As promised, here is my post for how to plant seedlings in our DIY hydroponic vertical garden. The beauty of hydroponics means that no soil is needed; the roots of the plants are fed by nutrients added to the constantly running water.
Recently, Checkers (a local grocery store) ran a ‘Checkers Little Garden’ promo, where you received a box of seedlings for every R 150.00 spent (equivalent to about USD 11.00 at current exchange rates). Needless to say, we grew a small collection of these and a few of were now ready to plant.
Since not all of the seedlings would be suitable for the small pots, we decided to supplement our supply with some lettuce and green pepper seedlings from our local garden centre as well. Lettuce has previously done well in this set-up, let’s hope that the peppers will do well too!
Also, because we are lazy and doing this ‘on the cheap’, we decided to not go with the suggested pebbles to support the plants (since there is no soil to do this). Hubs cut supports out of an old foam puzzle instead!
Foam Cut outs:
- Trace the size of the pot out on your foam piece
Trace out the size of the top of the pot - Cut along the traced shape (we used a pair of scissors for this)
Cut the shape out - Use your scissors to make a slit half way through the circle
Cut a slit in the foam to the middle of the circle. - Cut small slits from the centre of the circle; this will create the hole in which the plant will sit
Cut small slits from the middle of the circle – this will create the hole that will support the plant. - Snip the pieces between the slits to make the hole
Forming the hole that will support the plant. - This is what the final product should look like
This is what is going to support the plant.
Now we get to the fun part – the planting!
You will need a bucket of water for this part.
- Remove the seedling from the packaging
Getting ready to wash the roots of the lettuce seedling - Wash the roots off in your bucket of water; be careful not to damage the roots during this process
Wash as much soil from the roots as you can; be careful not the damage them in the process. - Gently place your foam cut-out around your plant
Gently put the foam around the seedling - Place your seedling in the pot
The potted plant; see how the foam supports it? - Put your potted plant into your garden, it’s as easy as that! 😀
One of the final projects – a Checkers Little Garden mustard plant - The next step if probably the most important – adding nutrients to the water! You will need to do this approximately once a week (maybe more in blooming season). It’s easy though, just follow the instructions on the food bottle!
Don’t forget to feed your babies! The kids had such a blast with this little project; they can’t wait for the next one! I couldn’t resist showing some extra photos of them 😉
Getting ready to plant – this one needs to be done when we get to the backyard. 
I’ve got the chives, Mom! 
Wash, wash, wash! 
The potted seedlings looking happy in their new home That’s it, really – so simple once you have the system up and running. The kids love it as well, they have so much fun when they get to mess about in the garden!
Tell me what you think, I’d love to hear your opinions!