Hydroponic Gardening in NYC

Types

• The type of hydroponic garden you choose depends on how much room you have, what you want to grow and how much money you want to spend. Hydroponic gardens in cities typically are not large and recycle the hydroponic nutrients. Deep-water culture is considered an excellent method for producing greens, such as lettuce, spinach and mint, while an ebb-and-flow system is a better choice for larger plants, including tomatoes and beans. Either type of system fits into just a few square feet of space and can be homemade or purchased as a setup that’s ready to be used.

Temperature

• Your hydroponic garden will thrive indoors or outside as long as conditions are correct. Cool-weather crops, including spinach and lettuce, do well when daytime temperatures are 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit and nighttime temperatures are 50 to 60 F. Warm-weather plants, such as tomatoes and snap beans, grow best when temperatures are 70 to 80 F during daytime and hit 60 to 70 F at night. Conditions on a west- or south-facing balcony can be very different from those on an east- or north-facing side of a building or those inside your home. Set a thermometer near the plants to check the temperature.

Light

• Plants set outside in New York City may end up getting a lot of shade from the many buildings around them. Ensure that the area where you place your hydroponic garden receives at least six hours of strong sunlight per day. If it doesn’t, supplement the sunlight with a reliable light source connected to a timer for consistency. Greens thrive when a simple, fluorescent shop light is near them, but flowering and fruiting plants need more light. Use a grow light designed to simulate sunshine for the best results from flowering and fruiting plants.

Water

• New York City water usually contains various additives for purification, and those additives may cause problems for your plants. Water test kits are available from hydroponic suppliers, as are the agents necessary to purify water. Testing and adjusting the hydroponic garden water's pH level at the same time is important because hydroponic plants do best in water that is pH-balanced. A pH level of about 6 is good for most plants, but the pH level should be adjusted for plants that prefer a more acidic or alkaline environment. If your home's water is excessively hard or salty, you may need to purify it before using it for hydroponics.