Growing Hydroponics
NO LONGER THE PRESERVE OF COMMERCIAL GROWERS, HYDROPONICS – A SOIL- LESS METHOD OF GROWING LEAFY VEG – IS MADE FOR URBAN EDIBLE- GARDENERS
“Plants grow bigger and faster as they don’t have to seek out food –they concentrate on growing leaves rather than root systems”
You can always spot a frustrated gardener by the number of houseplants tumbling from bookshelves or the pots of supermarket herbs clustered on kitchen countertops. Growing veg can be tricky if you don’t have a garden to cultivate or a sunny balcony to fill with tubs. Redemption for would-be urban gardeners, however, could lie with hydroponics, a controlled method of growing plants in water rather than soil.
Home hydroponic kits – basically souped-up gardening trays with LED lamps and watering systems – are now widely available, and come in compact and appealing designs that sit happily in contemporary kitchens (see next page). The absence of soil and ease of operation ( basically, switch them on and leave them to it) mean that they are a mess-free and orderly way to grow veg indoors, even in shady corners.
Commercial food producers have led the charge with soil-free cultivation, albeit on a much grander scale. Hydroponics is a supremely controllable method of horticulture that is not affected by the vagaries of weather, sunlight, or what lies in the soil, but is instead governed by science. Plants are grown in an inert growing medium (one that contains no nutrients), such as perlite, rock wool or sand. Nutrients ( principally nitrogen, phosphorous and postassium) are delivered to the roots via a fertiliser dissolved in water, and growth is boosted by artificial light. Plants grow bigger and faster because they don’t have to seek out food – they can concentrate on growing leaves rather than root systems.
Richard Ballard and Steven Dring have put hydroponics to good purpose in their underground farm, Zero Carbon Food, 30 metres beneath Clapham North tube station in London. Here they grow salad leaves and micro greens in 33m of tunnels (a former bomb shelter) without natural light or soil but with
LED lighting and nutrient-rich water. The constant temperature and the ability to measure and monitor crops means that the farm reliably produces acres of micro leaves and herbs, including micro wasabi, fennel and coriander. These end up in London restaurants, and home cooks can find them at Marks & Spencer, Whole Foods, Ocado or order via farmdrop.com.
Farmshop (farmlondon.weebly.com) is an urban farm located in what looks like an ordinary terraced house in Hackney, East London. Describing itself as ‘an urban farming hub’, it serves crops grown hydroponically and aquaponically* in its café and is part of a larger movement, the aim of which is to fill otherwise neglected plots in cities with farms producing fresh and sustainable food.
Similarly, in West Yorkshire, the Incredible Edible network, based in Todmorden (incredible-edible-todmorden.co.uk), has created The Incredible Aqua Garden, a hydroponics and aquaponics garden that grows tomatoes, beans and herbs and salad.
If further proof that hydroponics has gone mainstream is needed, look no further than the newest branch of Veggie Pret in Exmouth Market, London, which has a hydroponic cabinet filled with sprouting herbs, conveniently placed to scatter on to salads or sprinkle in sandwiches.
Herbs are a good crop to start with if you are considering investing in a hydroponic system of your own. Not only can they be grown all year round but, once sown, can be left until they grow leafy and verdant, ready to be snipped and savoured, as fresh and flavoursome as you like.
“A handful of fresh herbs in snipping distance is a boon to any cook”