Home Microgardening with Aeroponics

Why Aeroponics garden system is future for indoor garden ?

An aeroponic garden lets you grow lush, beautiful plants without any of them ever touching a speck of soil. Instead, the plants are suspended over a chamber that has a series of small nozzles in it, and the nozzles periodically (10 secs in each 10 minutes is most recommended) spray a special nutrient solution onto the roots.

Plants grow well in such a system, reaching maturity quickly because they are able to put all of their energy into developing leaves, flowers and fruit, and very little energy into growing roots.
Many different kinds of plants do well in an aeroponic system. It is especially good for small, fast-growing plants such as herbs, lettuce and spinach, but other things can be grown aeroponically as well.

You can use Botanical Interest or Gardenate ($2.67, also on iTunes) which is a fairly complete guide to growing the most popular garden vegetables. You can use mobile apps in your Android phone to remember important information; I use Veg Garden & Garden Manager: Plant Alarm. 

Here is a video on How to make a simple aeroponics system

Here are some basic information for those who want to create a microgarden with aeroponics with tight budget.

There are lots of different aeroponic systems available commercially. Many of these are suitable for microgarden use, as they typically will hold from 10 to 30 plants at a time.

AeroGrow's AeroGarden garden kit ($148)is very helpful one to cultivate lettuce, cherry tomatoes, herbs, chili peppers, edible flowers. AeroGarden garden kit comes with preseeded bio-dome grow pod, two daylight-spectrum bulbs, nutrients, and a helpful tending and harvesting guide complete with recipes.

The advantage of AeroGarden system is it monitors itself to create ideal growing conditions for each plant and alerts you when it's time to add more water and nutrients. This system has built-in microprocessor automatically adjusts nutrient delivery, light cycles, and water for specific plant types.

It’s important to use a good-quality hydroponic nutrient solution for feeding the plants. Clogged nozzles are one of the major problems so you should use a liquid that contains few, if any, solids.

Since aeroponic gardens must receive all of their nutrients from the mist that is applied to their roots, it is important that a nutritionally complete product be used. Commercial hydroponics and aeroponics outlets have a wide variety of such products.

Many people also have success with water-soluble fertilizers such as might be used in any garden. These can work well as long as they contain all of the essential nutrition for plants, including micronutrients.

When choosing nutrients for aeroponics, nothing that might clog the nozzles should be used, as this can be a serious problem in an aeroponic garden. It is advisable to use some type of a filter on the pump intake, since nozzle clogs are a major cause of failure in aeroponic systems.
It’s important to use a good-quality hydroponic nutrient solution for feeding the plants. Clogged nozzles are one of the major problems so you should use a liquid that contains few, if any, solids. 

How to fix foliage problems in Aeroponics 

1. Several nutrient deficiencies can cause your plants’ leaves to turn yellow. Leaves that are yellow and papery can signal a zinc deficiency, although if the veins remain green, it’s more likely that iron is in short supply.

2. If the problem is only on the lower leaves, and the yellow forms a checkerboard-type pattern with the green, your plants need manganese.

3. Yellow tips on a plant whose lower leaves are dying indicate a lack of magnesium, and yellow leaves on a stunted, light-green plant are due to a lack of nitrogen.

4. Dying leaves can be a signal that nutrients are not reaching your plants at all, and may mean that the nozzles in your aeroponic system are clogged or that the pump is not working.

5. A very pale, almost yellowish green color combined with strange-looking, deformed leaves indicates that your plants aren’t getting enough molybdenum.

6. Use mobile apps like The Plant Doctor which can help you to find what is afflicting your houseplants. Select from 32 common symptoms and the Plant Doctor will deduce the root of the problem and come up with a game plan to resuscitate your foliage. If your problem is not listed, the app collects user-supplied text and photos and sends them to a professional plant pathologist, who will send back personalized advice.

In summary, Aeroponics considered to be an environment friendly and economical method for growing healthy, natural plants and crops,. They provide us with an advanced and automated method to deliver your plants optimal levels of water, nutrients and oxygen for accelerated growth and higher yields. Experience faster crop cycles, higher crop yields, increased nutritional value, and ease of maintenance with functioning aeroponic systems.

Click the link to read more about aquaponics information for beginners

I just got The Smart Herb Garden from Click & Grow which creates a self-contained growing environment for plants. Will publish a review soon.

 Image credit :Aeroponics FAQ's