We’ve made another step towards becoming self-sufficient. Yesterday we bought everything we need to set up a 4 foot square hydroponic garden in our crawl space. This came after much discussion and research – we decided that the sizable upfront cost ($800+) will be a good investment that will pay for itself many times over. We spend about $60 – $70/week on fresh produce, plus about $100/month on frozen produce at Costco. The majority of our diet is veggies and fruit, and everything we buy is organic. We do have a garden that has cut down dramatically on what we spend on swiss chard, kale, and spinach. But we live in a pretty harsh climate for gardens. October – April it’s too cold to grow anything outdoors. Then from May – October we’re able to have a garden, but it requires a ton of water and gets baked in the sun. We’ve had a total of 3 inches of precipitation this year, and every day now it’s just hot (near 100) and dry. Plants have a tough go of it.
We want to grow our own food for lots of reasons. We know exactly what went into it, we minimize the ecological impact by eliminating transportation issues, and the food is as fresh as can be. But our yard is very small, and the area where we live is categorized as “high desert” – gardens struggle. Perfect scenario for hydroponics. (my sprouts are hydroponic, and they do fantastically in our kitchen cupboard, with a new supply ready to go every few days)
Our crawl space is huge. It’s under half of our house, and more than four feet tall (if they had just dug a little more, we could have had a basement, dang it!). We’ve been using it for storage, and there’s tons of unused space under there. So now a bit more of it is being used. Our hydroponic system includes two water reservoirs and two trays for plants (each one is two feet by four feet) so that we can have leafy greens in one and fruiting plants in the other (they each require different levels of nutrients in the water and different pH levels). For now, we have one full-spectrum grow light, although we may add a couple more that are specifically designed for certain types of plants. We’re on a mission to find seeds this afternoon, although it’s August and the pickins are slim. I think we’ll end up ordering most of our seed online. One of the major advantages of hydroponics is how fast things grow and how much they produce. Plants grow 4 – 5 times faster, and by adjusting the light you can make fruiting plants (like tomatoes) produce more tomatoes and less plant. In the store where we bought the equipment, they had a tomato plant that was a seed in May and is now covered in red tomatoes. My tomato plants were seedlings in May, and are now about 18 inches high, with no tomatoes in sight yet.
So we’re very excited about this project. Obviously we can’t grow apple and avocado trees in our crawl space (we did have an indoor avocado tree for a few years, but alas, no avocados). Things that grow on bushes and trees will still have to be purchased. But we should be able to cut our produce bill by about half. 16 square feet of hydroponic garden will produce a lot of veggies – way more than you would get from the same space if you’re growing in soil. If we can save $30/week, that’s $1500/year – which means we break even in less than a year, even if we have to go buy some more lights or equipment (the lights are the most expensive part). And we’ll know that our produce is garden fresh, year round (there’s no such thing as “not in season” when it’s growing under lights in your crawl space) and hasn’t been transported from half way around the world to get to our kitchen. We’re very excited about this project. I’ll keep you posted.
M- says
I think your a genious…
M- says
p.s. can you explain how you sprout your sprouts in your cuboard?
FrugalBabe says
Why Thanks, M! Sprouts in the cupboard are super easy. You need a jar with a lid that has holes in it (we bought sprouting lids for a few dollars, but you could just punch holes in a regular lid and replace it if it starts to show signs of rust). Cover the bottom of the jar with about 1/4 inch of sprout seeds, and cover with water. Let soak for about 12 hours, and then drain. For the next 2-3 days, rinse the seeds a few times a day (the more often the better, but I usually let them go 6 – 8 hours between rinsings). Keep them upside down, at an angle so that they can fully drain between rinsing – otherwise mold and bacteria can grow. We just keep our jar upside down, tilted at about a 45 degree angle against the side of the cupboard, with the lid resting on a plate to catch the draining water. After a few days, you’ll have a whole jar full of sprouts. That’s how we do it – I’m sure there are more precise directions out there, but this works for us.
Kristen's Raw says
I say ditto to what “M” said… you, genius, you!
I’m so glad we found each others blog :)
Your directions for sprouting are great! If “M” wants to read more on sprouts, I have two blog posts about it:
http://kristensraw.blogspot.com/2008/04/sprouts-are-super-bad-ass.html
http://kristensraw.blogspot.com/2008/04/this-is-how-i-sprout-easy-directions.html
Cheers :)
Frugalchick says
I think this is an awesome idea. In addition to the savings, you also won’t need to worry about tainted produce. Please post a picture of your set up when you’re done.
Miss Thrifty says
Tee hee – this is probably the first time I’ve heard of someone using hydroponics for non-marijuana related purposes! I’m seriously impressed, and look forward to the pics…
Chloe says
Just an FYI-I heard somewhere that avocado trees only fruit if they are pollinated, so if you decide to get another one, make sure you have another one to pollinate it!
I love reading your blog, and am always inspired to try something new to save $$!!!
MrsMoney says
I think this is awesome. Which system did you go with? My husband and I have been talking about growing veggies in our basement, but he thinks that the cost of running lights would outweigh the savings. I would love if you would share more information with me. Thank you!! :)
FrugalBabe says
@MrsMoney – Thanks! We think it’s awesome too :) We’re thrilled with how well the plants are doing, and we’re eating stuff from the garden every day. We have a BotaniCare ebb and flow system, and we’re using BotaniCare organic nutrients (plus the molasses/seaweed mixture we added last week). We have three 2′ x 4′ trays, each with its own water reservoir. Two are for fruiting plants (peppers and tomatoes) and the other is for vegetative plants (all of the greens). We have different nutrient solutions for the different types of plants, which is why they have to be in separate trays. Everything is on timers (lights and the water system). We have a 400 Watt metal halide light over the fruiting plants, and a 200 watt fluorescent light over the greens. We’re paying about $14/month to run the lights 12 hours a day. I hope this helps, and have fun setting up a system!
K.C. says
Great information and I wish you luck. I too am starting a grow closet on my lanai here on the 27th floor of a high-rise in Honolulu, HI.
Tomatoes, lettuce, and corriander. Seeds are popping up in under 3 days using CFS lights.
Make sure you show the results on your blog. I hope to have new pictures up on mine and happy to exchange information.
Good luck and nice seeing others that are getting into this great hobby.
Scott says
I have a hydroponic garden the produces tomatoes, green beans, all sorts of lettuce, peppers, cucumbers, and more. I only use fluorescent lighting and have had great luck but I would like to find a supply of nutrients similar to the ones used by the Aerogarden, they are suppose to be mineral salts that you can eat the items without flushing them. Any ideas? Thanks,
Scott
Betsy Bargain says
Wow! I’ve never heard of anyone growing a hydroponic garden in a crawlspace. What a clever use of space! I would love to see pics too!
puspendu seth says
I have Some Concept Problem But After Reading Your Post My concept Got Crystal Clear. Thanks For Sharing The post”Love What You Do And Do What You Love! ” .. It was full of note worthy . I like reading Post On your website because it goes Excellence And With a charismatic .