Year Round Fresh Vegetables with an Indoor Hydroponics Systems

Growing vegetables can be challenging in much of the year in most of the country. In the winter months most of the US is unsuitable for growing vegetables outdoors. The summer months in most of the southern states aren't much better since the heat and dry conditions make it tough to grow many of the cooler weather crops like lettuce and spinach.

But it's not always easy to grow vegetables indoors either. Getting adequate light is always an issue, as most vegetables want 8 hours or more of sunlight a day. Of course there are some types of vegetables that just don't work out indoors such as corn or melons simply because of their size. These are also typically very heavy feeders, needing lots of water and fertilizer to keep healthy.

But there are ways to successfully grow vegetables indoors. Usually you need some type of artificial lighting, and some type of watering system. With those in place it becomes easier to grow small leafy vegetables for salads, along with herbs as well. Since these vegetables are not heavy feeders it turns out that they are good types to grow in a hydroponics system.

While many people opt to build their own hydroponics systems from materials like aquariums and grow lights, it's often simpler and more effective to buy a hydroponics system. But there are many plans available, some costing as little as $50 to build with commonly available parts.

A very popular system for growing vegetables indoors is the Aerogrow Aerogarden system. This system can hold several plants, and it has a built in grow light whose height is adjustable. With a microprocessor based controller, the flow of nutrients in the hydroponics system and the timing of the grow lights are optimized for the specific type of plant that you are growing at the time. By varying the height of the grow light as the plants increase in size, you are able to maintain the optimum growing conditions for weeks at a time.

Another advantage to the Aerogarden indoor garden system is the many types of seeds that you can use. With the system you can grow lettuce, spinach, cherry tomatoes, herbs, chili peppers and even flowers like petunias. With this variety of plants, some gardeners and cooks find they need more than one Aerogarden system to keep up.

But there are some tips to keep in mind when you try to grow vegetables indoors.

To learn more about the Areogarden system (or Areogarden if you spell as well as me), take a look at our overview of Aerogarden supplies at http://howtogardenguide.com and you can also see videos of the Aerogarden in action.