.
Keep on Growing
To continue growing plants hydroponically, check out this article to learn more, and visit our shop to get everything you need to grow.
- Hydroponic Nutrients (tomato formula – for growing flowering/fruiting plants)
- Hydroponic Nutrients (lettuce formula – for growing herbs, lettuce and other leafy greens)
- Hydroponic Gardening Bin (if you want to grow more plants)
- Countertop Hydroponic Garden (if you’re short on space, but still want to grow more – these also make great gifts)
