As the world shifts to a new way of living, we find ourselves questioning the old and implementing the new. What does this mean for us and food production? As the demise of the economy hits us and we are forced to stay home and live within our means, it does open the doors to new ways of living and thriving.
As food costs increase and we find it harder to obtain fresh produce daily, we have to start to think about how we can grow our own food at home, as a cost effective means to an abundance of food production that is fresh, and readily available.
Lower socioeconomic areas are already looking at community garden projects and urban framing to make sure food is always available. There are many ways to grow produce at home, even if you live in a small dwelling without any backyard space. Setting up a small hydroponic system at home can be relatively inexpensive and uncomplicated. You can design your own system or buy a pre-made kit. Once you set up a system, you may find that hydroponic gardening is less expensive and time-consuming than what you had been doing before.
There are a number of systems readily available, from small bench-top herb gardens, to larder vertical grow towers, and more automated large scale systems that you can purchase and set up. Depending on what kind of fresh produce you wish to grow, eg; lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, or just micro-greens and herbs, there are alternative options available without the need for soil farming.
While these might require a cash injection upfront, hydroponic urban farming can save you an abundance of money down the line as you begin to grow your own food at home.
Here are some systems we love;
OwnGrown:
The OwnGrown indoor farm uses technology adopted from Hydroponics to produce perfect herbs and greens. This intelligent home appliance is changing the way Australians’ consume fresh food. Perfect for Homeschooling, Cafes, Offices, Schools, Education facilities and anywhere under cover. The system uses energy efficient LED lights to mimic the the sun’s effect on plants, also known as photosynthesis. These beautiful coloured spectrums not only provide growth for plants, they look pretty awesome as a night light too. It basically grows on its own! The system provides the latest in automated technology that controls everything from humidity, temperature, airflow, nutrient dosage and even trouble-shooting. Simply set and forget with our preprogrammed settings or manually set your preferred growth formula. This unit is perfect for Australian School programs, sustainability, and STEM. The multiple layer shelving system allows you to stage crop growth depending on their phase, whether it's propagating seedlings to blooming.
Grow Tower:
This complete hydroponic vertical garden kit can turn anyone into a green thumb. Perfect for busy people, it’s fully automated and simple to set-up & maintain. Top quality parts & accessories, attractive modular design, large growth capacity with 20 individual plant sites. You can enjoy a large thriving garden from any small space. With the massive 60 litre reservoir, simply top up the water every week or two.
UrbiPod:
Want fresh herbs for your cooking but can’t grow them in your apartment or simply got no time to plant them in the back garden? Smarten up your gardening routine with the Urbotanica UrbiPod. Easy to assemble, operate and clean, this innovative device features an LED light halo that mimics sunlight and a clever self-watering mechanism. Simply set up the UrbiPod and be amazed at how easy and effortless it is to grow herbs, salad greens, and micro greens in it. Lighting halo can also be adjusted up and down to optimise the lighting intensity for the needs of your plants.
Mini Farm:
Mini Farm is a compact, smart hydroponic system that is super easy to assemble and use. Now you can grow your own fresher, cleaner and healthier food in just a couple of weeks!
No soil needed
No back-breaking labour because the process is simple, automated and mess-free
Make your fresh pesto! And a number of other fresh and healthy recipes
Kickstart your healthier lifestyle today
Great for schools to teach STEM subjects & Activity-Based learning
Designed to allow for optimal airflow, so your plants maintain a healthy and even growth rate
