Wind power to power hydroponic garden
Got a fabulous question from a reader wanting to start an indoor hydroponic garden from reader Tracey:
“This year has been a bad one for our tomatoes. They’ve gotten way too much rain, and not nearly enough sun, and we’ve only gotten a handful to enjoy. So, my husband and I took a look at the basement and started wondering about getting some grow lights and growing them down there instead. One thing led to another and we started researching the AeroGarden and started talking about if we could build our own and the electric costs… So, here I am, wondering if we can power a hydroponic garden using home wind power. What do you think?”
You’re not alone with the tomato challenges, Tracey–my wife’s been driven to distraction this year trying to coax hers to grow. All the rain we’ve gotten has been great for many things, but tomatoes don’t seem to be one of them.
The virtues of hydroponic gardening are many. Basically, you grow your plants without dirt in a specially balanced mix of water and fertilizer (seaweed is especially popular). Plants require a grow light to get adequate light, and the number of hours the light should be on each day depends on the plant itself. This is the virtue of the AreoGarden–it’s already programmed with the right settings for a variety of plants. But, what makes it less useful is that it can only grow plants of a certain size (like cherry tomatoes; full-size tomatoes are too big). It’s also a bit of an energy hog.
Building your own hydroponic system is a cost-effective way to get the advantages of this type of garden, and if you have the time and know-how, it’s a great idea. You can get even more bang for your buck by powering it with a wind power generator as Tracey offers. Sure, you’ll have a bit more of an upfront cost, but you’ll have the advantage of knowing you’re growing your tomatoes nearly cost-free after that initial investment.
Personally, I think we’ll power our hydroponic system the old-fashioned way by just plugging it in, but to be truly self-sufficient, a wind-powered generator is a great idea!
