One of the most significant traits I remember about my late father was that he loved gardening. He grew up and learned the basics of farming and gardening since childhood. After all, he was a descendant of a family clan of farmers. However, he wanted to make something for himself that would allow him to explore and discover new things outside the countryside. He earned a degree in business, climbed up the ranks, and eventually earned a controller/senior management position in finance and accounting. Even with these elite-level successes, he never forgot his roots in the countryside and the basics of farming and gardening. At home, he donned our surrounding lands with fruit trees, crops, flowers, and more.
I was not born with a green thumb. My mom and my siblings also did not inherit the green thumb gene. But regardless, we still love gardens and organically-grown crops. Our homes inherited some organically-grown crops in the garden, such as lemon trees and tomato bushes. The only thing we could do was maintain them, or if we are clueless with tending them, we just have them removed.
For a new objective in 2025, I’d like to revive crop and gardening. In this cruel world, food, especially the basics such as fruits, vegetables, grains, and meats, have inflated to ridiculous prices, to the point that many people can’t afford them anymore. Still, without proper training and knowledge, growing your own crops can be very difficult and at times, time consuming. I thought that I would just have to work harder and earn more money somehow, so that my family and I can continue to survive.
My last trip to the Philippines gave me some time of exploration and discoveries. I noticed that at the front of the house, my cousin is operating a hydroponic garden tower, with vegetables and flowers slowly growing through its holes. I got curious with the mechanism and how it was able to grow crops without soil. I decided to search around Google and found that hydroponic gardens are available here in my hometown. However, hydroponic towers are very expensive. Still, I saw that there are portable hydroponic gardens that we can maintain indoors that are under $100. Because of this, I finally got an idea.
My brother was aware of my interest in hydroponic garden, and instead of me saving up for my own portable garden, he gave me one as a Christmas gift instead. It hasn’t been set up yet because I was looking for a perfect spot to station it. I finally found a spot and I will be setting it up, starting with growing some herbs.
Somehow I already started this whole hydroponic gardening bit!
Before the Philippines trip, I already got myself engaged into some form of hydroponic gardening by using a portable set to grow microgreens. At that time, I didn’t think about hydroponic gardening, but more of finding alternatives to maintain my diabetic diet without spending too much money. Microgreens bought at the groceries like Whole Foods can get very pricy. What more could I save some money by growing my own? Sure, it will take time, but at least, it would save me some money, right?
I’m using this microgreens growing kit: ZestiGreens Self-watering Microgreens Growing Kit. It has a box, a tray with holes, hemp mats, and seeds. The hemp mat serves as the soil of the sprouts, so technically, I already started my hydroponic garden in a way. I’ve had some initial failures, with some seeds not germinating or sprouting, but lately, I’ve had some successes and some delicious greens to top my salads or sandwiches. I’m getting there!
Microgreens are an excellent alternative to leafy green salads, as they produce more nutrients than their adult forms. You can use them as additions to your vegetable salads or as toppings for your sandwiches. I used to buy microgreens at the grocery store, but depending on the type, they can get expensive, especially the organic ones. I saw that home growing kits exist, so I thought of growing my own at a good pace.
Below are the same spicy salad microgreens from above, but some 4 days after the photo above:
Looking good and fresh! Time to harvest later today!
Leveled-up Hydroponic Gardening?
My brother gave me a mini-hydroponic gardening kit, with some electricity, special grow lights, special sponges, and water, as a Christmas present. I’m quite excited to grow my own herb and vegetable garden! Because I’m still quite new with the hydroponic gardening concept, I decided to start small and simple by growing some herbs. In particular, two types of mint: Peppermint and Spearmint.
I always wanted to make my own Mint Mojito coffee at home. I may have a Philz near my workplace, but I get off at night. I no longer have the time to spend there as much as I used to, unfortunately.
I set up the kit and planted 10 pods, 5 Peppermint, 5 Spearmint. 3 pelleted seeds per pod. Knowing how long plants in general grow, this will take awhile. I’ll share another update with my mints maybe in February or March for any sprouting/germinating progress. I hope I set up the seeds right.
A few of my plans, if I succeed with my mint crops, is to grow more herbs, such as basil, parsley, oregano, etc. And then take it to the next level by growing some serious crops, such as tomatoes, lettuce, and more. We already have some fruit trees at the backyard that my late father planted ages ago, so we’re mainting them ourselves.
In some way, I want to continue growing homegrown crops as a legacy and memory to my dad. At the same time, I hope I’ll succeed so I can grow a whole lot more.
Hydroponic Annals?
I’m starting another blog category section called Hydroponic Annals. I’d like to write about hydroponic gardens, the current status of my crops, tips I learned in proper garden care, and more. But I may write about them sparingly, since plants don’t grow to maturity everyday. I look forward to this series, as well as others I created but haven’t started yet.
Till next time!
I never was super into gardening. Just never could keep up with it. But we used to grow veggies when I was younger. Actually used to grow corn and sell it too. We stopped years ago. I think mostly cause the deer in the area got bad and kept eating it all. I do miss it though. It was nice having fresh food like that.
Hope you have luck with yours!
I wasn’t into gardening either, but it was fun to see plants bear fruit and fun to harvest them. But it’s hard to maintain them. You must be very dedicated and devoted to seeing your plants grow well. One of my dad’s biggest hobbies was to spend hours outside to tend to the plants, trees, and flowers he grew. We gave away some of his potted orchids to family and friends, as we know we can’t maintain them by ourselves. Our lemon, persimmon, and Mandarin orange trees are our prized crops as of late. We have other exotic fruits, too, like loquats and guavas. Loquats are small, but orangey juicy, but you’ll never find them in grocery stores, not even specialized ones like organic produce or Asian groceries, because they’re so delicate and go bad pretty fast. Maybe, one day, I’ll take photos of our fruit trees and share them here.
Try indoor hydroponic gardening, maybe? They can be pricey, but there are small kits that are pretty affordable. You’ll have very little maintenance with them, save being invaded by bugs (hopefully, that doesn’t happen since it’s indoors). I think it’s a good time to grow our own basic necessities with food.
The trees sound really cool. You should post pics someday!
I do a bit of gardening but never got into hydroponics. Does it need power all the time?
Hello and welcome, Sushy!
That depends on the type of hydroponic gardening system you decide to purchase. There are more expensive ones, like the tower-shaped systems, or the tabletop/countertop ones like mine. In the case of mine, yes, the power needs to be on 24/7. However, the mechanism pumps water every 30 minutes, and the grow light remains on for 16 hours and then turns off for 8 hours. I turned mine on at 7:00 am so it would turn off by itself at 11:00 pm. When the following day comes at 7:00 am, the grow light will turn on, and the cycle continues.
I planted my mint seeds for over a week now. No signs of germination yet.