Do you want to grow organic vegetables at home using an easy hydroponic gardening system? The “plug-and-play” Lettuce Grow Farmstand is simple to use and requires very little time. Plus, it takes up less than 4 square feet of floor space.
7 More Advantages of the Lettuce Grow Vertical Planter:
In addition to growing your own organic food at home in very little space, the Lettuce Grow vertical planter offers several more advantages.
1. Hydroponic Garden Uses 95% Less Water:
First of all, you can use significantly less water to irrigate your garden. Because this planter is self-contained, you don’t have to worry about wasted excess water run-off.
Plus, the well-designed system waters all plants evenly. In other words, top plants don’t dry out while the bottom level gets water-logged.
2. Enjoy a Mess-Free Garden Without Weeds & Dirt:
Second, hydroponic gardens don’t require large plots of soil. As a result, weeds can’t grow and steal valuable nutrients from your plants.
Don’t waste time pulling weeds and cleaning up spilled dirt around your planters. And, you don’t have to be a master gardener to grow an impressive Farmstand, either.
Note: The Lettuce Grown Farmstand conveniently comes with all components you need to get started: the tower, water pump, timer and plant nutrients.
Lettuce Grow does sell pre-sprouted seedlings (starter plants), so you can harvest your plants faster. That said, some customers think the cost is prohibitive.
3. Grow More Vegetables with Less Work:
Third, the automated watering system saves you time and effort. (You can spend just 5 minutes per week maintaining your garden.) Not to mention, you can grow healthier plants that end up producing more fruit and vegetables.
4. Get More Fruit/Vegetables Out of a Hydroponic Garden:
Fourth, growing plants hydroponically enables them to receive more nutrition and hydration. Therefore, they can grow larger and faster due to their healthier environment.
Note: Not only do you get to harvest more produce per plant. You don’t have to wait as long before the fruit is ripe.
5. Don’t Lose Your Crop to Hungry Critters:
Fifth, you can more easily keep your precious garden away from ground critters and insects. Consequently, your plants can yield more produce without any extra effort on your part.
6. Grow an Entire Vegetable Garden Without a Backyard:
Sixth, you can grow your own food at home, even if you live in an apartment in the city. In fact, you may even prefer a balcony or patio garden because it is closer to your kitchen. =)
Now, you don’t need a large backyard, or even a patch of dirt. End even if you do, the Lettuce Grow System still offers many advantages over traditional raised beds…
7. Grow Lettuce Indoors Year-Round:
Seventh, you can move your Farmstand indoors during the winter months and simply use a grow light. As a result, you can grow lettuce in the house year-round and take full advantage of your hydroponic planter.
You can boost lettuce growth with an inexpensive grow light. These lights provide full-spectrum lighting that plants like, plus they don’t require much energy to run.
This light is completely adjustable and can stand on the floor without having to hang from the ceiling or clip on to something. However, this particular floor-standing model doesn’t include a timer. (You can get a cheap light timer here.)
The Hydroponic Tower Garden works very much like the Farmstand. In other words, it waters and fertilizes plants automatically, takes up very little space and is energy efficient.
However, the Tower has a larger capacity for more plants (64 compared to 36 plants in the largest Farmstand).
So, if you want to plant a larger garden, you may want to check out the Tower Garden too.
Review: Are Lettuce Grow Farmstands Worth the Money?
I admit, hydroponic growing kits are not cheap. In fact, they cost significantly more than regular vertical gardens. (Although they use very little electricity to operate.)
However, I thought about how they would water and fertilize my plants for me automatically. Then, I realized I wouldn’t have to deal with lots of dirt, weeds or insects…
I might actually enjoy gardening more. Plus, I could harvest food throughout the year, not just during the summer.
Furthermore, I could grow entire salads in the planter, along with herbs and vegetables too. Then I thought about how much money I spend on lettuce and greens each week at the grocery store. (Now, this planter seems cheap!)
What Size Planter Should You Get?
The Lettuce Grow Farmstand comes in 5 different heights, so you can choose the size you want for your planter. The base water storage has the same dimensions (22″ diameter) no matter what size planter you select.
Therefore, you don’t need lots of sun in your backyard to grow your garden, just a small area. Alternatively, you can bring your Farmstand inside and grow your herbs and vegetables indoors under a grow light.
As you can see, you can grow 3 times as many vegetables or plants in the large Farmstand vs the small size. However, you don’t have to give up any additional floor space. =)
Do you want to have a vegetable garden, but you have a small backyard? This A-frame plant support trellis allows you to grow tomatoes vertically in a small area. Plus it’s cheap!
Tomatoes are one of the most popular edibles to grow for backyard gardeners. They are easy to grow, fresh-grown tomatoes taste great and you you can use them in all sorts of dishes.
However, these plants can grow fairly large. They can easily take over a garden bed and sometimes look like a mess. If you have a small yard or patio, you may not want a wandering tomato plant taking over the space.
Some homeowners opt for what is called a “patio tomato”, which is a more compact grower. The plant stays somewhat small, while producing fruit in compact clusters. This can be a great solution, but as far as I’ve seen, there is only one variety.
Going vertical seems like the next obvious step, right?
Well, yes and no. Sure, vertical gardening conserves space – but tomato plants have long limbs and tend to sprawl. This does not make them an ideal candidate for something like a pallet garden.
So how do we solve this?
Easy – we treat the tomato like a vining plant, like the pea for example. Set up a vertical trellis-like system and then train the tomato plant to grow up it. The structure will give the limbs the support they need – while giving you the extra space you need.
More good news.
Some more good news is that you can still grow your tomato plant in the ground or a raised bed if you want to. You also have the option of using a pot or other planter. There is no need to buy or build a fancy vertical planter.
More tomatoes?
Vertical tomato gardening is also an effective way to give the fruit the space it needs to grow. Many times, the plant can receive more sunlight and air circulation, which results in more fruit.
No longer is the plant confined to a cage, and the tomatoes become easier to see, reach and harvest. (If you get a sore back from bending over all the time in your vegetable garden – you’ll really appreciate a vertical vegetable garden.
Go figure. There’s a kit for that.
And guess what? There are kits for vertical tomato gardens! You probably already figured as much.
The frame is designed to be used in conjunction with a raised bed – or you can stake it directly in the ground. The design of the frame makes it sturdy enough to be freestanding, but you can also position it against a wall or fence, if that is where your garden is.
As you’ve probably already noticed, you can grow than just tomatoes on the Frame-It-All. In fact, people have used it to grow beans, cucumbers and even squash. (It frees up over 48 square feet of garden!).
Another option is the DIY way.
Build a simple frame with lumber from your local home improvement store, get a sheet of plastic mesh trellis netting and use a staple gun to attach it to your frame.
Quality mesh is durable enough to be reused season after season, but it is also conveniently cheap. =) Watch the video below to see how to build an inexpensive frame using mesh, bamboo stakes and zip ties.
Well, yes and no. Sure, vertical gardening conserves space – but tomato plants have long limbs and tend to sprawl. This does not make them an ideal candidate for something like a pallet garden.
Build a simple frame with lumber from your local home improvement store, get a sheet of plastic mesh trellis netting and use a staple gun to attach it to your frame.
