Planting vegetables and fruits in a vertical grow tower keeps hungry bunnies from feasting while saving space and most importantly water!
In summary, hydroponics allows plants to grow in a nutrient solution without soil. Although many believe these are new space-age techniques, they have been around since the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
Still, soilless gardening has come a long way in recent years. Hydroponic systems come in many sizes and shapes, and there are vertical growing solutions with many different applications.
Save space
Vertical gardening using a grow tower is also not a new concept. When you stake your tomato plants or grow green beans on poles, you save space in the garden (and give your plants better growing conditions) by growing them upright instead of up. let it lie on the ground. Trellising vines is also another way to garden vertically.
When you couple vertical gardening with a hydroponic system, you get a formidable growing tool.
The vertical cultivation tower
The base tower, is made of food grade PVC pipes with evenly spaced openings for your plants. Water is pumped to the top of each tower and falls through the tower, watering each individual growing pod. The water is constantly recycled, which reduces the water consumption of 90% compared to normal farming!
The complete Blumeo kit is sold with all the necessary elements to easily start your culture. It is thus composed of the culture tower, the seed tray, seeds and fertilizer. Towers generally work best for leafy greens, herbs, and strawberries. If you want to grow larger tomatoes, peppers and other vegetables, it is entirely possible but we recommend that you install them at the bottom of the tower or provide guides.
Seedlings
We put all the seeds of the vegetables or fruits that we want to grow in rock wool or the seed tray sold with your tower. Rockwool is molten rock spun into cotton candy-like fibers. It is a sterile medium for both rockwool and organic foam.
Then soak the rock wool in water until the medium is saturated. Then put one or more seeds in each slot. These seed trays could fit in a greenhouse, but most people don't have a greenhouse designed for this purpose. Artificial lights therefore work very well. We recommend that you use a simple halogen desk lamp or a good exposure to daylight.
So place your seed trays under light exposure. Ideally in an area that retains maximum humidity (avoid drafts). The seeds germinate fairly quickly and the first leaves emerge in three to five days. They are called cotyledons. At this stage, do not transfer the plants to your grow tower yet, but wait a little longer until the second leaves of the plant appear (about 3 to 10 more days). These “true leaves” are very different from this first set and you will easily recognize them. If necessary, you can use our crop calendar to find out the germination times.
Installation of seedlings in the cultivation tower
Now it is good ! Each rockwool cube with its seedling can be placed on your vertical growing tower, but make sure that the first roots are also visible and can easily benefit from continuous watering.
You will find that your plants grow faster in hydroponics than in traditional culture thanks to constant food and appropriate light. They are also free of pathogens often found in soil. Another advantage is that with the cultivation tower, you will no longer have to pull weeds. Generally, your plants will also be free from insects and diseases. There are many organic and water-soluble fertilizers on the market but we recommend that you use the products available and tested on our shop.
Solutions from Blumeo to start hydroponics
With our exclusive solutions, enjoy growing your own fruits and vegetables naturally and without chemical fertilizers. Eating healthy is simply very good for your health. And if you invest a little time to gain food autonomy, this will guarantee you very significant savings in the long term!
Getting started with hydroponics isn't always easy and that's why computer support is a huge help. Blumeo's connected solutions are there to make cultivation enjoyable, profitable and fun. Thus, you have complete assistance that will guide you step by step in this wonderful practice. Whether it's adjusting the pH, temperature, nutrients and all the many factors that lead to magnificent harvests will be completely managed by your Blumeo system. Would you like to discover our solutions? In this case, come and visit one of our stores and the Blumeo team will be happy to welcome you!