Hey guys, it’s Ellie from Leafy Lair. I’m continuing my indoor gardening series, and today we’re going to talk about hydroponics. If you’ve been following my channel for a little while, you’ll know that I do both soil gardening and hydroponic gardening during the winter season to keep my plants on a continuous rotation. This ensures a year-round harvest. An indoor hydroponic garden lets you grow fresh produce despite cold weather, making it a game-changer for home gardeners.

How to Start Your Indoor Hydroponic Garden

I’ve been growing with hydroponics for several years now. I’ll admit, it has a learning curve. It’s a method of gardening that didn’t come naturally to me. It was a huge learning curve when I first got started, and it was a really big struggle to figure out which type of system would fit my needs the best. It was hard to catch on as a beginner.

What Makes the Perfect Indoor Hydroponic Garden System

I can honestly say I think I found the absolute perfect system for beginner hydroponic gardeners. I’m going to demonstrate that today. I’ll tell you more about why this system is an all-inclusive, great option for beginners. It has a low learning curve. In the past, I always recommended the DWC, or deep water culture, method for beginners. Grab that 5-gallon bucket, get the accessories you need, pick up a pump, and grab your nutrients. From there, you can dive right into your indoor hydroponic garden and grow a wide variety of plants. A five-gallon bucket allows plenty of space for roots.

Exploring the Garden Hydroponic Tower

Today’s system is a hydroponic tower. It has more of a drip system setup than a deep water culture system. It’s the Garden Hydroponic Tower. You might have seen this advertised on social media. I’ve been looking at it for a couple of years. I finally got one, and I have to admit, they have won the game when it comes to creating an all-in-one set perfect for beginners. I’m in my plant room right now, but it’s not here. It’s such a beautiful device, I stuck it in my living room. Let’s take the show up to the living room. I’ll walk through what the Garden Hydroponic Tower offers for your indoor hydroponic garden.

Features of the Indoor Hydroponic Garden Tower

This is the Garden Hydroponic Studio Tower, the smaller of the two kits they offer. I thought this was the perfect size to fit this space. I had a blank wall with nothing on it. What better way to make the white stand out than some green plants? This guy is about three and a half, maybe four feet tall. It comes with everything you need for an indoor hydroponic garden. At the bottom, there’s a water reservoir. I’ve added three gallons of water. It can hold up to five. On average, keep it between three and four gallons.

Setting Up Your Indoor Hydroponic Garden

The top part opens with a little leaf insert. This is where you add water and nutrients. The nutrients are included with the kit. There’s a built-in pump in the reservoir. It pumps water through a hidden tube inside the PVC pipe. This ensures each pod location gets sufficient water. Both sides have tubing. The front has a built-in LED light and even a little camera. Who doesn’t love to look at their indoor hydroponic garden during the day while at work? The system was ridiculously easy to assemble. I dread lengthy instruction manuals. Start to finish, this took me about 22 minutes.

What’s Included in This Indoor Hydroponic Garden Kit

Along with the necessary infrastructure, this set came with powdered nutrients. You scoop them with a little scoop and put them into the front entrance. It also came with a seed starter set. These are called Y cubes. They go into Y pods, where seeds are stored. The Y cubes are filled with rock wool. You can see it peeking through the sides. Seeds are already planted in the top of each cube. Every Garden Studio kit comes with a starter set of seeds. There are many seeds online to choose from, including pretty flowers. The Hibiscus flower is one I’ve had my eye on. You have a wide range of plants to grow in your indoor hydroponic garden.

How to Plant in Your Indoor Hydroponic Garden

My goal today is to put in my Y cubes to start my seeds. The kit came with 16 Y cubes, and there are 16 slots. This enables a full tower right off the bat. I’ll order additional seeds as a backup in case some don’t germinate. I want variety, like those flowers for a pop of color on this white wall. I’ll pluck out these Y cubes. They have basic light instructions and labels. This is helpful during the young seedling phase when everything looks similar. You’ll know what’s growing, what’s doing well, and what’s struggling.

Using the Placement Guide for Your Indoor Hydroponic Garden

There’s a placement guide on the package. It has a QR code you can scan. It takes you to a guide for the best plant locations. I’m going to wing it this first time because I like to do things like that. I’ll place these haphazardly. We can move them later if needed. Once I get root growth, I’ll show you techniques. The Y cubes have cardboard covers to protect seeds from falling out in transit. These can be removed. I have a seed popping out of the rock wool on top.

Powering Up Your Indoor Hydroponic Garden

Now that I have all my Y cubes planted, I’ll turn the system on to cycle water. I got my garden powered up and connected to the mobile app. The Garden app supports you. It sets your pump and light schedule based on your time zone. This is great for beginners. Timing pumps and lights was a task I had to figure out early on. Today is my seed sowing date. It will plan the light schedule based on germination time. It runs the pump, hidden in the reservoir, to feed water to plants.

Why Nutrients Matter in an Indoor Hydroponic Garden

I won’t add nutrients right away. The seeds in the Y pods have all they need to start. This clever device sends notifications if there’s an issue or if the water level is low. It reminds me when to add nutrients to the reservoir. It’s a smart, all-in-one system that takes the guesswork out of the learning curve. If you’re a beginner in the hydroponic scene, this is ideal for your indoor hydroponic garden.

What to Expect from Your Indoor Hydroponic Garden

I’m at the beginning of my journey with this system. I’m excited to buy more Y pods and see how much I can grow this winter. Hydroponic plants mature faster than soil plants, especially herbs and leafy greens. I recommend starting with these if you’re new. You don’t need a massive system. That’s why I was excited Garden offered the smaller Studio setup. Their larger setup has twice as many plants, two lights, and a bigger reservoir. It caters to your needs and level.

Benefits of Choosing an Indoor Hydroponic Garden Tower

There are many systems out there, but this article shows something beginner-friendly. It helps overcome the initial learning curve. This is my first journey with a hydroponic tower. I’ve only done tote or bucket systems before. I love the look of it. It’s aesthetically pleasing. I’m excited to have my plants as the center of my living space, not tucked away. I love how quiet the pump is and how compact it is. I can grow 16 plants in about two square feet. That’s impressive.

Getting Started with Your Indoor Hydroponic Garden

The kit was all-inclusive. It came with everything I needed. I felt it was a good investment for beginners. If the Garden Hydroponic Tower interests you, I have a coupon code in the description. It’s the first link. Click it for savings on the Studio or full-size tower. Check their website for more information. I’ll post updates as soon as sprouts appear. Leafy greens should germinate within the week. I’ll have reels and an update article on plant performance and my first harvest.

What’s Next for Your Indoor Hydroponic Garden Journey

This is just the beginning of our indoor gardening journey. We’re focusing on seed starting now. I have more coming up on gardening in small spaces. I’ll share tips for maximizing produce indoors and managing pests, parasites, mildew, fungus, and other challenges. We’re just getting started. If you want a green thumb this winter, set up your alerts and subscribe to our channel. You’ll know when the next article drops.

Have Questions About Your Indoor Hydroponic Garden?

If you have questions about my experiences with the Garden Hydroponic Tower or my past hydroponic experiences, leave them in the comments. If you’re interested in learning more about hydroponics, subscribe and set up alerts. You’ll know when our next hydroponics article drops. As always, thank you for tuning in today. I sure hope to catch you next time. Bye-bye!