My neighbor grows the most gorgeous tomatoes and as we’ve been having a competition of sorts – best Christmas lights, nicest lawn, best tomatoes”¦you get the gist – I was looking for a fool proof way to outdo Bob and his blue ribbon worthy fruit.
After doing some research, I was leaning towards growing my tomato plants hydroponically. For those of you who don’t know, hydroponics is a subset of hydroculture. Hydroculture is growing plants without soil using only nutrient rich solutions in water. The plants are grown with just their roots in this solution or are grown upon perlite or gravel that is submerged beneath the solution. By all accounts, hydroponically grown food grows bigger, with larger yields than traditional growing methods.
Okay, lesson over. So after some more research, I found a reputable hydroponics purveyor, Dealzer, and selected what I think will be the perfect hydroponic chamber, the Growzilla 3.0 grow box. I had my choice of a 4-foot-tall single chamber grow box or one around 5 foot 8 inches, both havin a depth of 16.5 inches. These feature powerful LED grow lights on a “yo-yo” system that is easy to raise and lower. I chose the larger of the two because, of course, I’m looking to grow bigger, higher yielding tomato plants than Bob.
Dealzer also sells irrigation pumps, nutrients, meters and other garden accessories necessary for growing tomatoes and similar plants like this. It’s kind of a one-stop-shop for hydroponics. Having been in business for 9 years and a member in good standing with the BBB, I felt confident that I had made the correct choice. And being a novice to hydroponics, I recommend their 55-page training guide too. These nice folks are also available to answer any questions.
In addition to larger, healthier plants and higher fruit yields, hydroponic gardening is considered one of the best ways to grow fresh vegetables year round. This is yet another plus, as I will get a head start on all my growing. I’m pretty sure with my new Growzilla I’m going to win my unofficial bet with the neighbor. In fact, I’m so sure that I think we should make a real bet”¦maybe the loser mows the winner’s lawn for a year.
