Demystifying Aeroponics: It's Easier Than You Think
Growing plants Hydroponically can often be unfairly referred to as a hobby reserved exclusively for rocket scientists, doctors, and lettuce farmers. This is simply untrue, as Hydroponics is nowhere near as scary or as difficult as hearsay makes it out to be! Really, the definition of Hydroponics means “to grow plants without soil” which means all you folks with fancy houseplants sitting in those pretty jars on your kitchen windowsill are already well on your way to hydroponic growers!
Now, growing your own food hydroponically is admittedly a bit more involved than simply putting a plant in some water and encouraging it to reduce your grocery bill, but it’s still not rocket science, and one of the best examples I can think of to support my point comes from the makers of The Airgarden!
Understanding Aeroponics: The Basics of Recirculating Systems
Now, quickly before I go into depth as to why The Airgarden is perfect for you, I’m going to explain the most basic version of one of the most common forms of Hydroponic Systems that are used to grow plants of any kind; that being the almighty Re-circulating System:It breaks down like this, you have a reservoir that contains a solution of water and nutrients. A water pump (think like an aquarium pump) pumps the solution through a pipe to one or more pots containing the plants and the medium they are planted in (this could be coco-peat, perlite, clay balls, vermiculite, sand – as long as it’s not soil!), the plants take what they want, and the leftover solution flows out of the bottom of the pot(s) and back into the reservoir – creating a loop!
As shown in this super-scientific diagram drawn by me, the plants usually are elevated so gravity can assist the return line.
So that’s a basic system, and it can be used outdoors or indoors with the help of an Agricultural Grow Light to grow plants without soil, and can grow a multitude of plants by simply adding more feed and return lines – not very scary looking, is it?
“Okay that’s cool but what does this have anything to do with the Airgarden? Also, what is an Airgarden?” – You, probably.
Introducing the Airgarden: Your All-in-One Aeroponic Solution
The Airgarden is a user-friendly all-in-one aeroponic recirculating system that utilizes the same idea as above but so much more efficiently and uniquely. It is this way because it is a tower of pots that sits on top of its own reservoir:
On the bottom, we have the main reservoir that houses the pump and the nutrient solution, with rings of pots stacked on top of each other sitting atop the reservoir.
A main feed line inside the Airgarden shoots all the way to the top and then water trickles down through all the layers, feeding all 30 pots on its way back down to the nutrient reservoir.
This means you can grow 30 of your preferred leafy greens, herbs, and vegetables in a 1m x 1m x 1.5m area with very little maintenance.
The Airgarden is easy as anything to setup, taking as little as 15mins of your time to have it up and running. The best part about this system is that it’s actually a kit – meaning not only do you get the tower when you purchase an Airgarden, you get absolutely everything you could possibly need to set it up and start growing.
What's Included With Your Airgarden Purchase
When you buy an Airgarden, you get:
- 1 x Airgarden Unit
- 1x Pump
- Automated Waterproof Timer
-
30 Grow Cups
- 30 coco-coir grow plugs.
- 5 seed packets (Kale, Cos Lettuce, Spinach, Tomato, Cucumber)
- pH Testing Kit
- 1 Litre of Airgarden nutrients
- Spanner, Syringe, Wooden Spoon, and Measuring Jug
- Propagation Kit to grow seedlings.
Why the Airgarden is the Perfect Fit for Every Home Grower
Aside from the fact that you can grow 30 plants in a Metre2 space, the Airgarden is easy to setup with no heavy lifting and once it’s setup it’s on wheels and can be easily moved around. Additionally, the main unit is made from all Australian UV stabilised, food-grade plastic, which has a required level of purity and doesn't include any materials that are potentially hazardous if consumed by humans. UV stabilised means the Airgarden is protected from long-term sun exposure which us Aussies would know a thing or two about!
Once you set the timer, the Airgarden will water and fertilise itself and due to its 85L reservoir, can do so for 2 weeks without any attention! However, for as little as 5mins of your time a week, this thing will stay humming and producing for a very, very long time. That means people with even the busiest of lives can enjoy the benefits of homegrown, fresh produce!
Now technically this is more akin to what is known as an Aeroponics system, which means the roots of the plants are exposed or free hanging, but regardless of what you could describe it as, it’s very efficient – opting for 3x faster growth than regular plant growing practices! This means you get more harvests, more often, for only a little amount of effort.
Investing in the Airgarden: Analysing the Return on Investment:
Retailing at $799, some folks may think that’s a bit pricey, but there are two main things to consider; The first being the Airgarden is manufactured in Australia by an independent company, who have put countless amounts of energy into developing a product that performs outstandingly well.
The second thing is that the potential Return of Income (ROI) on the Airgarden is fantastic. Airgarden themselves have stated that your Airgarden will pay itself off in just 6 months based on the retail value of what you can harvest from it (especially in the lettuce department!) Remember, if you’re spending less at the grocery store, you’re technically earning more!
Here is Airgarden’s official findings:
Source: Airgarden
Now it should be noted that the Setup and running costs includes the kit ($799) plus purchases of ready-to-go seedlings ($75 + shipping), extra Airgarden nutrients ($115) and estimated Electricity and Water costs ($30). However, if you use the provided propagation equipment in the kit and the provided seeds to propagate yourself that brings that running cost down to $944, and that’s not factoring in your personal Electricity and Water costs as well as the fact that while they make their own Nutrients the Airgarden accepts any mineral based Hydroponic Nutrients so you may be able to find alternative options from other brands that we may stock or you may dial in your nutrient regime to your tastes to further lower costs. That means is that ROI might be a lot bigger depending on the above factors and once you’ve “paid off” your Airgarden it’s almost pure profit.
Simply put, the Airgarden Rocks…
The Airgarden absolutely is one of the best, if not the best, hydroponic Kits for the home grower available on the Australian Market. This kit will have you up and running in no time, is a great introduction to hydroponics and will save you thousands in the long run in grocery bills alone.
The manufacturing quality is amazing and the kit itself is fantastic value, not to mention Aussie made and owned which is always awesome to support our local industry. These things are built to last and come with a lifetime warranty so you can feel secure when you purchase one of these kits!
If you’re as excited about The Airgarden as I am, you can get one right here!
I hope you found our deep dive into the Airgarden enjoyable, and if you have any further questions or queries, feel free to come visit us in-store, and come check out the Airgarden in person as we have one set up in the shop and you can really see how it works up close and personal!