Update: Hydroponics

I told you about the neat hydroponic herb growing kit I got for Christmas in a post here. Today I have an update.

It has been fun, we've had herbs at hand, and they've been amazingly fragrant and fresh. But it's too much, and we've become overwhelmed.

It certainly works! It works so well that the cilantro has grown way too tall. I snip it every day, leaving mostly stems, and it is still too big for this system container. And I simply can't use that much cilantro every day.

The dill was even taller -- it's a wispy plant but gets very tall. I had it planted on the right side but took it out weeks ago when it overtopped the light fixture. And again, how much dill can you use every day?

The basil was extremely fragrant, but got shaded out by the sage and by the forest of cilantro and dill. It hasn't done well crowded in this container.

So I have decided to take out all the herbs and use this system to start some annual seeds under lights this spring. The growing plugs, lights and water system work great for small, delicate plants and I'll be able to get good roots going on small seedlings easily. Then I'll transplant them. We'll see how that works out.

Look at the size of the root system on the cilantro when I took the plug out. That's about 10 weeks of growth. No soil, just water and liquid fertilizer.

Was the system a success? Yes! I loved having fresh herbs right on the kitchen counter, but we couldn't use that much all the time. Drying small batches every day was a process I didn't want to take on.

So the next experiment is to start seedlings in water under the lights for eventual transplant into pots and then later into the garden. It may not work, but the fun is in the trying.