Growing hydroponic plants is a fun and interesting way to cultivate herbs for culinary use. One U.K.-based company, established in March 2021, has added an addition dimension by laying out its environmental credentials. Hydro-herb use recycled wine bottles that are cut and ground by hand.
In addition, the kits contain certified organic nutrient solution (with sufficient materials to keep growing herbs for around two years). All of the parts in the kit are either recycled and recyclable or entirely biodegradable. The kits are available from The Stem.
The ecological commitment tallies with the cottage industry that produces the kits. Each herb kit is made by hand, from cutting and grinding the bottles, to the cutting strips of recycled capillary matting, the filling of solution bottles and the seed bags.
Hydroponics refers to the process of growing plants without soil. With the process, the roots of the herb are directly suspended in nutrient-rich and perfectly pH-balanced water. On an industrial scale, hydroponics offers many advantages, notably a decrease in water usage in agriculture.
There is a ‘space age’ element to hydroponics too. NASA, for example, has conducted extensive hydroponic research for its Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS). With this, research has attempted to replicate Martian environment using light of a different color spectrum and less heat, compared with lighting on Earth. This is with a view to hydroponics aiding advances for a base on Mars, as a bioregenerative life support system.
The application could extend to space flight. As well as providing a healthy diet, hydroponic plants could remove toxic carbon dioxide from the air inside a spacecraft and help generate some life-sustaining oxygen.
For the home use, hydroponics provides a way to grow herbs in your kitchen, so that fresh herbs can be added to whatever dish is being prepared. For those living in areas without gardens, such as flats or condos, the process enables fresh herbs to be grown easily.
With the different herbs available, each of the plants has savory or aromatic properties. These are useful to be used for flavoring and garnishing food. Some may opt to consider herbs for medicinal purposes, or alternatively, for fragrances.
With the kits from Hydro-herb the preparation process is straightforward and it takes around 10 minutes (so straightforward that I was able to set up the first crop, preparing basil). The kit contains seeds, growth material (a ‘Jiffy Pellet’) made of coir (ground coconut husk), an organic hydroponic fluid solution, terracotta pebbles, a wick, and the recycled bottle.
In terms of growing time, it takes around 7 to 10 days before the seeds begin to germinate. A key factor is light, so greater exposure to light helps to promote more rapid growth Within 7- 8 weeks the herbs are ready to pick some leaves off and to be used in cooking.
